After five weeks of little movement and needing a sling to help her walk and “do her business” while recovering from hip surgery, the Will Rogers School dog hit by a car in March is now running and playing with toys in a backyard.
The dog, now named Penny, was originally called Bailey upon rescue, so Sherry Claybrook of Saving Pets at Risks calls her “Penny Bailey.”
It was mid-March when the wandering puppy was hit by a car in front of Will Rogers School, with that accident witnessed by many of the students walking to school.
The dog captured the hearts of students and staff of the elementary school, where a fundraiser was held to help pay her veterinary bills. The students gathered their pennies, change and dollars, and raised $1,700, Claybrook said.
They also had a contest and named the dog Penny because of all the pennies they collected to help pay for her care. Penny underwent surgery for a fractured pelvis, among other injuries, with veterinarians putting steel plates in her hip. With help, she slowly began to heal and learned to walk again.
As she recuperated, she was kept in rehabilitative care by Claybrook and her husband, Tom, where she became part of their family.
She spent much of her initial recovery time in a dog kennel to limit her movement for healing. With injuries limiting what her bladder could hold, the couple had to take Penny out for frequent breaks, including many 3 a.m. walks, with one of them leading her on the leash and the other holding the sling that kept her pelvis still and her feet off the ground.
The first night she didn’t need to go out at 3 a.m. “was like a baby sleeping through the night,” Claybrook said.
Claybrook said the dog has made an amazing recovery. And other than a shorter coat in areas where she was shaved for surgery, or a slight hobble in her step, one wouldn’t know the ordeal she’s been through.
The veterinarian never thought the dog would walk, Claybrook said, and now she’s romping around the backyard, playing with dog toys.
“We’ve both become really attached to her — we’ve bonded,” she said.
Penny, who will be spayed Monday, should be ready to go home with her new owner by the end of next week. A Will Rogers third-grade teacher who helped the dog the day of the accident has adopted Penny.
Michelle Lanham heard the accident from her classroom and ran outside to help the injured puppy. Animal control was going to take the dog, but the school librarian called Claybrook because of her affiliation with SPAR.
“I fell in love with her and I wasn’t going to let her go,” Lanham said, adding the minute she looked into the dog’s eyes, “she was mine.”
Lanham, who said SPAR got the dog immediate care, said she and her family can’t wait to get her home.
“I can’t imagine life without her,” she said.
In addition to the what the students collected, other private donations helped pay the $4,000 bill for Penny’s care so far, Claybrook said, but she’ll need follow-up care.
Those wanting to help SPAR with rescue efforts, or get more information about SPAR, can go to: www.sparshawnee.org.
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