English Springer Spaniel Rescue Illinois

Molly, as a two-year-old, has endured some treatment that most dogs could not have survived, much less overcome and still move forward with a happy outlook on life! When we first heard about Molly, the story was that she had been born with a congenital spinal defect and therefore "scoots" and "walks like a gremlin" but was evidently not in any pain. The owner wanted to relinquish her to ESRA because her horse farm was in foreclosure and she couldn't afford to keep her Springer. The Illinois coordinator asked for more information from the owner — photos of the dog, vet records and copies of her x-rays, information about the breeder, etc. — but with nothing forthcoming after the initial contact, ESRA could not hope to help Molly.

A week or two passed and all of a sudden a national pet bulletin board posted a little Springer who seemed to be in dire need of the kind of help only ESRA could offer. The story on this little girl was that she had been abandoned in a horse stall on a farm and had difficulty walking but was otherwise a wonderful happy dog. The new owners of the farm brought her to the local shelter, not wanting to keep her. Was this a coincidence or was this the same little girl named Molly?

An ESRA foster home dedicated to helping Springers with special needs made arrangements to bring the little girl to their home and got her to the vet the very next day. What the x-rays showed was heart-breaking. Molly had no congenital spinal defects. Her injuries were all traumatic, consistent with being kicked or trampled by a horse. She has a dislocated hip and multiple old healed fractures — hip, pelvis, etc. The vet said that the dog's injuries had been left untreated, and that she must have lived in agony. He doesn't know how she survived the pain. All the injuries appear to be old but had all occurred when she was an adult.

Today Molly is not only in ESRA's care but is the newest member of ESRA's Special Needs program. Our promise to her is that we will do whatever is within our resources and available medical help to give her a better life. She will need extensive surgeries and rehabilitation if we are to hope to give her a chance to improve her mobility and reduce her pain. The wish list for her is a long one. Dr. David Modder at Kewnee Vet Clinic made this preliminary list of her injuries:

An appointment with specialists at the University of Illinois is scheduled in mid September. At that time we will have a recommended plan of care and report of estimated surgical costs. Luckily Molly has feeling and normal reflexes in both hind legs so she should be a candidate for a procedure like hip pinning that will greatly improve her quality of life. Meanwhile she is receiving the best of care in her foster home and is learning that life is not cruel at all but is filled with the joys of learning about toys, having a ready-made family of foster siblings that understand that "perfect" is not a word that any dog needs to be defined by as long as they are loved and secure.