[SophieB]

Aww such a sad story that I hope will end well, of a Basset that suddenly appeared on a doorstep then sat there all day getting soaking wet!

Thank goodness the guy whose house it was took her to the vet as she had a broken leg, so I wonder if she was abandoned because of needing costly treatment!

RICK SMITH: Lost and limping, a basset hound named Lucy needs help Standard-Times

 

[smitte21]

A very sad story... I'd hope they didn't just dump her due to her injury. I'd like to think she just escaped and hurt herself on her journey. Poor thing.

 

[Cassidy]

Agreed. I can't imagine the cruelty of abandoning a hurt animal. I hope this story ends well.

 

[vb3]

Are you kidding me? That dog probably has enough money to go to college by now, and hundreds of people interested in adopting it. I agree that it would be the height of cruelty to dump an animal like that, but if that were the case she ended up on the right porch. I hope the rest of her life is better!

 

[2hounds]

I often wonder if this is why/how my boy Gibbs became a stray. He has a very crooked front leg. It's obvious he is a well trained and mannerful boy...him being found as a stray with no one looking for him just seemed too wierd. We think he may have been "dumped" because of his leg...sad for him, but good for us. As far as this pup goes she found the right place to get help and I'm sure someone will adopt her. =)

~Heather

 

[SophieB]

Thank goodness for caring people like you 2hounds and if I saw a poorly Basset I would also look after him but where I live I have rarely seen other Bassets so it's no wonder it often takes me ages out walking when people want to stop and pet them and ask me about Bassets... and others who say that I must be mad having several of them...!!!

 

[mydawgz]

I hope we hear a follow up on the story. I would love to hear the outcome.

 

[Mikey T]

hope we hear a follow up on the story. I would love to hear the outcome.

Are you kidding me? That dog probably has enough money to go to college by now, and hundreds of people interested in adopting it

not far from the truth

Thanks to you, Lucy's one lucky dog

So last week, through Friday’s column, he asked you for help.
By the time he got off work at 3:30 p.m. Friday, you already had donated enough money to cover the cost of the surgery and at least some of the aftercare. People from as far away as Wisconsin made donations
“I thought some people might donate,” he told me Wednesday, “but not like that.”
There’s more good news: Larry found a good home for the dog, who he had named Lucy.
Lucy’s owner, who saw the story in last Friday’s paper, contacted Larry and explained he was unable to take back his dog because of financial reasons.
Larry, who has a houseful of cats and an unfenced yard, felt he couldn’t keep Lucy at his place, either, though, as a last resort, he would try.
“I was going to keep her until we found her a home,” he said.
Then a number of people called Larry, asking to adopt Lucy. One, a woman who lives in the neighborhood where Larry grew up, sounded perfect.
“She told about how she had rescued other dogs, and I could tell she was the right person,” Larry said.
“Lucy’s been moved around enough,” he said. “It’s time she stays in one place with someone who will love her and take care of her.”
When I called Lucy’s new owner Thursday morning, she said the basset was at the vet’s clinic in Colorado City. The operation was scheduled to take place either Thursday afternoon or today. A plate will be inserted into Lucy’s leg to help repair the badly broken bone. The new owner said she will take care of any future medical bills. I’ll let you know how the operation turns out.
“I’m hoping I’ll have her home by the weekend,” the woman, who is a teacher, told me.
“Miss Lucy’s going to come home with me and live a life of leisure as an indoors dog. She’s a sweetheart.”

 

[SophieB]

Awww that brings a tear to my eye and I hope Lucy will have a lovely life with her new owner.

 

[vb3]

I hope he reamed the guy who dumped the dog out. There are rescue organizations for this sort of thing, people shouldn't just dump a dog because of health problems. I would skip meals and sell some of my stuff before I got rid of my dogs if this happened to us.

 

[Mikey T]

hope he reamed the guy who dumped the dog out

That is an unfair assumption, The dog may not have been dumped, but escape etc. And When the owner found out there was a better alternative for the dog than comming back home the did the smart thing and let the dog go. If the owner truely dumped the dog, They would not have any reason to contact the person that found the dog.


The one in this that I am most sceptical about is the person that found Lucy. Enough money was collect for her operation and rehab, yet the new owner while not paying for the operation is paying for" future medical expenses" what happen to the donations in excess of operation cost ? It is likely nothing untoward happen with the money an the result of not detailing all expense but if there is anything that raise eyebrow I would have thought it would have been this.

