OUR STORY:
A little over 2 years ago a phone call came in to my work. It was the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday in December. A regular customer of the bar I work at had found two young puppies running around alone in the woods of Alger Mtn. and was hoping someone in our community could offer at least one of them temporary shelter while the owners were located. Having two dogs at home already, I agreed to take the husky pup for the night and arranged to pick her up after work. When I first met her, she just stared at me, watching me, unmoving. I dismissed it as her being a scared puppy in a new environment and carried her to my truck. When I arrived home, she again wouldn't move so I carried her into the house. She was instantly greeted and surrounded by our pups and my boyfriend. I remember thinking how incredibly calm she appeared for everything that was going on. My boyfriend however, didn't agree. He insisted that she was not acting like a 6 month old puppy should and began examining her for any reason why. It was then that we found the puncture wound near her hind legs. Being a Sunday night we had no choice but to take her to the After Hours Emergency Vet. At the time I was a struggling college kid and became immediately concerned that I would not be able to afford the healthcare she may need. I expressed my concern to the technician who informed me that if necessary I could sign her over to the Humane Society and they would then pay for her care. Unfortunately that also meant that if her owners weren't found that I would have to go through the entire adoption process to keep her. After a few x-rays, they discovered that Kiko had been shot by a small bullet, was now suffering from a major infection and would unlikely survive it. We were however fortunate that the bullet did not appear to puncture any vital organs. So they treated her wounds, fed her antibiotics through an IV and we watched her through the night. The first act of community kindness shown to Kiko and I came that night. As the bill was being totaled the technician must have noticed the worry on my face. She looked at the bill, looked up at me and then asked what I could afford. I was embarrassed when I told her I only had $250 on me, an amount I knew didn't even cover the initial office visit fee. She immediately cut the bill down to that amount and handed it to me with a smile. I was instantly shocked, overwhelmed, exhausted, relieved but mostly heart-meltingly grateful. I could keep her! That night I slept on the floor next to her, not wanting to go to sleep for fear and wake-up to discover she hadn't made it. The next morning I was woken up by a fluffy pounce to the face. I opened my eyes to see Kiko playfully spinning in circles and she still hasn't stopped spinning yet. Over the next few months we discovered that her original owners had been evicted, not being able to afford the animal drop off fee at the local shelter they just abandoned their dogs in the middle of the winter in the woods. Kiko, at 8 months, managed to survive more than a month in the wild. Unfortunately, Kiko's brief interlude in the wild left her suffering from every dog ailment under the sun. It took 6 months of weekly visits before she was given a clean bill of health. During those months we received incredible amounts of support from our community. We would tell our story and instantly our fees were slashed. It is only because of all the kindness we were shown that Kiko's life was saved and we were able to stay together. We chose this run because we want to give back to the community that gave so much for us and to help animals like Kiko have a fighting chance.
Please join me in the fundraising effort for this organization.
