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Halo still has a long recovery ahead
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Halo, struck by a vehicle over the Memorial Day weekend, continues to make progress from her injuries. A group called For the Dogs Animal Rescue, which uses donated money help injured strays who end up at the pound, arranged vet care for her.
By Jeanne Starmack
YOUNGSTOWN
A dog who was hit by a car over the Memorial Day weekend and languished for 24 hours before getting medical care still has a long recovery ahead.
Halo, a 2- to 3-year-old German shepherd mix, was found around 9:30 p.m. May 30 on River Road in Lowellville.
People who found her turned her over to the After Hours Emergency Clinic in Girard, where staff gave her a pain injection that night then turned her over to the Mahoning County Dog Pound the next morning. They gave her no other treatment because there wasn’t anyone to take financial responsibility for it, Dr. James Milligan, the clinic owner, has said.
A group called For the Dogs Animal Rescue, which uses donated money to help injured strays who end up at the pound, arranged vet care for her after she’d spent the day in a crate at the pound.
She was found to have a shattered pubic bone and broken pelvis, along with open wounds and road rash.
After spending a week at the vet’s, which is in Howland and asks not to be named, Halo went to a foster home while the group contemplated what to do next for her.
Kim Best, a For the Dogs volunteer who was involved in Halo’s rescue, said Wednesday that Halo had to be taken back to the vet’s recently because a pocket of skin separated under her stomach. The vet in Howland performed emergency surgery to reattach the skin.
“There was a lot of road rash and air pockets under it,” Best explained. “Air pockets ruptured the skin.”
Halo has also had an operation on a leg that suffered a lot of muscle and ligament damage, she said.
She was at Metropolitan Veterinary Hospital in Akron on Wednesday to see a wound specialist, Best said, and was expected to return to her foster home today.
Blase Brush, executive director of For the Dogs, said Halo will eventually have her broken pelvic bones repaired. He said the wounds have to be brought under control first or she could get gangrene.
“God bless her, she’s a strong little girl,” Best said, adding that she “took all the poking and prodding” in stride at the hospital.
But she has a long journey ahead. “It’s gonna be a very long recovery process for her,” Best said, adding that For the Dogs will not offer her for adoption until she is well.
The group is accepting donations for Halo’s care. To donate, make checks payable to For the Dogs, P.O. Box 3060, Youngstown, OH, 44511.
For information on fostering or adopting dogs, call 330-565-0828.