Lucky the dog will spend his first Christmas with his rescuer, Ashley Moran.
Recently, Moran partnered with a handful of local businesses to help raise money for amputation surgery and a dog "wheelchair" that Lucky would need. However, following Lucky's amputation, it was determined that he would be able to walk without aid. As a result, Moran has decided to donate all of the unused funds that were raised to Pick of the Litter animal shelter in Falconer.
"We raised $1,600 altogether," said Ashley. "Aside from the $300 which was used to pay for Lucky's surgery, we were able to donate $1,300 to Pick of the Litter."
Article Photos
Lucky has been permanently adopted by the Morans. Pictured is Lucky enjoying an early Christmas present with Ashley Moran.
P-J photo by Remington Whitcomb
According to Moran, Patti Bush, the owner of Pick of the Litter, was in tears when Moran made the donation.
"There's a lot of need at Pick of the Litter," said Mary Moran, Ashley's mother. "There are animals coming in there all the time ... she's able to take them in, help them while they're there, and try to find them a good home."
Originally, Pick of the Litter had helped the Morans to find someone who was interested in adopting Lucky. However, when that family decided they couldn't adopt Lucky, Ashley was able to convince her mother to allow Lucky to become their family pet.
"The adoption with the (family) kind of fell through, so I talked my parents into it," said Ashley.
"It took Ashley a lot of convincing here at home to allow a dog to come into the house, but once her father and I went down to Pick of the Litter and met Lucky for the first time, it became a no-brainer," said Mary.
According to the Morans, Lucky has become acclimated to home life very easily. He is an extraordinarily friendly dog, and aside from occasionally jumping on guests out of excitement, he has left all furniture and Christmas decorations alone.
Additionally, every day he is becoming more accustomed to walking with only one front leg. According to Ashley, Lucky used to only be able to walk up and down the street for exercise, but now the family is taking him once around the block.
"He really shows no limitations," said Ashley. "When he sees other dogs, he wants to go play with them. When we had snow for a few days, he went outside and rolled around in it. It's almost like he doesn't know that he's disabled. It's really heartwarming to see."
The Morans believe that Lucky is such an inspiration, that going forward they would like to sign him up to be a Canine Good Citizen.
"Once Lucky becomes a little calmer, we'd like to bring him to retirement homes and hospitals to help cheer up residents and patients," said Ashley. "There is a dog named Rome that is a Canine Good Citizen, and we've been told by people he visits that he really brings them good morale. We want Lucky to be able to do the same thing for the community, since the community played such a big part in making sure he's alive and well today."