Hi Cassie -

My name is Suzie and my Mom's name is Sarah.
I am 7 years old, part Blue Heeler and part Pit Bull.
My Mom and I have been best friends since the summer of 2003
when I came to live with her.

She adopted me from the local Humane Society
when I was about 1 1/2 years old,
which was good for me, because I only had one day left at the shelter
before I was supposed to be "put down."
Of course then, I was a happy, healthy, 4-legged canine.

During the summer of 2004 is when I had my accident and lost my leg.
One night, my Grandma's dog escaped through the fence and,
me being the protective dog that I am,
decided to follow, to make sure he would be safe.

We ended up roaming around town for awhile before we headed toward the highway. While we were running down the highway,
a car approached coming in the opposite direction as us.

I guess the car didn't see us, because it practically hit me head on,
severing the nerves in my left armpit, immobilizing my entire left leg, and also cracked my jaw.

I somehow ended up in the ditch and laid there for several hours.

The car that hit me never stopped and never made any report.
I nearly died that night, and if it hadn't have been for my good buddy Mo (my Grandma's dog), my fate would have been sealed.

At the time of my incident, I was not wearing any collar or tags.
Luckily, Mo (who had his tags on) stayed with me in the ditch till morning came and till someone found us.

The vet said that if it weren't for Mo staying with me the entire time, they would have put me down upon arrival.

I stayed at the vets for a couple of weeks till I was feeling a little better. The vet had to wire my jaw shut, so the crack in my jaw could heal faster. So I was on wet food for quite sometime.

Then I got to go home with my leg still attached.
I guess the vet wanted to wait about a month before removing my leg.
Since the nerves were severed, there was a possibility that they could grow back together restoring feeling in my leg.

To say the least, that never happened.
So, in August of 2004 I had my surgery to remove my entire left leg and shoulder blade.
The very next day, I went home.

It was a very easy adjustment for me to make,
being that I couldn't use my leg for almost two months
and was already used to getting around using just my front right leg.

After a couple months I was back to my normal self,
playing with the other dogs, going on walks and to the park.

I barely notice my handicap anymore these days,
except for when the arthritis gets the best of me,
which isn't too often, because mom makes sure of that
(she gives me lots of massages).

I get around great and can still keep up with the best of them.
As for my mom, she loves me just the same if not more since my incident. I think the whole experience brought us that much closer to each other.

I cant stand being away from her, and spend a good part of my day
laying in front of the door waiting for her to return from work.

When she's not at work, we go just about everywhere together.
We are literally best friends, if not soulmates.
We were meant to be together.

I love my life; four legs, three legs, two legs or no legs, I love my life.

Sincerely,
Suzie Q.
Tuesday November 4, 2008

UPDATE

Hi there.
I attached a photo of Mo to this email.
He was a Miniature Schnauzer.
Unfortunately, he passed away last year due to cancer.
Mo and Suzie were always good friends,
but after the accident they were attached at the hips.
But Suzie did return the favor to Mo.

That next summer, Mo fell in to our pool
and was hanging on the edge for dear life;
he even ripped some of his nails off
trying to claw his way out of the pool.

I awoke that morning to Suzie screaming and barking hysterically.
When I went outside to see what her problem was,
I found Mo hanging on to the side of the pool,
blood dripping from his paws.

They were like each others' guardian angels.

I will always miss Mo,
and he will always have a special place in my heart.

If it weren't for him, I would not have my beloved Suzie with me today.

Wednesday November 5, 2008

We are happy to introduce you to Koa.
He was rescued from a dog farm in South Korea
that breeds and sells dogs for their meat.

At only 2 months old, a healthy Koa was attacked by other dogs at the farm. The attack left Koa with a terribly damaged front leg;
beyond repair or concern of the meat farmer, the leg was amputated.

Because of his leg, Koa could no longer be sold as 'healthy' dog meat, so in June of 2008 the dog farmer voluntarily turned Koa over
to our partner shelter in South Korea.

Koa loves playing tug-of-war and acts like any other puppy his age.
He seems unfazed with the loss of his leg,
bouncing around and wrestling with other dogs.

When he does take a tumble, he quickly rights himself
by pushing off the floor with his chin; he's quite the little gymnast..

As best we can tell, Koa is a Korean Jindo and a Shepard dog mix.
This will result in an estimated 90 pounds.

This is the story of my dog written by the adoption agency where we adopted Koa. Since we adopted him, he had to have surgery to have the rest of his arm and shoulder blade amputated (which is better for his balance).

The adoption agency was able to put up a web page for his surgery. He raised over $2,000 in about 2 weeks.

He now runs and plays like any other dog and can be quite mischievous.

I have attached some pictures of Koa after his surgery
and pictures taken candidly at the dog farm where Koa was born.
This is Koa's mother and his 5 siblings.

Brian Nunn
Wednesday November 19, 2008