Austin Vet Hospital

Ash

Ash is a seven-year-old Labrador in Austin, TX who needs $2,000 for emergency leg surgery.

Lewisville, IN • Lucky Lab Rescue & Adoption

It all started when Lucky Lab Rescue and Adoption got a frantic message: The staff at one of the more notorious Texas animal shelters was walking a black Labrador wearing a cast on his leg down the hallway to the euthanasia room. As the poor dog was hobbling toward the kill room, he had no idea he was about to be spared. With the clock ticking on his life, Lucky Lab said, "We'll save him!" "The shelters in Texas are filling back up with dogs and euthanizing them for space reasons or if they're injured," Amy T., from the rescue, tells Waggle. "These kinds of emergencies are starting to happen daily. The pandemic puppy phase where the shelters were empty is over." A volunteer drove Ash to a local animal hospital, so he wasn't killed. X-rays of his leg, wrapped in a plaster cast at the shelter, revealed a severe break in one of his bones. The veterinarian told the rescue he needed surgery immediately. The only hope to save his leg was to have a plate put in to mend the bone back together. So the next phase of Ash's rescue mission started: Find a surgeon who could operate, stat! Lucky Lab contacted Dr. David Allman, a board-certified canine orthopedic surgeon, on a wing and a prayer begging for help. Then a miracle happened! Dr. Allman fit Ash in for surgery the next day. Volunteers then whisked Ash to Austin Vet Hospital for the operation, and hours later, Ash emerged from the procedure, which was a success. "He's now in a wonderful foster home recovering," Amy says. "We are foster-based and depend on people opening their homes to these dogs to save them. We pay for all the veterinary care. That's why we are always begging for donations!" As the rescue worried about how they were going to pay for Ash's surgery on such a tight timeline, one of the rescue members said, "Who you gonna call? Waggle!" (Think the Ghostbusters song.) Ash and Lucky Lab could use your help! They are starting to get overwhelmed by the number of dogs in need.