Nevada Humane Society: Saving injured Tiny Tim found on the side of the road Christmas Eve

As I contemplate the topic of this week’s Animal Files Column, I struggle. The reason is because the story that I am going to share is based off secondhand information. I don’t know whether it’s true or false. The ethical part of me doesn’t want to put misinformation out there. The other part of me knows that this story is spreading like wildfire on social media and that people are already forming their own opinions. While I don’t know what to believe, I do know there is a little dog who needs our help and that is why I’m reaching out.

On Christmas Eve, just after 6 p.m., our animal control officers at our shelter in Carson City received a call. (Though we don’t perform animal control services in Washoe County, we do in Carson City) Two little dogs were found on the side of Highway 50. A Good Samaritan had stopped upon seeing them there, and knew she had to get help. She called 911, then the Sheriff and our team. She, along with her family, covered the dogs and moved them to the side of the road while they waited for help.

We arrived and found out that sadly, one of the dogs didn’t make it. The other was in critical condition. One of his legs was badly injured, he wasn’t moving and he had severe swelling and bruising along the entire lower half of his body. We didn’t know what happened, so we asked the woman who called us if she knew anything.

She shared that several other people who also stopped to help told her they saw the dogs being thrown out of a moving vehicle. No one has come forward. Someone originally posted on Facebook that they were a witness but the post has since been deleted and the person is not responding to messages. We have no hard proof that this happened so it is important for me to reiterate that we cannot confirm or deny this story.

What we do know is that Tiny Tim, as we named him, needed us. We took him to an overnight vet in Carson City to stabilize him, then brought him to Reno, to our veterinary clinic, the following morning… which happened to be Christmas Day. Poor Tiny Tim was in bad shape.

Radiographs confirmed a badly broken back leg and a broken pelvis. The bruising was severe as well. We had to remove his leg for the best interest of his health and he is now on strict orders to rest and minimize movement so that the pelvis can also heal.

As no one has come forward, we don’t even know if Tiny Tim had a family. He’s friendly, despite his situation, and emotionally, his spirit is intact. He understands that we are trying to help and he appears to be gentle, kind and loving. Though the story behind this may be ugly, we are not dwelling on it. We are working on saving him and giving him another chance.

In the final days of the year, we ask for your help by contributing to Tiny Tim’s cost of care. We don’t have an estimate yet, but we know between the emergency vet, our surgical care, and an expected long term recovery, it’s not going to be small amount. This is your last chance to make a tax-deductible donation and help someone in need for 2016. Won’t you be a friend to us and give back to Tiny Tim? You can be assured your donation will directly benefit him, and that we will give him the best care possible. We may not know how or why this happened, but we do know he deserves better.

Please, if you can give to Tiny Tim, donate online at www.nevadahumanesociety.org, in person to 2825 Longley Lane in Reno or 549 Airport Road in Carson, or over the phone to 775-856-2000. We know he’d thank you if he could.

Thank you for always supporting on us and sharing in our journey. We are the voice of those who do not have one, and thanks to you, we always will be.

From Tiny Tim and all of us here at Nevada Humane Society, best wishes for a new year.

— Kimberly Wade is the Senior Manager of Communications and Events for Nevada Humane Society. She has been with the organization for almost 7 years but her passion for animals is lifelong. Kimberly lives with her husband, 3 cats (one pictured) and 3 dogs.