Success Stories

Shadow2, July, 1999

The rescuer had noticed the black Lab around her Texas home for several weeks. He would come up to the front porch but would run away if she tried to catch him. She noticed he was limping badly but he was still able to run quite fast. He was finally lured into the back yard with the help of some fried chicken. She posted signs, put an ad in the newspaper and asked around the neighborhood trying to find the dog's family, all to no avail.

The rescuer took the dog to be examined by a vet and found out that he had numerous broken bones, more than likely due to being hit by a car some time ago. He had a broken rear leg and a hip injury on the opposite side. X-rays showed intensive damaged areas (both legs, pelvic area, hip, lower back) and the vet was amazed that the animal had survived and was able to walk as well as he did. The breaks had already started to heal improperly and would more than likely require surgery. The friendly but shy boy was also heartworm positive and surgery would have to wait until that problem was taken care of.

The rescuer contacted LABMED for funding for this dog who she had named Shadow because he had started to follow her every step. Shadow would be so close to her that he would bump into her leg when she stopped. She explained that she couldn't keep Shadow - the landlord did not allow dogs in the rented home. A friend would baby-sit Shadow during his recovery period from the heartworm treatment while the rescuer would take care of his transportation to and from the vet's office. She asked LABMED for suggestions on how to find a forever home for Shadow and we put her in touch with Heart of Texas Lab Rescue.

Shadow did not like nighttime; he would get very restless during the night, move around a lot and even howl on occasion. The vet decided to prescribe a tranquilizer to keep him more comfortable. Shadow stayed at the clinic for two days for the heartworm treatment; the first night he was back home he whimpered a lot and his rescuer took him back to the vet the next morning. He had an ear infection that needed treatment as well. The rescuer told LABMED that Shadow would submerge his whole head in the kiddie pool and gettoo much moisture in his ears.

LABMED funded the heartworm treatment and the medication to treat the ear infection, as well as the tranquilizer since that was necessary to aid Shadow's recuperation.

Shadow found a forever home during the recovery period. His rescuer was very thorough in checking out prospective adoptive parents; her husband was teasing her that he expected her to require a blood test and a criminal background check. She did find a family for Shadow that passed her rigorous standards. Shadow's new mom understood the necessity of Shadow's rest and his follow-up treatment in about 3 weeks and agreed to have him neutered as soon as medically advisable; she was also aware that Shadow might need surgery for the improperly healed bones. Shadow went with his new mom and dad to a home with lots of space to run, a girl Chow and two teenage human brothers for playmates.