Kousa is 7-year-old, black brindle coonhound in Milton, MA, who needs $900 for surgery to repair multiple bite wounds after being attacked by another dog.

I found Kousa's rescue angel Cindy Disney- Boykin who rescues animals on her own in NC and I saw this beautiful 1.5 yr old black brindle Plott Hound female named Peggy Sue. I know I didn't want another Ridgeback to sully Nagees memory, but this dog had such a soulful look that immediately called to me. So I called her rescuer immediately. She wasn't sure she could get her as she was in the 25th hour at a high kill shelter that gasses dogs in trash cans. So she called the shelter with a promise from me that I would take her if she could get her in time. And this elderly woman drove to South Carolina and screamed and yelled and finally got a hold of this dog after being told they already had euthanized her even though she had called and put a hold on her. She found her crammed into a 2x2 concrete cell too small for her to stand up and turn around in. She was very sick with an upper respiratory infection and severe wounds on the ends of both ears and completely emaciated.
Cindy kept her for a couple of weeks trying to clear up her infection as best she could and when it was safe for her to ship her from North Carolina to Connecticut she did.
When she arrived at the end of December she only weighed about 33lbs and was still very sick and the sores were bad enough I thought she would lose the ends of her ears and she was covered in fleas. But she had the most soulful look I've ever seen. I renamed her Kousa which is from the the state flower Kousa dogwood, of North Carolina, and the Plott Hound is the state dog... hence the name!
Over the next several weeks her upper respiratory infection cleared up as did the sores on her beautiful long velvety ears and she slowly gained weight. Later that year I got a new equine job and she became my new co-pilot! She loved and couldn't wait for her daily car rides, visiting and greeting every customer and farm including Chickens cats dogs horses with enthusiasm. We stayed together at hotels even when they didn't allow dogs I'd carry her in wrapped in my jacket looking like a baby (albeit a very large 4 legged one) she was the best road warrior with the patience of a saint! She made friends from Vermont to Pennsylvania!
I soon realized she had more than a special gift she had this unique ability to know when someone was really sad. She would seek them out and walk up to them, and they inevitably squat down she'd place her paws on their legs and then put her head on their neck and wrap it around them and literally hug them! Then she would lean back look them in the eye and gently lick their nose and eyes.
In 2012 I ended up losing one of my Ridgeback boys to DM, (which is Degenerative myelopathy, a progressive insidious disease of the spinal cord (similar to ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease in people).
Then I ended up having an accident in December that same year the day after X-mas and I was fired from my job in April. Shortly after I ended getting a divorce after 20 yrs and lost my house in Addition to my job and income. I tried everything to stave off surgery since I knew having it could possibly mean I may never ride horses or work again. In 2013 my last Ridgeback lost his battle to also DM, and with my divorce final and all my dogs having died one year after another, I was truly beside myself, along with not having a job or a home and not having independence or income, I was feeling unnecessary and that I was not needed any more and the only stable thing in my life was Kousa.
I ended up moving from northwest CT to Fairfield county. I had no friends and moved in with my boyfriend and for the first time I truly felt love.
I tried all modalities of therapies to see if they could help but in the end the only options left to me were spinal surgery. So in 2014 I had a level fusion including a bone graph cage titanium rods and screws. However 8mts later the fusion failed and the disks above the fusion were damaged. So in 2015 8mts later I had to have all the hardware they originally put in taken out, and fuse the next 2 levels above. I now have 2 titanium rods about 10" long and 8 screws holding my spine together.
That surgery failed immediately with many complications. Over the next 14 mts I had to see over 17 doctors to try and find out what was causing the rashes and unexplained joint pains in every part of my body. From biopsies to skin patch tests endocrinologists, rheumotolotogists and Allergists, nerve tests, injections no one could help. Until finally my surgeon told me I was the 40% that failed and this was my life now and I'll never work again and I need to come to terms with this and this is how it will be.
Since then I've tried to find meaning in my life by. Going back into painting and fostering a couple of dogs which ended up becoming mine because they were problem Dogs that couldn't be placed with an average family and have aggression issues.
I've since registered my amazing dog Kousa and her buddy Rudi also a rescue Italian greyground as emotional support dogs. Both of whom seem to know when others are sad or upset and sit in they're Lap and Kousa comes over to give hugs or lays next to them on the couch if they come visit.
Now that I Cannot work and I'm limited in sitting & standing for more than 30 mins. I'm home 24/7 and my dogs are the only company I have now as it's difficult for me to leave the house due to my disability.
Most recently I've had to move to Massachusetts because my partner took in his 15yr old daughter who is metally sick and physical aggressive and has attacked me twice Leaving me with a black eye and bruises on my body, then wrote death threats against me. So with no other options or money and the lack of ability to earn a living I was forced to move for fear of my life.
While trying to move the dogs and I have been under extreme stress, which set off a cascade of accidents which led to a very bad dog fight leaving my very sweet Plott Hound trying to get between two dogs to stop the fight and she got the worst of it. Leaving her with a gaping wound on her chest.
That was the icing on the cake. Having no savings and relying on family to physically & financially burden all my costs, I was not in a position to pay for the emergency surgery needed to care for my therapy dog that I rely on for emotional support. She has been there for me through all my dogs passing, losing my jobs and the loss of 2 major relationships, 2 moves and 3 major surgeries. She's helped countless people bring smiles to their faces when they've needed hugs or when they're sad and she's taught many dogs lessons in manners on how to behave properly always getting in between aggressor and non dominate dogs stopping potential fights.
She's is brave, smart and kind and I can only hope one day I will give her a home once again and a job that she can participate in that will bring her as much joy as she has me all these years.
Thank you so much for reading this. None of your money will go to me, but will go directly to the wonderful people at the Vet Clinic to pay her bills.