We named her Mercy...

On Saturday, October 3rd, the Forsyth Humane Society attended the Our Lady of Mercy Carnival. A student of OLM was on her way to volunteer at the Carnival with her family when she noticed a small puppy along the side of Peter's Creek Parkway. She begged her mother to stop so they could help the poor puppy. She carefully placed it in a box with a sweatshirt and left the puppy in the care of a good samaritan while she went to volunteer at the Carnival and could try to figure out what to do with the puppy.

When she arrived at the Carnival, she saw the Humane Society ROVER vehicle and remembered that we are a no-kill shelter. Knowing that she could not care for or keep the puppy and that Animal Control would likely have to put the puppy to sleep, she pleaded with us to help. One of our volunteers, Jen, saw the pitiful thing in the box and couldn't bear to tell her no. The puppy was so dehydrated and sick that she could barely lift her head.

So Jen took the puppy to Animal Emergency Services of Forsyth County on North Point where they began to run tests on her to determine her condition.

First, they found she had a stick stuck crosswise between her teeth which was causing her much pain. She also threw up leaves on the way over which indicated she had probably been trying to eat anything she could find to stay alive. She had severe canine lice. They bathed her and gave her a treatment of Frontline to try to kill the lice but she will need another round in a few weeks to ensure the lice are all gone. She had rocks in her stool which she had probably eaten with the leaves. Her belly is full of worms (and possibly more rocks). She also tested positive for Parvo (a very common but very serious illness found in puppies that can be fatal and must be treated aggressively and quickly).

Even with all that is wrong with her, she is still fighting. She is very timid, as would be expected from a puppy that has been struggling to survive for who knows how long. But she has tried to eat, and she'll tell you when she doesn't like something you're doing to her - both of which are great signs she has a lot of fight left in her. We named her Mercy as she truly needs everyone's mercy to help her survive.

FHS has limited funds available for sick and injured animals, and Mercy's initial care far exceeded what FHS could normally pay for one sick animal. The initial treatments and round-the-clock care she needed to survive cost well over $700. Not to mention additional issues that may crop up as she heals and more tests are run.

Clearly, we couldn't deny her the care she needed, but the high cost of that care would certainly bring down the funds FHS has available to help other animals. So as not to overburden the sick and injured fund at FHS, Jen put out a personal appeal to the board and staff of FHS, her friends and pretty much everyone else she knew.

As heartwarming as the story is so far, this is where it really gets good...

Everyone who met Mercy on Saturday and knew her story wanted to be kept informed. When Jen updated her contact person at Our Lady Of Mercy on Monday morning, she received this touching reply:

“My 7 year old daughter has a doctor's appointment this morning, so we have a bit of time before heading out. I just shared Mercy's story with her and she immediately went to her saved allowance and gave me all of it to donate to Mercy—$10.27! I'm sure my boys will want to donate as well. I'll help get the word out!”

And so began the Mercy Fund. To date, over 50 people have donated nearly $2,000 for Mercy's care. Some from as far away as California.

Mercy is improving every day. She's still very timid, but she's eating well and no doubt understands that there's an upside to humanity now. And while her eyes are still showing signs of the sorrow visited upon her at such a young age, they're brighter. She's moved to her foster home where her care will continue, and she'll come out of her shell and find happiness before her forever family adopts her.

Folks, if Mercy's story doesn't have all of the elements of what's right and good with people today, I'm not sure what does.

From the actions of the young lady who spotted Mercy and convinced her Mom to stop so she could rescue her, to Jen's response and appeal, to the 7-year old who donated all of her saved allowance, to all of the others who gave to the Mercy Fund, to the kind people at Animal Emergency Services of Forsyth County on North Point, to the family fostering and nurturing Mercy, this single, selfless act of kindness and humanity says it all.

And it should make us all proud to be associated with people like these, and organizations like the Forsyth Humane Society.