Taylor County Humane Society makes plea for help with dog’s medical costs
Daisy barely paused as her lead line was removed before she ran to check out her surroundings and to sniff and greet the faces at the Taylor County Humane Society.
Despite her excitement, her limp was obvious as she gingerly would set down her back paw avoiding putting any weight on it. Daisy is a four-year-old pit bull/border collie mix and was one of a batch of animals rescued from an animal shelter in Corpus Christi Texas and brought to Taylor County.
Shelter manager Scott Schultz explained that when numbers of dogs in the local shelter are low they will check out other areas especially “kill” shelters where animals who are not claimed or adopted are euthanized after a period of time.
Daisy was only days away from being euthanized when she and a group of six dogs was brought to Medford to be adopted to families here. While Taylor County Humane Society has had success in finding forever homes for dogs in these situations before, what they didn’t realize with this batch of animals is that they brought with them some costly medical problems involving surgeries which has seriously impacted the TCHS’s budget. Schultz said that when they got the animals from the Texas shelter, they had not been told of the medical needs.
Schultz explained that Daisy’s limp is due to a torn ligament in her leg and that she will need surgery to get it repaired. Schultz said they are working with the Athens Veterinary Clinic, which performs this type of surgery, to have it done, but the estimated cost is about $4,000.
After the surgery, Daisy will need to be fostered in a home as she recovers because she will not be able to put weight on the repaired limb. Schultz said it could take several weeks until Daisy is fully recovered from the surgery.
Schultz said the Taylor County Humane Society, along with other shelters around the country, have been hit hard in the past year with the number of animals that have been surrendered. He explained that people who were working from home during COVID-19 purchased companion animals, only to find that they could no longer care for them when work schedules returned to normal.
The Humane Society is making a community appeal seeking donations to help cover the the surgery costs of Daisy as well as seeking someone with the time and capability of fostering her as she recovers.
Donations may be made through the Taylor County Humane Society website at tchswi.org or by mailing a check to TCHS at PO Box 1, Medford WI 54451.
