Imagine leaving for vacation with your home in order, a plan in place for the important things like having your plants watered, your mail brought in, and pets taken care of. You figure all is well and there are no worries until that one time something happens while you are away and you can't get back fast enough. That's exactly what happened to one family but this family is no ordinary family nor is this story no ordinary story.

Meet Shelby, a beautiful sweet-natured mutt with three legs. On Saturday, June 6th around 10:30pm on a very dark stretch of Falls of the Neuse Road in North Raleigh, my husband and I were driving home from a wedding celebration when there by the side of the road was Shelby just trying to make it to somewhere. We couldn't just leave her there. We had to stop and make sure she was OK. After stopping our vehicle, we checked her out to be sure she wasn't hit by another passing vehicle. We were pretty sure she wasn't. As a matter of fact, if anything she was obviously very tired and very thirsty. It was then that we discovered she had only three legs.

Shelby also had two tags—her name with a contact phone number and a tag indicating which animal hospital that cares for her. We spent probably forty-five minutes to an hour calling that number to no avail. In the meantime, the police stopped by to see if we needed assistance, even offering to call animal control, which we politely responded with, "Oh, no, we got it. We'll figure something out but thank you. Just check back with us every now and then, ok?" to which they agreed to do.

Minutes later, we decided to take her home with us and care for her there until the person on the other end of that phone number could be reached. It's the weekend, the animal hospital wouldn't be available until Monday and while there were a couple of other solutions we could have used (calling the local SPCA for instance), this animal was obviously well-cared for and we figured we'd get in touch with her owner eventually.

The next morning, sure enough, Shelby's owner called. Dr. Patrice Covington of Mitchell Mill Animal Hospital and Mitchell Mill Animal Hospital Rescue, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, in Raleigh had gone to the mountains with her family (and 4 other smaller dogs as well). She had left the care of the rest of her clan at home with a neighbor who later told us Shelby must have gotten scared of the fireworks that were going off nearby the previous evening and ran.

When we brought Shelby home, you could tell she was just so happy to be back as were her doggie friends, Roxie and Geneva who came out to greet us. When we had picked her up the night before, she could barely move. Shelby had "ran" just over a mile from her home (after walking a good length down a long driveway) all on three legs and all because she was scared of the loud noises that surrounded her for a short while the evening before. The story doesn't end here though and this is where it gets interesting.

You see my husband and I didn't know that the dog was owned by the Veterinary Doctor, Patrice Covington, until after we got her home. Through the gentleman that was caring for Shelby while Dr. Covington was away we heard Dr. Covington's story about how she also runs an animal rescue organization.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, the number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year is 6-8million. The number of cats and dogs euthanized by shelters each year is 3-4 million. The number of cats and dogs adopted by shelters each year is also 3-4 million.

Though what Dr. Covington and her medical staff do to help animals in our area is just a small part of the alternative to euthanizing animals, it's a LARGE part for what she does for the pets in our community. Mitchell Mill Animal Rescue adopts out over 100 animals a year. Through donations, partner-campaigns with such corporations as Food Lion, and additional community efforts, the organization raises funds for their programs. Of course, they are always in need of more because when it comes to the care of animals, there is never really enough.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can help Mitchell Mill Animal Rescue, please see the link below or call 919-266-8177 for more information.

As for Shelby, she's doing well. Being back at home with the rest of her puppy pals she continues to run like the best of them, even on those three little legs. To learn more about Dr. Covington and her own rescued brood, including Shelby's story, see the links below as well.

Who knew that when we picked up a helpless animal, it would be one that comes not only from a loving family but a family making a difference? This is truly a happy ending to what could have been a sad story.

Related Links

1. http://www.mmahrescue.org/index.htm
2. http://www.mmahrescue.org/shelby.htm
3. http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/pet_overpopulation_and_ownership_statistics/hsus_pet_overpopulation_estimates.html