Nicaraguan street dog headed for Oklahoma
Four months ago, Bobby was dragging himself through the streets of Nicaragua.
The big white and tan dog would use his front legs to get from one place to another — not that he had any place to go.
Now, due to an inspiring chain of events, he’s getting treatment in Florida, before moving to a forever home in Oklahoma.
“A perfect storm of generosity helped by social media” is how the Florida Times-Union describes it.
First, Bobby was taken to Casas Lupita, a shelter that is part of a project called Building New Hope. There, his backside was fitted with a cart that restored his freedom of movement.
They contacted World Vets, a nonprofit group that brings veterinarians to impoverished areas, which posted information about Bobby on its Facebook page.
Patti Snyder, a veterinarian at North Florida Neurology in Orange Park, Florida, saw the story and pictures, and World Vets was contacted with an offer.
“If someone can get him to Jacksonville, we’ll treat him.”
Jill Murray, a veterinary technician in Stillwater, Oklahoma, saw the post too, and offered to give the 70-pound dog, estimated to be about 5 years old, a forever home.
Money was raised to send Bobby from Nicaragua to Jacksonville, and other offers of help were made and accepted, including one from a volunteer with The London Sanctuary, a Jacksonville-based large breed dog rescue group, which offered to provide Bobby with transporation once his plane landed.
Diane Meyboom, a caretaker from Casas Lupita, accompanied Bobby on the flight and went along Tuesday for tests conducted at North Florida Neurology.
“We’re so happy,” said Meyboom. “We don’t even know if surgery is possible, but even if it’s not, we just know he’s going to get the best treatment.”
Vets are awaiting the results, and say they will do what they can to try and restore feeling and movement to Bobby’s rear legs before sending him to his new home in Oklahoma.
(Photo: Diane Meyboom sits inside an enclosure with Bobby at North Florida Neurology in Orange Park; by Kelly Jordan / The Times-Union)
Posted by jwoestendiek March 29th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: adopt, adopted, animals, bobby, body, building new hope, casas lupita, crippled, diane meyboom, dogs, dragged, facebook, florida, help, jacksonville, jill murray, legs, mixed breed, mutt, nicaragua, north florida neurology, oklahoma, patti snyder, pets, rescue, shelter, shipped, spine, stillwater, stray, street, street dog, surgery, tests, the london sanctuary, transported, veterinary, world vets
Comment from Mary
Time March 29, 2012 at 3:53 pm
My husband, Evan Bliss, and I currently live in Nicaragua. We rescued a starving dog from the street in Nicaragua and she is the most precious gift to our family. Evan Bliss is a Billboard winning singer/songwriter and our rescue, Tila, inspired him to write a song and video called “Sweet Dog” dedicated to rescuing stray dogs in the impoverished world where shelter systems often do not exist. The idea was to show people what amazing and loyal pets these dogs can make if given a chance. We also hope the images and song will inspire others to consider adoption and rescuing. Tila will be traveling with us to Haiti for our next assignment.
I believe you would find his two minute video powerful and I wanted to share it with you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZuST0aW9a0