That's the scene a rural county animal control officer found Darcia in. Knowing this beautiful brown-eyed girl was in critical condition, our friends at Lockhart got her to safety fast. Miraculously, the bullet entered and exited without hitting any major organs, but that's not all. The bullet also missed the babies Darcia is carrying inside of her.
When Darcia soon arrived at our doors, we knew little about her back-story. No owner came forward to claim her and she wasn’t microchipped so it’s plausible to assume she was just a wandering stray who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. After being told about her case and condition, our clinic staff feared the worst. Miraculously, when she was examined by our Medical Triage and Wellness Clinic, they could hear healthy heartbeats!
Our clinic had to be very careful with the medical plan they came up with because she was pregnant. They wanted to help Darcia heal and be free of pain, but had to do so without harming the babies. The medical treatment for Darcia included safely managing her pain, preventing infection, and keeping the wound sterile. Darcia soon went to foster where she was surrounded by love while working on healing and preparing to have her babies.
Daria’s foster said “I wouldn't blame her if she was scared of people. But she isn't. She wants to be with us every moment. She lives for attention. I'm mostly just amazed that she's walked away from being shot straight through with seemingly no real physical (or emotional) damage. What a trooper! I can't wait to welcome her puppies and see if they have their mom's pretty face and (seemingly unlimited) spunkiness.”
A few weeks ago, Darcia’s foster got to witness just that! Darcia gave birth to 11 healthy babies. She’s a wonderful mama to her puppies and it’s a miracle that she’s alive today to be able to care for them.
Resilience — a necessary quality we all possess in order to make it through 2020. At APA!, we see resiliency every day in every single animal that comes into the clinic’s doors. Darcia proves that yet again. Our clinic manager, Lauren, stated, “Darcia’s resiliency is what brings me back to work each day. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how harshly an animal has been harmed by another human, they regain their trust in the clinic staff so quickly.”
Throughout everything Darcia endured, she never lost her trust in humans -- even if she had every right to considering her past. Darcia’s happy ending happened because of supporters like you who stand behind our mission alongside us every single day.
As the end of the year approaches, we need your help to meet our 2020 goal so we can continue sharing these happy endings. So we can continue to save lives like Darcia’s. You can change the life of a shelter-pet facing euthanasia by making a gift today.
