News
Dog Saved from Certain Death
March 05, 2008, 3:27PM MT
By Denise A LeBeau
Helping Hogan
Helping Hogan
Reported by Jennifer Stagg
Email: jstagg@kutv2.com
(Four Points Media)
How many times do you see a stray animal and want to help, but don't think you can? A railroad conductor found himself in a similar situation. He found a way to rescue that dog, and now he's nursing her back to health.
The dog was wandering in the West Desert, nearly 20 miles from any town. No one knows how she got out there, but for Ken Van Moorhem, that didn't matter, he knew he had to do something to save the animal.
“It was pretty foggy, and I just caught this fleeting glimpse of a small white and black dog,” said Ken.
The blue healer mix was alone, in a remote area of Utah's west desert. Freight conductor Ken Van Moorhem travels those tracks from Salt Lake to Elko, Nevada nearly every day and he knew it would be hard for her to survive.
“It kind of made me sick that she was out there, and nowhere, there's nothing out there,” said Ken.
Months passed, and the railroad workers would see the dog now and then in the Hogan train tunnel. The workers would toss her granola bars, knowing she was probably starving.
Last week, Ken decided he was going to go and get her.
“I just couldn't see leaving her out there,” said Ken.
On his day off, he started driving out there but when word got out of his plan, another conductor stopped his train and picked her up.
Ken met them in Wendover...
“She was happy and wagging her tail. I chose to call her Hogan, after the tunnel we found her in,” said Ken. “Not very girly, but appropriate.”
Hogan was visibly in bad shape. Her left paw was missing. The vet says it was caught in a snare trap and she chewed it off to escape.
Her right paw was also broken in a snare. Her hip is dislocated, her ACL torn. She has a collapsed lung, and more than six different types of intestinal worms, as well as broken teeth.
But you'd never know Hogan was in pain by watching her.
“She's very affectionate, she's just a very good dog,” says Ken.
Hogan has already undergone one surgery to repair her ACL, but she still has a long way to go. And she may be standing on all threes, but Ken says she's strong.
“For her to have survived in the desert and fight off the coyotes, and find water and food from somewhere, she's a fighter... She really is,” says Ken.
Ken has already spent over $300 on Hogan's medical bills, and the vet says it will take thousands more.
He's also planning on adopting her out once she's healed.
How You Can Help
If you would like to help Hogan, there is now a charity account set up at Wells Fargo Bank under the name "Help for Hogan." You can make a donation at any Wells Fargo branch. You can send any additional questions to Jennifer Stagg. Her e-mail address is at the top of the article.
Click here to see the original article and watch the video!
Reprinted here with permission from www.kutv.com
posted by Denise LeBeau, Best Friends Network