Jumping on her two hind legs, this happy poodle moves more like a kangaroo than a dog after losing her front legs in a car crash.
The pup named Cora Rose was destined for euthanasia after her legs and pelvis were shattered in the accident in Stockton, California last year.
But Zach Skow, 39, and his wife Heather, 32, rescued her from an animal shelter and paid $10,000 for life-saving medical treatment.
The determined pooch at first used a cart to get around but now spends most of her time bouncing around on her hind legs.
Mr Skow, who has four other dogs and cares for 115 through his charity Marley’s Mutts, said: ‘Of all our dogs, Cora Rose is the happiest.
‘Dogs can bounce back so quickly – she jumps, hops, all day long – she’s very strong.
‘She’s so resilient. Her quality of life is through the roof – losing her two front legs hasn’t starved her of anything.’
The couple first came across Cora Rose at the City of Stockton Animal Shelter in California, where staff were considering euthanasia after the December 2017 crash.
When they rescued Cora Rose, she had one leg in a cast and was suffering an osteo infection in the other, caused by bone protruding through the skin turning septic.
Mr Skow, who has four other dogs and cares for 115 through his charity Marley’s Mutts, said: ‘Of all our dogs, Cora Rose is the happiest’
After the operation, it took two months for the poodle to heal and then she could finally use her cart to get around
Mr Skow, who has a six-month-old daughter, said: ‘That kind of infection is like cancer for dogs.
‘The leg needed to be amputated immediately. One leg at a time had to be amputated, because she would have been under anaesthesia for too long if we had done both.
‘After surgery, she had a hard time because she still had a shattered hip and still couldn’t move properly.
‘It took two months to heal, and then she could finally use her cart to get around.’
Now, seven months after the surgery in March this year, sprightly Cora Rose is hopping around like nothing happened.
Mr Skow says Cora Rose and the other pups rescued him from alcoholism.
Now, several months after the surgery in March this year, sprightly Cora Rose is hopping around like nothing happened
He founded Marley’s Mutts in 2009 and says the animals are what helped him get sober.
Mr Skow, who also has a pig, horse and cat, said: ‘I had cirrhosis of the liver and needed a transplant.
‘My weight dropped from 183 lbs to 140 lbs, my skin was yellow and I had to use a catheter.
‘I had fantasized about ways of taking my own life. I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror. I looked like an old man.
‘One day I was weeping and crying when I looked back to see my dogs looking at me.
‘It made me realize that I was still the leader of their pack. They could still see the man inside.
‘The next day I started walking with them. Everywhere I went I had dogs with me.
‘Walking with the dogs meant I became healthy enough to undergo a liver transplant, but six months later doctors told me I didn’t even need one any more.
‘I never set out to be a dog rescuer, but they saved me.
‘Now we rescue hundreds of dogs a year. It’s the most heartwarming thing you can do.’
Mr Skow, who also has a pig, horse and cat, took in Cara Rose (pictured after the operation)Continue Reading
Man rescues 31 dogs from slaughterhouse in south-central Vietnam
A man from Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam spent VND24 million (US$1,027) rescuing 31 dogs from a slaughterhouse and is now looking for their owners.
The man, 46-year-old Do Minh Khoi from Nha Trang City, which is the provincial capital, shared the story to his Facebook page on Wednesday.
According to Khoi’s account, his two dogs were stolen while he was on a business trip in Hanoi, prompting him and his son to scour dozens of slaughterhouses between Nha Trang City and Dien Khanh District, also in Khanh Hoa Province, to find their beloved pets.
On Wednesday morning, Khoi arrived at a facility in Dien Khanh and saw dozens of dogs locked in cages, ready to be slaughtered.
He wound up buying all of them from the abattoir in order to save them.
“Many of the dogs were exhausted and lying still, while some were sticking their paws out as if they were asking me to save them,” Khoi recalled.
The man said he paid a total of VND20 million ($856) to buy the dogs and another VND4 million ($171) to transport them to his home in Nha Trang.
Khoi later posted the story on Facebook in the hope of finding each dog’s owner.
As of Thursday, two people had been reunited with their pets thanks to Khoi.
“Seeing the dogs wagging their tails when they saw their owners made me really happy,” Khoi said.
Ha Thuy Tram, 28, from Khanh Hoa’s Cam Lam District, said she lost her dog several days earlier.
Tram’s family had raised the dog for two years before it was stolen. They searched several dog meat shops and slaughterhouses in the locality after the canine disappeared.
“I discovered that my dog had been rescued after seeing Khoi’s status on Facebook, so I decided to travel all the way to Nha Trang to get my pet,” Tram said.
“I wanted to give Khoi some money to thank him for saving my dog, but he refused it.”
Khoi plans to keep the rescued canines at his home for about seven days so that their owners can come and take them home, afterward he will take the remaining dogs to a local animal rescue shelter.
“People who wish to find their lost dogs can come to my house at 30D Dong Nai Street in Phuoc Hai Ward, Nha Trang City, or call 0909473361,” Khoi said.
As of Thursday, Khoi and his family have yet to find their own lost pets.
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