Meet Molly...
She's a grey speckled pony who was abandoned by her
owners when Hurricane Katrina hit southern Louisiana.
She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued
and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stock-
piled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier
and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became
infected, and her vet went to LSU for help, but LSU was
overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know
how that goes. But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly,
he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to
lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores,
and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected
her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight and
didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a
serious survival ethic.
Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee, and a
temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of
the clinic and her story really begins there.
''This was the right horse and the right owner,"Moore
insists. Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient.
She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to
cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood that
she was in trouble. The other important factor, according
to Moore, is having a truly committed and compliant
owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care
required over the lifetime of the horse.
Molly's story turns into a parable for life in Post-Katrina
Louisiana ...
The little pony gained weight, and her mane finally felt a
comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg. The
prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca
DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports. And she asks for it.
She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let
you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes
she wants you to take it off too. And sometimes, Molly
gets away from Barca. 'It can be pretty bad when you
can't catch a three-legged horse,' she laughs.
Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the
rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters,
hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers.
Anywhere she thought that people needed hope.
Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck.
She inspired people, and she had a good time doing it.
'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play
in life, Moore said. She survived the hurricane, she
survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope
to others.' Barca concluded, 'She's not back to normal,
But she's going to be better. To me, she could be a
symbol for New Orleans itself.'
This is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom
photo shows the ground surface that she stands on,
which has a smiley face embossed in it. Wherever
Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind.
Please forward this and share it with all of the animal lovers
that you know.
God's creatures often reflect the character we aspire to.
________________________________________
*Contributed by an email from my friend Karen Tracy
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