Both Inside and Out…

Surgery so necessitated due to the necrotic and toxic state of his long-broken right hind leg.
All that remains now are the stitches. And the memory. The memory that saw him abandoned by humans when he needed them most. With his fleece recently removed, surely someone must have known. Someone must have seen.

Seen his hind leg so pitifully broken it swung in the breeze, as the bone had pierced his delicate skin. The inviting scent luring any blowfly in coo-ee. In veterinary terms, Hercules had endured a compound fracture of his metatarsal bone.

And some time ago.

The necrotic state of his wound, along with its putrid stench and maggot infestation, spoke all too vividly of this.

Hercules was, however, finally seen by those who listened to their hearts and not years of social conditioning, and raced him to our care.

Cases such as these really pull at our heartstrings as we pray kindness has not come too late. So depressed was Hercules, he had all but given up.

“All but” being the operative words.

He hadn’t just yet, despite having so many reasons to do so, and pain. His leg may have been broken but not his spirit.

Refusing to eat, it was to be more than our kindness that sustained him throughout the night until we could get him to veterinary care.

Being so weak, compromised and underweight, his chances of even surviving were slim. But they were there just the same, and we seized them.

And so too, we learned, did our little friend. Although slow to recover from his anaesthetic, which caused some to lose hope, once roused, his appetite for green grass and life was ravenous.

And although the road ahead will be tough, so too is our Hercules. We have named him well, for he has already shown us he is up for the herculean effort required for him to heal.

Both inside and out.