A good Samaritan discovered him when she was dropping off her trash. She opened the lid of the dumpster and heard a faint squeak. When she realized it sounded like a kitten or a puppy, she enlisted help and then climbed into the dumpster to find the animal.

What she found was heartbreaking -- two puppies under several layers of trash. One of the puppies was in a plastic bag and barely alive. Unfortunately, the other puppy she found was already deceased. She searched the dumpster to ensure that no other puppies were there, and then rushed the living one to a vet clinic. He was bleeding from his nose and mouth, and, even though he was wrapped in a warm blanket, his body temperature was so low that the veterinary staff could not even get a reading. However, they were finally able to get him stabilized enough that it seemed he would live.

One of the vet techs took him on as a foster, and carried him with her everywhere for the next two weeks. He lived nestled in a blanket inside a small pink duffle bag that also carried his puppy formula, favorite bottle, and other supplies. It was touch-and-go for the first weeks, but eventually Panda’s health stabilized, and he began to thrive.

Panda still suffers from a head tilt, and his eyes are misaligned with one of them sitting farther back in his head and pointing outward. We cannot be certain whether these conditions were present at birth or were the result of being dropped in the dumpster. In either case, he has learned to compensate and can move about quite well, and he loves to play with other dogs in his current Wright-Way Rescue foster home. Occasionally he still tumbles, and his right side is still a little weaker than his left, but he is improving every day.

He had a very hard time learning to walk, but now Panda can run and play.

Your support makes it possible for us to say “Yes!” to Panda and so many more like him. As 2020 draws to a close, please consider making a tax-deductible, end-of-year gift to Wright-Way Rescue. Every dollar makes a difference in this urgent work to save lives.

We are sometimes asked where all our puppies come from. Here is one rescue story that illustrates our work, and it is more common than most would imagine.

These eight puppies come from a town deep in the Mississippi delta with fewer than 600 residents. The town is situated in a county with a 37.9% poverty rate. As you can guess, there are virtually no resources for residents, let alone the area’s animals. There are packs of adult dogs, usually around four - seven of them, sunning themselves at the ends of streets or travelling along the edges of the woods. Most of them are shy and skittish, and others are truly feral.

These puppies were born to a feral momma dog who dug out a shallow den under an abandoned storage shed on an unused property near the railroad tracks. This property often has dogs gathered there, and there is one woman in the town who keeps an eye on them. She is one of the hundreds of independent rescuers that Wright-Way connects with every year to save the lives of animals in these seemingly forgotten places. Lessie K. feeds the dogs that have no homes, and she works to trap them and spay/neuter them. She also works one-on-one with her neighbors to spay or neuter their dogs. If a dog is constantly tied out on a chain, she tries to persuade the owner to surrender the dog to rescue.

When she noticed puppies at the property, she began to keep track of them. This was the third litter of pups she had seen born to this particular momma dog. One day she noticed that there were only eight puppies instead of nine, and she realized either predators had become aware of them or they were starting to follow their momma when she left to go look for food.

Reaching out for help, Lessie explained that she could probably catch the puppies -- she just needed somewhere to send them. We hear the exact same thing over and over. Small town rescuers just need somewhere to send the animals they are trying to save. Somewhere that will give them medical care and find them forever homes.

That is what we do. We give these animals a way out, a way to safety. But this work is only possible with your support.

Lessie was able to catch six of the eight surviving puppies, and our volunteers helped her catch the remaining two. They had to crawl on their bellies underneath the storage shed, but they got every last one. Further efforts are being made to catch the momma dog so that she can be spayed, and a plan is in place for her continued care.

This one rescue doesn’t end the problems for the animals in this town, but it does make a difference. Every life makes a difference.

Please consider making an end-of-year gift that will save the lives of homeless animals like these eight puppies. Join our lifesaving mission now, and help us prepare for the challenges and opportunities of 2021. The animals are counting on your help.

One month ago today, Nina was confiscated for cruelty from a home in North Memphis. She was living in an abandoned car on the property. She was emaciated and desperately in need of medical care. A tumor that weighed 13 pounds was hanging from her abdomen, along with two smaller, but still significant, masses.

When the Animal Control facility that took her in reached out for help with her case, Wright-Way immediately said yes and arranged for her to travel to our Admissions Center in Murphysboro, IL. When she arrived, she had a fever, a severe skin infection, and was in such overall poor health that our medical team could not safely perform the surgery to remove the tumors. She was started right away on pain meds, anti-inflammatories, and antibiotics.

