Cassidy's story demonstrates just how Leonberger Rescue relies on volunteers to complete a rescue.
Cassidy was picked up by his local Animal Control after someone reported a dog lying by the side of the road, unable to get up. The shelter veterinarian found a badly broken front leg and a broken pelvis. They assumed he'd been hit by a car; fortunately, he had no internal injuries.
Rescue was called after the mandatory 10-day holding period for the owners to claim him. Within 24 hours of that call, Cassidy was out of the shelter and in a foster home. It was his foster mom that gave him his name - "Hop-Along Cassidy" - because in spite of his cast he was "hopping along" with her adult male Leo.
We weren't sure at first whether Cassidy would need surgery to set his front leg. The shelter vet said maybe; the foster mom's vet said maybe. So off Cassidy went to UC Davis, one of the top veterinary schools in the country, and where another Rescue helper was a veterinary student. She used her student credit to get Cassidy an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon - who happily reported that Cassidy's leg would not require surgery.
Now came the challenge - getting Cassidy from where he was rescued in Northern California to his new home in Southeastern Colorado.We made many attempts to "connect the dots" by driving, but with no success. We were just about to give up and try to fly Cassidy commercially, when we found yet another Rescue helper - with an airplane.
Instead of flying cargo, Cassidy got first-class star treatment - private limousine service from UC Davis to Southern California (via two drivers), then his very own charter flight to New Mexico, where his new mom and dad picked him up.
