Help Lucky have a Christmas season worthy of his name.

by Marianne Iaquinto

Meet Lucky, (shelter name Jiro), a two-year-old Lab mix who in May of this year was on the kill-list at a Georgia shelter. Just two short hours before his scheduled euthanasia, Linda, a Pottstown, resident, saw his photo online and fell in love, and with the help of a Georgia rescue, saved his life.

Only weeks before, Linda had suffered the devastating loss of her long-time companion Duke, a 13-year-old black Lab. She couldn’t think of a better way to honor Duke’s life and memory than to adopt a dog in dire need, and she would name him Lucky.

During his stay at the Georgia shelter, Lucky was being treated for heartworm disease and was supposedly neutered in April 2016. The rescue that arranged for Lucky’s transportation told Linda they would provide financial assistance for Lucky’s continued medical care in Pennsylvania, which was important to Linda because she is a low-income senior citizen who could barely afford her own medical needs and was facing foreclosure on her home.

Upon Lucky’s arrival in Pennsylvania, Linda, with the financial help of a friend, took Lucky to the vet for an exam and heartworm test. Lucky was found to be heartworm-positive, was not neutered, was cryptorchid (failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum), which requires a more expensive and extensive surgery than a neuter, and had an old injury/break in the hind leg which was causing lameness.

Repeated calls to Animal Control and the rescue in Georgia yielded no results. They did not return Linda's calls to address Lucky’s health situation.

In October, a tearful Linda contacted Sam's Hope, our nonprofit organization based in Wyndmoor, for help; thinking that after all Lucky had gone through in his short life, and the trauma of the transport to Pennsylvania, that she would have to have him put to death, after all.

We too have had little luck trying to work with Animal Control and the rescue in Georgia. It has been nothing but foot-dragging and little commitment in getting Lucky healthy, so we have taken matters into our own hands.

Lucky was seen by our partner vet a few weeks ago who presented a three-phase treatment plan to get Lucky back on the road to health and happiness: heartworm treatment, neuter/abdominal surgery and X-rays of the lame leg. The initial cost is $1500.

PLEASE help us help Lucky live up to his name and give him the chance for a healthy, happy life with his new mom! This poor dog was failed by Animal Control and the "rescue" in Georgia. We hope you can find it on your heart to help give him the life he deserves with the woman who deserves him.

Donations can be made through Lucky's fundraising page (the URL is www.youcaring.com/luckythedog) or by check to Sam’s Hope, 901-A E. Willow Grove Ave., Wyndmoor, PA 19038.

Sam's Hope is a nonprofit organization that provides pet food to low-income pet owners who can no longer to buy it and would otherwise give up their pets to a shelter. More information at 267-753-0510 or samshope.org@gmail.com