Rogue was barely six months old when she was brought to Lort Smith’s accident and emergency team. She couldn’t stand up as her legs were badly fractured.
“It was hard to see her in so much pain,” recalls Lort Smith Animal Welfare Officer, An Diep.
Rogue had been hit by a car. The extent of her injuries was so severe, vets weren’t sure if she would be able to walk again.
She required extensive surgery on both her hind legs, a long hospital stay, and weeks of rehabilitation to learn how to walk again.
While stories like this are common at the North Melbourne not-for-profit animal hospital, it never gets any easier for the staff,
“The hardest part about working with animals is not being able to explain what is happening to them or to reassure them that they are safe now, and that we will help them feel better,” says Ms Diep.
After two long surgeries on her hind legs Rogue spent a week recovering in Lort Smith’s Intensive Care Unit. As she slowly improved, Rogue’s puppy playfulness started to shine though.
“Rogue missed out on a lot of socialisation and exposure while she was in recovery, but I wanted her to at least enjoy some sun. All Staffies love a sunbake!” Ms Diep says laughing.
At the time Rogue was growing fast, and was not allowed to walk. So the team turned a borrowed shopping trolley into a ‘Rogue Mobile’, ensuring it was cushioned and comfortable to sit in. Each day, Rogue was taken to the park to watch the other dogs, sit in the sun and enjoy the smells.
When Rogue was well enough, she began her rehabilitation. She needed to learn how to walk again, and required weeks of physiotherapy and regular hydrotherapy at a special dog-friendly pool.
To help ‘get her back to dog,’ Rogue was placed into foster care where she received the socialisation and personal, one-on-one care all puppies need.
Over the next nine weeks Rogue transformed into a completely mobile and healthy young dog, ready to find her forever family.
“You could definitely tell when she was feeling better as she became more vocal, cheekier and more energetic. It was great to see the puppy in her come out,” says a smiling Ms Diep.
Almost as soon as Rogue was made available for adoption, she was spotted on the Lort Smith website by a lovely couple searching for a pup of their own.
Rogue can be found these days sunbaking in the backyard, happy that her family is spending more time at home than usual!
It took more than four months, thousands of dollars and lots of TLC to help her recover — but Lort Smith never gave up on her.
All of Rogue’s medical bills were covered by Lort Smith, who depend on the public support to keep them saving animal’s lives.
A generous donation to Lort Smith today, will go so far in helping us to continue to save the lives of animals during this current crisis and beyond.
