As her husband drove past, a woman saw a dog lying on the roadside, and for some reason she looked back. He raised his head - just a little. She asked her husband to go back - and with that, Jet’s luck changed.
The woman called her cousin - who happened to be a veterinary technician at Lakewood Veterinary Center in Belton. And the cousin then called her boss, Gina M. Jensen D.V.M. The dog was transported to the clinic.
“We aren’t a 24-hour clinic and don’t do emergencies. I am usually with my children, so I don’t have time normally,” Ms. Jensen said, but this day was different.
When the dog arrived, he was in shock.
“When he arrived he was actually quite junky,” Ms. Jensen said. “He was very badly injured, and I didn’t know whether I’d be able to save him - I didn’t even know if I could stabilize him, but we did what we could.”
A collar was around his neck, and apart from his injuries, he looked like a healthy dog, so Ms. Jensen assumed he was a family pet.
After looking him over, Ms. Jensen managed to get some fluids into him. “We decided to cross one bridge at a time,” Ms. Jensen said.
“Once he was stabilized, we mainly kept to antibiotics and pain medicine in the beginning. He did have some road rash that had to be taken care of initially,” she said.
As the animal doctor spoke, she looked at Jet with loving eyes. In response, the dog looked up and wagged his stub of a tail.
“I don’t really know what happened. He was found in a rural area. I don’t know if he was hit on the interstate and moved to the feeder road or if he was hit on the feeder road. He was neutered. He was cared for …. I know he belonged to someone. I wish he could talk.”
“He has had his tail amputated because of nerve damage. We had to put a splint on his ankle ... We did some X-rays and found he had a hip fracture. It was not replaced, but it was operated on to ensure he would be more comfortable.”
Though he now seems happy, Jet isn’t in perfect condition.
“The first couple of weeks passed, and the staff and I were so busy with him, but then he wouldn’t eat,” Ms. Jensen said.
The staff would bring in scrambled eggs, hamburger patties - anything. “It wasn’t an ideal diet for a dog. The effects of the drugs probably upset his stomach. We tried every possible dog food before we found one he would eat,” she said.
Now anxiety is the issue Jet is facing. “He has separation anxiety and is medicated for that. He chews on door frames at the moment; he’s chewed a couple of gates,” she said. “I think we look after him too well when we are here, so he hates being alone.
“All I ask for his prayers for Jet,” she said. Ms. Jensen laughed when asked about the cost of his care, “We don’t want to even look at that. I try not to think about it.”
“In hindsight,” she said, “maybe I shouldn’t have made him go through all of this, but there was never a right time to put him to sleep because there was always hope.”
Contacting all area veterinarians, the staff tried to find Jet’s owners. The flyers appeared, but no one came forward.
“He is cared for, but we’re scared he’s going stir crazy. This isn’t really a home.”
Ms. Jensen wants to make sure the right home is chosen for him. “He will never be 100 percent after his injuries but he is a gorgeous dog - with a gorgeous temperament.”
--tcooper@temple-telegram.com
