If you have never been to Habersham County, GA it is filled with scenic views located the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This is an agricultural community known for peaches, apples, poultry, and the stunning Tallulah Gorge. This small and quite county is a lovely place to live, but it is often filled with wildlife such as bears and coyotes. 

After trying to catch a stray dog that was evading rescue for about a week, Habersham County Animal Control received an alert from 911 late one night. A woman called crying. She found a severely injured dog struggling. The face was barely recognizable and the dog needed help. (We won’t share those images, because you DO NOT want to see them. Trust us.)

Animal control sent out an officer and brought her immediately to an emergency veterinarian. She had been shot with a shot gun— in the face. A resident suspected she was a coyote on his property, and he shot her and left her for dead. The sweet girl, later named Tink, mustered up the energy to find a kind soul and beg for help. Habersham officers wanted desperately to help this dog, but unfortunately the county does not have a veterinary team, and has limited funding for special medical cases. They typically would have been out of options for Tink, and would have been forced to humanly euthanize her. However, Planned PEThood’s Go Fix Georgia program visits the shelter weekly to transport cats and dogs to our clinic for spay/neuter surgeries. 

Knowing that our van would be arriving the next day for transport, Habersham Animal Control contacted our Go Fix GA Coordinator, Tanya Weaver, begging for help. That set the wheels in motion. Our veterinarian, the amazing Dr. Simpson, quickly jumped on board with the rescue effort and agreed to see the dog and attempt to remove the pieces of bullet from her face and remove her injured eye. Our medical team didn’t hesitate to step up to add this sweet girl into their surgical day even though that meant they had to work late. Our staff has nothing but the best of intentions for every animal and could not ignore the severity of her injuries. Regardless of her pain, Tink was nothing but the sweetest dog who was the perfect patient. Her eye removal surgery went smoothly, and donations poured in from the community to help with her care. 

After a few weeks in recovery at Habersham Animal Control, and a follow-up spay surgery Tink was ready for adoption. As fate would have it, the woman who called 911 after finding this sweet soul decided to adopt her!

Her story is an example of why our Go Fix Georgia program is so vital for those counties just outside of our metro area. Without veterinarian care on staff, they were limited in options to care for her. We were able to step in and provide not only her spay surgery, but also the eye removal and fix her up so that she could be adopted out and not just another statistic. We hope you enjoy seeing her smiling and happy face, and thank you to everyone who donated for her care!

You know those scenes in the movies where a group of college students are sitting in an auditorium and the professor says, “Look to your left. Now, look to your right. Only one of you will be here at the end of the semester.” Well now apply that visual to your pets. Do you want to take that chance?

1 in 3 pets will get lost at some point in their lifetime, and that statistic is higher for cats. The question is will they make it home? A simple microchip can help, and it only costs $25 at Planned PEThood.

Yes, your pet lives inside. Yes, you keep a collar and tag on your dog, but, please listen when I say this, ACCIDENTS HAPPEN! Life is messy. Let me tell you a story about my dog, Layla.

When she was about a year old I was living in Athens going to school. We went on a walk in the neighborhood on a traditional collar and leash. Everything seemed great. I pulled her collar to alert her to come inside as she was sniffing a bush, and WOOSH her collar pulled right off her neck, and Layla was free as a bird. We had a moment where we looked at each other and I could see it in her eyes. She thought it was playtime at the dog park. She began to run around in circles and have zoomies all over the place. No matter what I did I could not get close enough to get the collar back on. On top of that, we were right next to a busy, four-lane road.

Layla darted across four lanes of traffic, and I risked my life chasing her and stopping traffic. It was a pet parent’s worst nightmare. I watched her run around the nearby elementary school having the time of her life, and in my mind I remember thinking to myself, “At least she is microchipped. At least if she keeps running I have a chance to get her back.” I had almost given up, when a lovely man in a pick-up truck pulled over to help me. Luckily, Layla thought the stranger was interesting and came right up to him. He scooped her up and put her in the truck. We both made it home that day in one piece, although I had a nervous breakdown that night, and the next day I registered her for training classes.

The point of my story is that no one is perfect. Accidents happen. In that scary moment I want you to feel confident that your pet is microchipped too, and should they keep running you have a chance to get them back. Book a microchip only appointment for $25 now, before it is too late.

Layla passed away just a few months ago, but she was honestly the best dog anyone could imagine. She was sweet, kind, obedient, and overall a gem of a dog. Let her story and legacy live on and keep your pet protected.

Written By: Lauren Frost (Layla’s mom and Development Coordinator)