Published: July 15, 2008 09:10 am      

Stray gets emergency surgery, hope for new home

By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

A Great Pyrenees dog recently found in Jacksonville is getting a second chance at health and a second chance at happiness in a good home, if the staff and volunteers at the Richard C. Klein Animal Shelter have anything to say about it.

Shelter Executive Director Angela Wallace said the young female, whom they’re calling Grace, was found Friday near Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, wearing a fairly new collar with a leash that looked to have been chewed through.

“We thought the name Grace was fitting, considering,” Wallace said as she helped the young canine out of her holding pen at the shelter.

Shelter officials figure she hadn’t been on her own for too long, judging by her overall health; however, she had been a stray long enough to sustain a pretty serious injury to her back, left foot.

“It’s serious enough that amputation is the only way to really improve her overall quality of life,” Bullard veterinarian Dr. John Alexander said. “This tissues, muscles and nerves just can’t be repaired.”

Alexander said he thought, based on the nature of the damage, Grace may have gotten her injury by being hit by a car or even in a fight with another dog.

Alexander volunteered to do the surgery, which is scheduled for today at the shelter.

Wallace said if it wasn’t for the willingness of local vets who volunteer their time and talents to the shelter’s residents, the shelter wouldn’t be able to help as many stray cats and dogs as it does.

“The cost factor is always a big thing,” Wallace said. “The support of our local vets is the reason we’re able to do some of the things we can, like the surgery for Grace.”

Wallace said Grace was a candidate for the surgery because her overall health is good and she’s young enough to be able to bounce back from the surgery. After she’s healed and rehabilitated enough, the shelter hopes to find a new home for the dog.

“She’s got a great personality,” Alexander said. “She’ll make someone a great companion.”

Wallace said she’s confident Grace will find a new home quickly.

“We don’t get a lot of Great Pyrenees, so they tend to get adopted fast,” she said. “And of course if anyone knows where she might have come from, we’ll be glad to talk to them, if they’ll contact us.”

The Klein Shelter, a privately owned, non-profit organization, is located at 208 E. Tena St., Jacksonville. Operating hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed from 1 to 2 p.m. daily for lunch) and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

According to the shelter’s Web site, www.kleinshelter.org, the shelter’s mission statement is “To reduce the number of homeless animals in Cherokee County through public awareness and the provision of adequate sanctuary, to passionately promote adoption of healthy, behaviorally-sound animals, to maintain a sterilization-before-adoption program and to provide painless euthanasia when necessary.”