Lexington “Lexi’s” story begins along the highway leading into Lexington, MO. Tina Bratcher, a long time member of Furry Kids’ Refuge spotted her in the brush along the highway. Immediately stopping to check on the dog, Tina found a badly injured dog who was terrified and obviously in a lot of pain. Lexi would not let Tina near her…growling as she approached, the dog just would not let Tina get close enough to touch her, let alone, try to pick her up and get her to a Vet. Luckily, another member of Furry Kids, Mike Wing, was driving by and stopped when he saw Tina and the dog. Mike was able to construct a make-shift muzzle and cautiously placed it on the dog. This allowed them to transport Lexi to Crain Veterinary Center. On the drive there, Lexi relaxed enough for the muzzle to be removed and just a little human touch to soothe her seemed to help tremendously.
Once at Crains, the Vets went into action and got her on the X-ray table to see how bad her injuries were. The news was not good…both back legs were broken at the tibia bone (just below the knees), her pelvis was broken in two places, one of her toes had to amputated, she had road rash/burns, severe dehydration, and infection had set-in. The Vet felt that she had probably been on the side of the road for days, or even a week. Before any surgeries could be performed, the Vets gave her IV fluids and high doses of antibiotics to build up her strength for the surgeries ahead.
The surgeries were scheduled and to everyone’s delight, Lexi came through them successfully! The very same afternoon, Lexi was eating small amounts of food from the hands of Vet Tech, Marlene. Her true personality was proving to be sweet, trusting, and very appreciative of her human rescuers and helpers.
Check out this video of Lexi and Doctor Rob explaining Lexi's injuries and her prognosis.
Lexi was sent home with her rescuer, Mike Wing and his wife, Carla, to spend the next 12-16 weeks healing. Lexi had metal rods in her back legs to hold the bones together so they could heal. As a result, she was basically put on bed rest for the entire time and was confined to a 4’ X 4’ pen area. Poor Lexi could not go outside to potty during her rehabilitation. She would pull herself to the potty pads and always made sure to potty away from her bed. Lexi never gave her caretakers any extra work taking care of her…she was truly a wonderful patient!
Lexi does get to lay on her own special blanket in the middle of her foster’s living room with her foster parents giving her body massages, ear scratches and belly rubs at least every other day. She gives her foster siblings nudges with her nose and doesn’t appear to have any dog aggression. We will learn even more about this strong baby girl once her e-collar (that cone looking thing that the Vet put on her head to keep her from bothering stitches, etc.) comes off, and she is able to move freely inside and outside.
It breaks our hearts to think of all the people that drove by this wonderful, loving furry kid as she laid by the side of the road, day after day, after being hit by a vehicle, no one stopping to see if she needed help. From what our Vets have told us, this gentle girl would possibly not of made it another day without help. Thank goodness Lexi's guardian angels Tina Bratcher & Mike Wing were both going along that road, on the same day, on the same afternoon, at the same time…it was a miracle for sure!
Lexi's Veterinary expenses have been well over $1800 so far and we expect to incur at least $500 more. Lexi will need to be sedated to remove the metal rods from her legs and more X-rays will need to be taken to ensure the healing is complete beforehand.
Could you help Lexi? Even $5 would help and all donations will go towards Lexi’s care. Any donation to help with this very deserving girl’s Vet care is greatly appreciated.
Keep checking back with us…we will keep you posted on Lexi’s progress!
Thanks for reading Lexi’s story…we appreciate your time.
Sincerely,
The Furry Kids’ Refuge team!
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