As we all know, many of the people involved in animal rescue were born with the "sucker gene". This holds true for the Board of Directors of the Galgo Rescue International Network, so when Abby Christman received an urgent call regarding a badly injured lurcher from an emergency clinic she used to work for, the sucker in her came out.
The ER had received a 1 year old lurcher who had been hit by a horse trailer while chasing a cat on his owner's ranch. The lurcher, Merlin, had suffered devastating injuries to his lungs and pelvis, resulting in a pneumothorax and severe pelvic fractures. His owners were unable to afford the treatment necessary to keep Merlin alive, so they surrendered him to G.R.I.N.
We've all met those special dogs - the ones who take hold of your heart and don't let go. Merlin is one of those. Everyone who has met Merlin loves him - it's almost as if he has a sense of peace and calm about him - you can't look at him without smiling!
After a few days of recovery and stabilization, Merlin had his pelvis reconstructed at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. His surgeon, Jennifer Swiderski, DVM, was confident that after placement of the plate and screws, that Merlin would have a good recovery.
Shortly after his surgery Merlin was introduced to Liza Eshbaugh, a lovely lady who would become Merlin's new mom. It was love at first sight, and after a week in the hospital Merlin was released into her care. Merlin is doing amazingly well and is living life with his new mom.
Because of the generosity of others, G.R.I.N. was able to pay for Merlin's $3640.00 veterinary bill!
We are deeply grateful for the generosity of the following organizations who made the gift of financial grants in Merlin's name:
Chinook Winds Greyhound Rescue - http://www.chinookwindsgreyhounds.org/
United Animal Nations - http://www.uan.org
Am-Euro Greyhound Alliance and Louise Coleman - http://www.ameurogreyhoundalliance.org/
Greyhound Rescue of Idaho - http://www.greyhoundrescueofidaho.org/
Greyhound Protection League Circle of Compassion - http://www.greyhounds.org/gpl/contents/circle_of_comp.html
And a very special thank you goes out to the following individuals:
| Jennifer Swiderski, DVM | Judy Greenfield | Melanie Henson |
| Deb Mazanec | Carol B | Heather Schulman |
| Leslie Cruz | Colleen Browne | Pat Sohl |
| John Hendrickson | Gary Lopez | Carol Johnson |
| Susan Lawrence | Patricia Tanzi | Marcina Grimberg |
| The McKeon Family | Mary Kidder | Gail & Wally Kelley |
| Amanda McLean | Robin Hecht | Telma Shaw |
| Emily Danskin | Gretchen Beckert | Betty Christian |
| Lesley Phillips | Mieke VanErp | National Greyhound Adoption Program/David Wolf |
| GreyhoundCrafts.com | Elisabeth Weinerman | Abigail Christman |
| Elizabeth Eschbaugh |
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