Four-legged storm victim needs community's help

The “Storm of 2008” will be talked about for years Power outages, downed trees, closed highways, and horrific winds. People were affected all over the state.One four-legged victim found his way to safety at the Corning Animal Shelter.

His leg dangled from his hip and he had a gash on his leg. Probably hit by a car. Even though he was sure to have been in intense pain, his tail wagged and he allowed us to carry him into the shelter. We named him Weaver.

The vet was closed so we had no choice but to wait until morning. The vet saw Weaver and x-rays were taken. The damage was extensive. Weaver required a specialized surgeon who would put in plates and pins to repair the four breaks in his leg. The cost was prohibitive at $3,000. The city opted to have Weaver euthanized after his holding period.

Weaver is about 9-months-old and we already knew he had a great disposition, although we aren’t sure of his breeding, maybe some Border Collie, Retriever, and possibly Foxhound in his background. We talked to the surgeon and they graciously reduced their cost for repair to $1,800.

But, this was still prohibitive for Second Chance Pet Rescue to justify when so many animals could be helped with that amount of money. The surgeon suggested that we consider amputating the leg instead of repairing it.

We decided to go for the amputation, which was about $500. Now Weaver will need a recuperative period of time after surgery.

Could we justify this cost and time to save one dog?

We decided that we could if we can get help from the community to help this storm victim.

Weaver received his surgery on Monday. All went well, and now he is recovering. If you can help Weaver by helping us pay his surgery bill, please call Second Chance Pet Rescue at 824-1985. Or send a check to Second Chance Pet Rescue, Weaver Medical Fund, 4312 Rawson Rd., Corning, CA 96021.

If you would like to foster Weaver during his recovery period please contact us. We would love for him to recuperate in a home instead of the shelter. If you would like to adopt Weaver, or if he looks like he is your dog, please call the shelter at 824-7054.

Thank you for opening your heart and your home to this deserving dog.

In the past the Corning Observer has been very happy to place articles by Debbie Eaglebarger in the newspaper in support of her efforts to help the puppies and dogs she cares so much about.

We are pleased to announce that Debbie’s efforts with our support recently paid off in a grand way.

Following Debbie’s article, “From trash to treasure - given a second chance,” about Molly and Whitley, Debbie told the Corning Observer staff that due to that article being placed in the newspaper Molly and another shelter dog, Marcus were both adopted.

“When I asked the adopting person how he heard about these dogs, he answered that he had read my article in the paper and wanted to come and see the dogs in the shelter. He ended up adopting Marcus,” Eaglebarger said.

“Thanks to the willing staff at the Corning Observer and all the support they show for Second Chance and the Corning Animal Shelter."