Pooch shot in face on mend
Lebanon Luke rescued from Beirut
Even after two surgeries in Lebanon, the sight of the dog was shocking, Kelly Donithan remembers.
One of thousands of stray dogs there, “Luke,” as he’s since been named, had been shot in the face at close range — his nose all but obliterated. Some good Samaritans who found him contacted Animals Lebanon, the Beirutbased not-for-profit that Donithan, who lives on Cape Cod, volunteers with to connect stray animals there to rescue groups in the U.S., where their odds of being adopted are far greater.
The only thing more shocking than Luke’s appearance, Donithan said, was his reaction when they first met.
“He collapsed into my lap,” she said. “He loves people and, considering what someone did to him, he doesn’t have to.”
Yesterday, a day after undergoing three hours of reconstructive surgery at MSPCA Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, the approximately 2-year-old German shepherd mix was released to Groveland-based Sweet Paws Rescue and brought to a foster home, where he is expected to remain for the next four to six weeks until he is ready to be adopted.
“When I first saw him, most of the upper portion of his nose was missing; it was essentially destroyed by birdshot, and there was a hole on the top of his face that he was breathing through,” said Dr. Mike Pavletic, Angell’s head of surgery, who estimates Luke was shot within roughly 10 yards because the pellets were concentrated on his face.
Pavletic used skin from Luke’s upper lip to rebuild most of his nose and to close the hole he was breathing through. Next week, he’ll remove the plastic tube that is holding Luke’s left nostril in position.
“The major concern is scar tissue, because an excess of that behind the nostrils could cut off breathing through the nose,” Pavletic said. “Once it’s all healed, there’s probably nothing else you need to do . ... But the person who adopts him will be someone who understands he needs TLC.”
Luke is affectionate and gets along with adults, children, other dogs and cats, said Judy Luff, director at Sweet Paws. He loves running on the beach and in the woods, and is fine riding in a car, Luff said. He’s also neutered and house-trained if he’s taken out regularly, she said.
Anyone interested in adopting Luke must undergo a home visit and reference checks, and must intend to give him a “true forever home,” Luff said. If an adoption doesn’t work out, she said, Sweet Paws, as his stewards, will take him back and find him another home.
For information about adopting Luke, email info@sweetpawsrescue.org. To make a donation to help defray the cost of his $2,000 surgery, visit www.sweetpawsrescue.org/helpluke.
“Any family that gets him will be lucky,” Luff said, “because he has a lot to teach people about forgiveness and acceptance.”