By then he was hoarse, weak and dehydrated. Maggots had already hatched and were eating at his skin.
But the gray dog was alive enough Saturday afternoon to catch the attention of Keith Fogel, who went back for help and, together with another employee, hauled it out of the hole on a human stretcher.
[I don't think enough was said about these employees - Keith Fogel and the other quarry employee - to thank them. Not only did they hear the dog, but they went out of their way to look for the dog and haul him out of the quarry. Not an easy task with an extra-large sized dog. They might say otherwise, but I consider them to be heroes.]
It took many calls for Fogel to find someone willing to take the dog to the veterinarian. Liz Jones, who runs an animal shelter in Upper Macungie Township, agreed to transport the fragile hound to the Quakertown Veterinary Clinic, where a team of professionals worked to save his life. The sight was disturbing at first glance and yet it was beautiful.
"It's not pretty to look at," veterinarian Rosemary Newton said as four technicians cleaned the dog's wounds and secretions, shaved his coat and scrubbed the maggots out of his skin. "It's pretty to know that you can help him."
At first, the mixed-breed dog, which Newton said is about 8 years old, was so exhausted he could barely move. But after receiving IV fluids, it became more responsive.
"We'll try to get him on his feet," Newton said. "He's happy to eat. That's a good start."
Newton said it was hard to tell if the dog had fallen into the quarry or had been left there, but she was sure it had spent more than a day there, giving the maggots enough time to hatch.
"It's a life," the veterinarian said. "What was he doing wandering around? Did somebody not give a darn?"
The dog might have been alone for a long time, but it had finally found some love. The Sanctuary at Haafsville, the shelter where Jones is executive director, agreed to pay the bill and the staff at the clinic was determined to see the dog through the crisis. They all seemed to agree on one statement: Every living being deserves a chance.
"If he were my own dog, I would do the same," technician Melissa Stein said. "If it were a human, I'd do the same thing. You get a good feeling because once they get better, you feel like you did something. You feel like you accomplished something in life."
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| Melissa Stein, an employee of Quakertown Veterinary Clinic, gently shears a dog rescued earlier this month from a quarry. |
The dog will remain at the clinic for at least a couple of days until it recovers. He will then be neutered and the sanctuary will try to find its owners. If no one claims him, Jones said, she will try to find an adoptive home.
Newton was awaiting the dog's blood work before she could say more about its health, but the dog was more active after receiving treatment and Jones was already looking for a name. "C. Ment" seemed like the best choice because of where it was found.
(The Morning Call - April 14, 2012)
