ALTON – An older pupper doggo well-known to may Alton residents – especially those who frequent the iconic Fast Eddie's Fried Chicken – is now under the care of Found a Hound Rescue.
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Lisa Lewis, who runs the animal rescue organization, has named the aging black dog “Mickey,” saying he has been a known stray in the area for more than five years. Lewis was alerted to Mickey's peril through a group called “Lost and Found Pets of Madison County, Illinois,” which posted he had been found wandering around the corner of Harrison and Pearl Streets in Alton. He had a bum leg and no collar, but refused to let people get close to him.
Commenters on that post said he was cared for by the management of the chicken stand, but Lewis said those comments were mistaken. While he was often fed by customers and staff, he had serious medical needs not being addressed – as no one had the responsibility to address them.
Lewis placed traps in the area and quickly recovered Mickey. Upon taking him to a vet, it was discovered the poor, old fella had severe damage to his bones, possibly due to being struck by a car.
“After setting traps, it only took 12 hours for him to go in,” she said on her Facebook post. “We immediately took him to see our vet. X-rays showed his knee and jaw are fractured and his teeth were shattered, likely from being hit by a car. Some of his teeth were literally hanging out of his mouth, while some are completely worn down to the gum line. He is also in advanced stages of heartworm disease.”
Once captured, Lewis said Mickey went through the legal stray hold with no family coming forward. She also said local animal control authorities were aware Found a Hound Rescue was working to trap the dog.
Now, however, Mickey has a long (and expensive) route toward recovery. Lewis said she is looking for community donations to help fund the expenses growing from the dog's rescue. She has already incurred as much as $500 in expenses for the work done already to save him.
“Since trapping him, he has had full dental surgery, extracting the shattered teeth, [he was] neutered and has started meds to prepare for heart worm treatment. After heart worm treatment, we will consult with an orthopedic surgeon to repair his knee.”
Additional heart worm treatment for his advanced stage of the illness is expected to be an additional $500 and the much-needed knee surgery could reach as high as $1,000.
While initial posts on the lost hound group indicated Mickey could be feral from his life as a stray, Lewis said Mickey is more shy than anything and is now eating from her hands and is comfortable with receiving physical affection in the form of pets.
Anyone who feels moved by Mickey's peril is invited to donate to his continued recovery. Lewis said her organization accepts donations via the internet payment service PayPal at https://www.paypal.me/foundahoundrescue as well as via physical mail at P.O. Box 492 Godfrey, IL 62035.
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