Success Stories

Sugar, June, 2001

Sugar, a two year old yellow lab girl, was raised on a farm; she was surrendered to a kill-shelter by her owner when she was attacking the chickens on the farm. The shelter contacted Midwest Labrador Retriever Rescue http://www.midwestlabrescue.org when Sugar was due to be euthanized and the rescue decided to help Sugar.

The volunteers working for the rescue found Sugar to be a very friendly Lab who got along well with people and other animals. Sugar apparently had injured her left front leg when she was a puppy. The growth plates were damaged and since that injury had never been treated, some of the joints are fused and the foot was deformed. This injury could not be corrected with surgery and the deformed limb caused problems and was very prone to injury. Sugar had to swing it around trying to get her balance and was exhausted from trying to hop on three legs.

MLRR had Sugar evaluated by their vet who recommended that an Orthopedic specialist amputate the leg. The rescue applied to LABMED for help with Sugar's vet bills and we were glad to be of assistance.

Sugar's rescuers were a bit worried about the surgery since Sugar had some difficulty recovering from the anesthetic that was used for her spay surgery. But all went well and Sugar was soon resting comfortably at the veterinary hospital. The vet decided to keep Sugar an extra night for observation but she was improving steadily, and once she figured out she could get up and move around her tail started wagging again. Sugar went home to stay with her foster mom and settled in nicely. Her foster mom did not notice any difference in her walking, though the first time she went outside, Sugar hesitated on the grass like she wasn't sure what to do, and then hopped ahead as if nothing was different.

Sugar has already found her forever home! She enjoys playing with her Lab brother and chases him around the house, barking at him to play. Sugar's new parents love her; she gets to accompany her dad to work on occasion and has made lots of new friends in his office and in her new neighborhood.

Update: August, 2001

Sugar's surgery was performed in mid-July. After just two nights in the hospital, Sugar returned to her foster home and ran down stairs as if there was nothing different. She has now fully recovered from her surgery and anyone who meets Sugar falls head over heals (sic) in love with her. She loved to chase her two "foster" brothers and now she is chasing her new "forever" brother, Jack, another MLRR alumni. Sugar is one lucky dog to be given a second chance in life after her owners so carelessly turned her into a shelter.