 

[2hounds]

I agree vb3 that he shouldn't have dumped the dog, but glad it had a happy ending. So glad Lucy found a home. =)

 

[smitte21]

That is an unfair assumption, The dog may not have been dumped, but escape etc. And When the owner found out there was a better alternative for the dog than comming back home the did the smart thing and let the dog go. If the owner truely dumped the dog, They would not have any reason to contact the person that found the dog.


The one in this that I am most sceptical about is the person that found Lucy. Enough money was collect for her operation and rehab, yet the new owner while not paying for the operation is paying for" future medical expenses" what happen to the donations in excess of operation cost ? It is likely nothing untoward happen with the money an the result of not detailing all expense but if there is anything that raise eyebrow I would have thought it would have been this.

Yeah I was wondering about that too. Unless he's decided to donate any other future funds to some sort of rescue or shelter or something.

 

[vb3]

Sounds like he might've kept some of the money to cover the cost of the x-rays.

 

[Mom2Flash]

The one in this that I am most sceptical about is the person that found Lucy. Enough money was collect for her operation and rehab, yet the new owner while not paying for the operation is paying for" future medical expenses" what happen to the donations in excess of operation cost ? It is likely nothing untoward happen with the money an the result of not detailing all expense but if there is anything that raise eyebrow I would have thought it would have been this.

Unfair to assume the original owner dumped the dog, but not unfair to assume the man who helped Lucy is some kind of thief??!

The original article directed all donations to be sent to the clinic, not the man who found her. If there are excess funds, I'm sure the clinic would donate to some kind of animal welfare organization. However, the 2nd article says that enough was raised for the operation and some after care. This makes me think that while they received enough for the operation, more funds might have been needed for follow up care had they not found someone willing to adopt her.

The new owner should be responsible for all future medical costs.

This man was kind enough to do everything in his power to help this poor animal. If enough money was collected, he should be reimbursed for the x-rays, gas and other expenses. I highly doubt there are thousands of dollars sitting there, but even if there is, I wouldn't care if he kept it all. Obviously this man is not very well off, yet displays kindness and compassion that is rarely seen in the world these days.

I say he deserves to be rewarded for his actions and I'm sure Lucy would agree with me.

 

[SophieB]

Well said MomtoFlash as the man could so easily have shut the door on poor Lucy rather than take her in and do all he could to help her. If a Basset Hound suddenly appeared at my door I would drag him into the house and shut the door quickly to keep him here!!!

 

[Mikey T]

but not unfair to assume the man who helped Lucy is some kind of thief??!

hmmm i think I posted "It is likely nothing untoward happen with the money an the result of not detailing all expense"

not assuming anything.

The original article directed all donations to be sent to the clinic, not the man who found her.

however this quote from the second article contradicts all donation going to the clinic for lucy's immeadiate care

“I don’t know what we would have done without your donations,” he said. “I didn’t know how I was going to get gas money to take Lucy to the vet in Colorado City, much less pay for the surgery.

I am not begruding the man to recover his out of pocket expense as well but when ever there are donations in excess of need and and and an accounting what actual happened to the excess is not made there is alway going to be speculation about what happen with money.
The type of thing is done as fundraiser all the time the plea for the injured animal where more money is always taken in and while used to fht injured animal the excess is never accounted for. It is most likely used for other worthwhile worthy purposes but not what the Donner intended, IMHO the very least the excess funds should be either returned to donnor or the donnor recieves an explaination of what the excess funds will be use for and can they then decide whether to donnate to the new cause or have the donation refunded. Unfortunately this is rarely done, I also don't know that it was not done in this case.

 

[Elvismom]

IT is not uncommon for rescues to raise money for a specific dog and then use any overage for other expenses. I'm not sure this is a good practice, but it is done. And I'm not entirely sure there's an easy solution. Do you contact everyone who donated and offer them a percentage of their donation back? Do you stop accepting donations when the amount you hope to raise is reached? And then what happens when unexpected expenses pop up?

I am thankful Lucy choice the right house to go to and hope she has a wonderful new life.

 

[Mom2Flash]

If a Basset Hound suddenly appeared at my door I would drag him into the house and shut the door quickly to keep him here!!!

Me too! I'm still trying to convince my hubby we need another, but if one just showed up he wouldn't be able to turn him/her away. He's a big softie!

As for the excess funds, perhaps when fundraisers like this are held the plea for donations should state something like "We need approx $800 for surgery costs, if donations exceed the amount required for medical expenses the remaining funds will be donated to ??? an animal welfare/rescue organization.