Unfortunately, COVID exposure struck our team in Southern Illinois at the same time as Nina’s arrival. To ensure that she could continue to receive the level of attention and care she needed, we sent her to our clinic in Morton Grove.

It was a nerve-wracking three weeks as we worked to get her strong enough to survive the surgery she needed to save her life. Like many others, we wished it were possible to immediately remove the giant mass, but Nina’s health was simply too fragile. The tumor was not only massive, but it was completely vascularized; it visibly pulsed with her heartbeat when she would sit and the tumor rested on the floor. She would not have survived the tremendous blood loss that such a surgery inevitably causes.

We did our best to balance caution and urgency by first reducing the infection and inflammation in her body and getting her weight up. Our staff veterinarians worked with a specialty clinic and both her oncologist and board certified surgeon to determine the best treatment plan. In addition, several blood panels were run before her surgery, and she was given a precautionary blood transfusion and 24 hours of IV fluids the day before.

Today, one month later, we are so happy to tell you that Nina is in an amazing medical foster home recovering from her surgery in peace and quiet. She is getting lots of rest, and she has a healthy appetite. She’s not fully in the safety zone as far as recovery goes, but every day she is getting closer and closer to a positive prognosis.

We have not yet discovered if there is an underlying cause to her poor health and her low red blood cell count, or if they were a symptom of the tumor itself. As more lab results come in, we will gain a clearer understanding of her actual condition without the interference of the tumor. In the meantime, she is learning to move differently, and her spine is slowly relaxing after years of flexing in order to balance the weight of the mass. She is wagging her tail and interacting with her foster family, and her spirit shines more every day.

Throughout this journey, you have supported Nina, and we can’t thank you enough. In doing so, you have kept our spirits up, too. It is not easy to take on heart-wrenching medical cases such as Nina’s, but we do so on a regular basis. We can do that thanks to your donations, your encouragement, and your willingness to join us in trying to build a better life for these animals.

Thank you.

(While COVID has touched our staff, everyone has pulled through and is doing well.)

Nina has made it through surgery and is stable! We are so incredibly happy to share this news with you all!!

She will stay at the hospital for the next 24 - 48 hours to receive round-the-clock care and IV fluids before she returns to our vet clinic to continue her recovery.

The surgeon was able to successfully remove the large mass, as well as the other two smaller tumors. Tissue samples from the tumors have been sent for biopsy, and those lab results will help us determine in part to what degree Nina’s poor health was being caused by an underlying condition versus the stress of carrying such an enormous mass. During the procedure, it was discovered that Nina was also suffering from mastitis, an inflammation of the mammary tissue.

As we have stressed before, she is nowhere near out of the woods. The surgeon has warned us that cases involving tumors of this scale do have a slightly higher mortality rate, even after a successful surgery. We are hopeful, however, that everything we did in preparation for the procedure has set her up for success. No one deserves a full recovery and a new life more than her.

We have been in communication with the clinic staff throughout the afternoon and evening, and we know that Nina is resting well. All her vitals indicate that she is taking the first steps toward healing.

Thank you all for your support, your thoughts and prayers, your knocks on wood and crossed fingers. We cannot express how inspiring it is to save lives with you! Thank you for making so much more possible for Nina and for other precious lives.

You really are the best.

Nina is scheduled for surgery tomorrow, Monday, December 7th.

Our medical staff has tried to strike a balance between the urgency of her condition and giving her the best possible chance to survive the procedure. It is still a very risky surgery, and she will be at a special facility that has every emergency measure on hand, including blood transfusions.

Nina has definitely become more stable, and she is in good spirits. Her skin infection is healing up, and she has a good appetite. She sleeps a lot, but she loves to spend time outside with staff. She is a sweet, gentle soul, and we hope more than anything that she gets the chance to have a future full of fresh air and sunshine.

While Wright-Way Rescue is firmly grounded in veterinary science, we will take all the thoughts, prayers, knocks on wood, and crossed fingers you can give. Nina not only has to survive the procedure, but then she has to make it through the healing process. Nothing is certain in this case.

Thank you so much for your support of Nina and for going on this journey with us. Her second chance would not be possible without you.

We will let you know how her surgery goes as soon as possible.

Thank you.