Athena’s Story: Just When You Thought You Had Heard It All About A Dog In Terrible Need

In Baytown, Texas, someone posted about a dog in terrible need on Sunday afternoon. The dog had been lying in the middle of the road while cars swerved around her. The Good Samaritan was in tears as she described the terrible injuries the dog had sustained.

Be advised the following cited story from the eyewitness is extremely graphic and may not be suitable for all readers. Sadly, it really happened. Some descriptions have been omitted.

“…I saw a dog (pit bull) in the middle of the road and everyone driving around him. As I passed I noticed he/she the dog’s front legs had been _____ at the knees and she was walking on the ____. There was blood everywhere. I turned around and followed the dog to the back of the church. Went back to truck to get phone and when I came back it was gone. I looked for the dog for over an hour, but…”

ThisIsHouston

All night, volunteers and animal lovers searched for the dog, and it was early Monday morning when the dog was spotted under someone’s house. Rescuers rushed out to save her and immediately transferred her to an emergency veterinary hospital where ThisIsHouston expected her arrival.

Miraculously, she is alive and her wounds appear to be only a few days old. They are dirty and caked in mud. She was wearing a filthy, six-pound chain collar. She is reported to be on pain medication, alert, and never once tried to bite anyone; in fact she has been wagging her tail as if she knew she was finally safe. She has been named Athena.

“We don’t know what happened to Athena, and frankly, we are not sure what her future looks like. We desperately want to try and fix her, but we are still discussing amongst ourselves. We just want to do what’s best for Athena and her future. Her story instantly captures your heart and her sweet disposition tugs on your heart even more.”

ThisIsHouston

Today we learned more of Athena’s story.

An initial witness, Jeremy had spotted the dog next to the train tracks. Searching further they found one of her paws in the train tracks, but it is not known how she got there. Dogs don’t intentionally allow themselves to be hit by trains, and so it is heart crushing to think what may have caused this horrible event.

After rescuers found Athena, ThisIsHouston offered to help, and her rescuers took her to Blue Pearl. She instantly received pain injections; her bloodwork is surprisingly in the normal ranges.

“Our team struggled within ourselves about what decision to make for her. It’s not easy to play God; to decide which dogs to fight for and which to let go. And it’s harder when the vets are strongly advocating for euthanasia and are telling us she will be in pain for the rest of her life with no way to manage it. On top of that, she will have a very long road to recovery, she will be costly and she will be harder to adopt out. Dogs carry 60% of their weight in the front and with Athena being a Bully breed, who is stocky and muscular, that makes it harder for her to adjust without her front legs.

ThisIsHouston

And so the volunteers from the rescue organization went to visit Athena who is only eight-months-old. They all decided this puppy is a warrior – she made sure someone saw her and someone found her. She wants to live – she’s fighting, and her tail is wagging.

We’re going to give her the best shot at a recovery. We’re still waiting to hear her x-ray results and she has no interest in eating but vitals are well and she’s doing well. We will take things day by day and if her pain ever seems to be unmanageable, we will reevaluate our decision. This decision isn’t easy, and we understand some of you may disagree with it, but at the end of the day, we feel that she deserves a chance and we feel honored to be standing behind her.

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