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Dog saved after harrowing dash through traffic
November 23rd, 2009, 5:33 pm · 17 Comments · posted by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor
A tiny bit of wasted flesh and matted fur has become a symbol of Thanksgiving to several Newport Beach residents.
It was Wednesday last week and Melanie Breuchert and her 2-year-old daughter were taking a walk through their neighborhood on Balboa Peninsula. They saw a small dog trotting down the sidewalk, past the Old Spaghetti Factory. Melanie quietly wondered if the animal had gotten free from a nearby house.
The situation quickly took a gut-wrenching turn as the dog hopped off the sidewalk and headed onto car-choked Newport Boulevard.
Melanie saw her neighbor, Charlie Fox, and screamed, “Charlie, get the dog!”
Charlie did just that — he jumped into traffic, weaving around cars as the dog dodged him at every opportunity.
Pedestrians stepped in to signal cars as everyone stopped for a second or two to watch man and dog dart across the street.
Charlie pinned a screeching dog, filthy and scared, to the pavement. He got a good grip and jumped out of harm’s way.
Melanie says of that moment:
“I realized that this dog wasn’t normal; it was ruined, discolored, covered in feces, lacking hair in the second half of its distorted body. My heart was absolutely overwhelmed with the devastation at hand. I felt broken myself when I saw that this dog was absolutely abused, used, and discarded. My spirit hurt for this dog.”
She and Charlie turned to Dr. Donald Earl of the Lido Animal Hospital for help. The veterinarian and his staff quickly got to work and assessed the damage.
Dr. Earl believes the dog was used as a breeding bitch. Scared, hungry and abused, the animal likely was dumped.
(The top photo of Faith was taken after she was groomed; below that is how she arrived at the hospital.)
“She’s probably 7 to 9 years old, but she looks 17,” he told Pet Tales.
The staff named the small poodle Faith and says she has responded well to treatment and is already jumping into their arms for affection and food.
Dr. Earl says Faith can be adopted in a few weeks, after she heals from her injuries and grows even more accustomed to people and affection.
As for Melanie, she’s hailing her neighbors as heroes:
“In such a hopeless situation heroes emerged. Our community stepped up, from my neighbor Charlie to the pedestrians jumping into the street, to super hero Dr. Earl and his staff who ran out to save this dog, show her mercy, love her, and invest in her. Devastating ruins can be rebuilt, reversed, resurrected, saved. This is a time of Thanksgiving. I am so moved and will always give thanks for the heroes in my community!”
If you are interested in adopting Faith or other pets Dr. Earl helps at the Pup Squad Rescue (seen below), contact the Lido Animal Hospital at 949-933-1581 or e-mail lidovet@aol.com.
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Great story! we need more stories like this in the paper!
A heartwarming story. WTG Melanie, Charlie et all.
My friend took her dog to Dr. Earl and was greeted by Dr. Earl and this little miracle dog. I heard all about her plight…so sad.
Dr. Earl is a compassionate Vet who took care of this little puppy dog in her time of need.
She needs a good home!
Thanks to all who helped her and curses on the breeders who left her to die!
We met Faith the day we took our 17 year old apricot poodle (Skippy Do)to Dr. Earl fearing he was near death. Dr. Earl figured out what was wrong with Skip after only being with him a short time and by that night Skippy was able to stand again!
He is getting better everyday and I hope he and faith can become good friends.
The Ironic part to this story is we met Skippy when our other Maltese passed. The vet at the time came out with Skippy who had been dumped the same way Faith had been dumped then hit by a car and left for dead.
He made a remarkable recovery and has been with our family ever since. He has been a loyal lovable darling dog to the entire family and I know Failth will be the same as they know how lucky they are to have a second chance.
Dr. Earl is wonderful as a vet and for all he does for these little babies.
Our neighborhood knows SKippy Do as the Thanksgiving Miracle but the year there are two Thanksgiving Miracles. Skippy Do and Faith.
I’m glad for the cute little mutt, but could we please have a story like this about a cat?
You bet, SiloKitty … When I get a tip about a cat saved, I’ll let you know … It seems the felines have a tendency to escape the story sniffers. If you hear such a story, be sure to find us here at Pet Tales …
our rescue has another saved kitty
Her name is Courtney and she was injured after napping under a car hood and caught in the fan belt.. she’s had her tail removed, but she’s alive.. and she’s ADORABLE. She’s up for adoption too! more info at http://www.oc-arc.com (we’re the ones that had Carrie the wonder kitty tossed from the vehicle that sustained major injuries few months back.. she’s since healed and been adopted and doing fabulously!)
Candi, that’s great news about Courtney! Thanks for sharing. If I can find her photo on the site, I’ll post something for our Pet Tales readers. Feel free to e-mail … sgowen@ocregister.com… anymore information, too.
Melanie and Charlie,Thank you for saving the life of this sweet little girl. I hope she gets to spend the rest of her life in love. bless you both
Great Story Samantha ! Way to Go Melanie …
Faith is a really cute doggie
I’m always a bit stunned when I see what a day at the groomer can do for a scraggly pet. I think it helps them preen a bit, too, don’t you think?
Wow . . . brought a tear to my eye.
You can tell a lot about people by the way they treat their animals.
Oh - if I only had a farm. . . .
This is a great story. Thanks to Melanie, Charlie and Dr. Earl for giving this little girl a second chance. She deserves to be loved and to have a good home.
To sikokitty: I’ve been to the OC shelter looking for my cat the last few days (or months) and came across a cat named Tigger from HB. He was turned in on 11/19, had a tag with his name & cross streets in HB. He would just cry the times I visited, one day I stood there and rubbed his head until he fell asleep and then tip toed away. So for the last few days, I’ve been searching craigslist and also put an add this morn. Then I sent my sister down to the location because I could not get down there. Miraculously, she found the owners and they are going down today to pick up their cat. They did not know to search the shelter. I also adopted myself and will pick up the cat today. So that is a good cat story - maybe not as heroic but a few lives were saved and I’m Thankful.
Lea, you got another kitty? which one did you get? I just saved one from the shelter last week too! (well 2 actually, one has already found a new home and the other is staying with us until he does!) i’m happy for you! and I am glad Tigger found his way home, he was a beauty!
A couple of years ago someone dumped a dirty, hungry, cross-eyed, cat with half a tail in costa mesa. Everyday I pulled into my apt parking lot and she would be sitting in the rain hoping someone would notice her. She is the best thing that ever happened to me, everyday she waits for me to get home and is so full of love. I can’t think of anything that would make me get rid of her, even though I’m unemployed right now she comes first.
Send us her photo, Sunshine! Love to share that story with everyone here at Pet Tales …
Candi,
I adopted a little white kitty named Bodi but I changed his name to Basil. I just could not leave another day without a rescue. He was okay on Sunday but when I picked him up yesterday, he had really bad Upper Respitory Infection. We have an appt tonight with my vet. I hope he is going to be okay. You won’t beleive this but last night there was a stray kitten in our driveway. My ‘good’ neighbor said its been around for a few days. We are now looking for a home for her. She is very sweet. Go figure! I still miss my Jack though and am still hopeful I will find him one day. Tigger was a beauty - so happy he was found.
Good luck with your adoptions.