By William Smith
Community Editor
Esco, a 5-month-old male pitbull who recently ended up at the Des Moines County Humane Society Animal Shelter, literally lost a part of himself to unfortunate circumstances.
He no longer has one of his rear legs. But Esco gained something far more valuable — a second lease on life and a brand new human family. He was adopted Tuesday, Feb. 15. The adoption came a few days after his photo was posted on the Des Moines County Humane Society Facebook page.
“This family has adopted before and they have three other dogs for Esco to grow up with,” said animal shelter director Tiffanie Rourke-Thompson.
Esco’s missing limb has already started to fade from his mind. He’s learning to get by without it.
“He’s a happy little guy, and he loves to give kisses. He has a nose that’s shaped like a heart,” Rourke-Thompson said.
Esco has had a rough go of it. He came into the shelter with a broken femur a few weeks and surgery was a must. A surgical attempt to keep the leg could have been risky to his overall health.
“He couldn’t move very good. He was limping, and he wasn’t getting up and moving around,” Rourke-Thompson said.
There’s no way to know for sure what happened to Esco’s leg, although a veterinarian determined it was probably an impact blow, likely from a car.
Betty White Challenge Covers the Bill
Rourke-Thompson said Esco’s surgery cost about $1,000. Usually, a price tag that high would require some fundraising on the shelter’s part to cover the cost.
But thanks to the Betty White donation challenge, the shelter has already pulled in $6,000 of donations.
White, a beloved actress, was a well-known pet lover and animal welfare advocate. She died on Dec. 31 of last year, less than a month before her 100th birthday. In her honor, fans across the country encouraged donations to local animal shelters and rescues on her birthday, Jan. 17.
Those donations continued through the rest of the month for the Animal Shelter, trickling into the opening weeks of February.
A Pooch with Different Abilities
Esco is like any other well-adjusted dog. However, his missing limb does pose a few challenges.
“He does it backward,” Rourke-Thompson said.
She was referring to the way Esco backs into the passenger seat of her car.
“Sometimes he has a hard time getting up on things,” she said.
Now Esco is backing into something much bigger — a brand new life.
“Happy tails to him,” Rourke-Thompson said.