I found a young female Husky as I came around a curve on a busy Albuquerque street last October. She was lying in the middle of the road after having been hit by a car. She couldn’t get up and was screaming as cars were whizzing by. Clearly the was terrified. She had no collar, no tags and, as I later learned, no micro-chip. There was no one in the area who seemed interested or concerned. In fact, there was no one anywhere.
I managed to get her into the back of my car and found a local vet who was able to assess and stabilize her. Her right pelvis was fractured in two places and her left hind leg was broken. Two days later, I got Sophie (as she was now known) into a local orthopedic vet who was able to plate and pin her pelvis and cast her broken leg.
Several days after that, Sophie came to her new home, unable to walk (we had a sling) and needing regular pain medication. We made hourly trips outside (including during the night) for the first few days. Soon, hourly trips became every two hours, then every four hours. After about a week, we were sleeping through the night. Eventually she was willing to put more and more weight on her repaired leg and we could take longer and longer walks. The cast on her other leg gave her some problems but she managed to figure out that one and learned to move relatively easily.I continued to monitor the various lost dog sites in Albuquerque to see if anyone was looking for a Husky matching Sophie’s description. No one was. I stopped after several weeks.
It’s been more than four months now. Sophie is fully recovered, has received all of her vaccinations, has been spayed, and gets along fabulously with our Cairn terrier mix Walter (an earlier, albeit not as dramatic, rescue).
Now we’re working with the unique personality traits of Huskies. She’s extremely bright, playful, attentive, loving, loyal, STRONG, and easily distracted. She loves to go to doggie daycare, gets along well with other dogs and people. We remind her regularly that this is her “forever” home to help quell some of the separation anxiety she experiences when we leave the house. She’s a wonderful dog who gives us lots of joy… and a few challenges.
Looking back, I knew when I picked Sophie up from the street that I would take her home. Even though I knew nothing about her, I knew she deserved to be cared for and that we’d figure out how to make all the pieces work. The surgery was expensive but a fund raising effort helped offset the cost. Our doggie daycare agreed to help care for Sophie during the days when I needed to be away from the house for extended periods and set up a special pen for her so she could be watched, walked, and cared for during the day.
The photos show Sophie shortly after her surgery, lounging at home, and on the bed with Walter. Life is pretty darn good!
Thank you Robert for sharing your story with us and most of all for giving Sophie (and Walter!) a loving home.
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DoggoPupper 
What a beautiful story and what a beautiful person you are for doing this. And also what a beautiful dog Sophie is!!
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Heartworming to read your rescues!!! I have 3 rescue dogs and 2 rescue cats that I adore! I will always adopt and not shop! X
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Heartworming to read about your rescues I have 5 rescued animals that I adore!! I will always shop not adopt xx
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Don’t you mean adopt not shop?
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That’s so nice to read. The world needs more people like you. I have one rescue dog and we’re in the process of rescuing another puppy.
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Your story just made my heart sing and put a big smile on my face! Thank you so much for being such a kind and generous person. Sophie & Walter are both lucky dogs, as you are lucky to have them!
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Love to hear these heartwarming stories in the midst of all the horrible animal abuse cases going on in the world. The violence against animals has escalated; so it’s nice to hear the good stories too. It restores my faith in humanity. Good luck to Sophie with her new family!
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I have a rescue cat. She is quite quirky; I can tell she has a “history” (she is 15). It’s challenging to take in an animal that has been abused and has trust issues, but they become the most loving and loyal companions.
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God bless you for your goodness!
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What a beautiful person you are, Sophie is delightful and so lucky that she has someone like you.
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Thank you for sharing your Husky rescue story… it made me day -and thank you for the care & love you’ve given Sophie. God bless your kind heart & soul as well as Sophie’s.
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God bless what a nice ending
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Robert was meant to rescue Sophie; she is meant to be with him.. Everything happens for a reason. Sophie would give her life for Robert since he saved her life. Thank you for sharing a wonderful story of rescue and hope.
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It amazes me that there are people who have no feelings for animals. They don’t have to love animals but they are living , breathing beings. To see a dog scream in pain and walk away is hard to imagine how they were brought up. Wonderful to know that one caring person did stop and even gave the dog a home.
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