A Bellingham family is incredibly grateful to all of the strangers who came to the aid of their dog in his time of need.  Allison Johnson and her family have a dog named Oso who was born with deformities in both front legs.  Oso is a corgi-shepherd mix who was born with a serious congenital deformity and likely would have had a very short and painful life were it not for the generosity of donors who helped pay for his surgery.
When Allison spoke to Oso’s veterinarian about the problem and they consulted Mark Davis, who is a board-certified animal surgeon based in Seattle they learned the surgery would cost about $2000 per leg.  Allison simply could not afford it, but did not want to give up on her baby.  So she got creative, and asked for help from her community.
“Our family created signs, with photos of Oso, and placed them at the cashiers’ check-outs at both of our Food Co-Op locations, so cashiers could take donations with the cooperation of the Co-Op. I also put information on Facebook. Soon, the management of Labels (women’s clothing consignment stores in Bellingham) noticed and said they wanted to help, too,” she said.
The response was overwhelming and in less than 8 weeks they had the funds required to treat Oso and on January 25th he had his first surgery. Â It went well, but he will have to wait 8 weeks for that to heal before he has the second leg repaired.
This is Oso’s second rescue; Â he was found as a newborn in Puerto Rico by a family friend of Allison named Manuka Wiggin. Â Now, thanks to the efforts of so many people, this cute and loveable pup will have a full pain free life, running and playing like other dogs.
