The fact that animal caregivers are looking ahead to Hootie's future shows she's come a long way since a Good Samaritan discovered her whimpering next to a dumpster near Liberty Heights Avenue 12 days ago on the verge of death.
"She had a big, huge gash on her head, which we've now come to understand was a bite wound of unknown origin, but it did fracture her skull and jaw in three places," said Bailey Deacon of BARCS.
The puppy is too young for surgery or to wire its jaw shut, so it has to be fed with a syringe for now.
While this dog is considered a stray and there is no evidence that it was abandoned, the shelter gets plenty of unwanted animals every day and encourages people to seek help if they can't help a pet on their own.
"Certainly, if an animal is in any kind of danger, injured, needs a place to go or can't be kept by their owners, BARCS and Animal Control Baltimore City are here 24 hours a day,” said Deacon, “There's no reason to ever abandon an animal or not get an animal the care that it needs."
While Hootie's prognosis is good, her fate remains unknown.
As a bite victim, the puppy must be held in quarantine through mid-February before she could receive care outside the shelter or a foster home.
"Should we be looking for a family, we do have lots of applications in already,” said Deacon, “People's hearts are really out there for Hootie so should she be looking for a home, we will review them, but yes, it will take about four months for us to even have that quarantine lifted so we can consider that."
BARCS takes in 12,000 animals each year and this weekend is the shelter's biggest fundraiser of the year----Barcstoberfest, which includes a 5k run at Patterson Park, if you would like to show your support or you can make a donation on-line.
If you would like to donate to Hootie and animals that are received by the shelter. Click here for more information.
All proceeds will go towards BARCStoberfest goals.
