12/22/2025
She wagged her tail at me.
Rescue is rarely easy. It has amazing moments, and definitely the success stories, but it also will break you, mentally, physically, and emotionally. For me, it tends to be one small detail of a situation that stays lodged in my chest. Last week, it was the wag of a tail.
I received a call from Deputy Nance, of the Cedar County Sheriff’s Department asking if I was available to assist with a dog hit by car. Amazingly, her location was only a couple of miles from where I was at, so I said I would be glad to come see what I could do. I’ve answered calls like this before—bumps, bruises, scared dogs who need a vet and a chance to find their people. I thought this would be one of those.
It wasn’t.
When I arrived, I saw her in the ditch—a small brown shape that told me, immediately, this was going to be different. Her injuries were severe. I honestly didn’t expect her to still be alive. But as I walked up, her eyes followed me, and when I made eye contact with her, she did the last thing I expected. She wagged her tail at me. She knew I was there, and that I would help.
I wrapped her in my jacket and Deputy Nance helped me pick her up as gently as possible and tuck her into my car. Thankfully, I was probably within 100 yards of the driveway to one of our area’s vet clinics, so I turned around and headed there as quickly and gently as I could. I walked into the office, told them I needed help with an emergency. I told them that I didn’t think this was something we could fix—but I needed to know.
One look at the vet’s face told me everything.
Sometimes, we can’t fix things. Even if the timing had been quicker, and the weather better, and all the resources in the world would have been at our fingertips, the only thing to do was ease her pain. I stood in front of her while they were preparing and she looked at me with trust in her eyes.
And again….. she wagged her tail at me.
I stroked her nose, and stood where she could see me, and told her it would be ok. She was wrapped in my jacket and not alone when her pain went away.
I hope her life was lived in a way where she was loved, she was never hungry, and she knew what it was like to stretch out across a whole couch. I hope someone somewhere is missing her. I wish she would have passed old and grey, with her family around her. But at least she wasn’t alone. I couldn’t do anything to help, but I could be there.
Efforts have been made to find her family, but there has been no luck so far.
I will never be able to forget seeing her injuries. But I will also never forget the look in her eyes, and that she wagged her tail at me.
Some days in rescue don’t end with happy endings.
They end with love—and that has to be enough.
Thank you to the person who cared enough to report her, Deputy Nance from the Cedar County Sheriff’s Department for staying with her and helping me, and to Mitchell Vet for bringing us right in, helping me know that my suspicion was correct, and helping her be relieved from her pain.
I could not have provided the care that was needed for her (and for all the other dogs that we help) without the support of friends like all of you. If you would like to help cover her final care, or make sure we have the ability to care for the next one who needs us, please visit www.furryheartsinc.org/donate to find info on all the ways you can contribute.
