Meet Molly. She's a gray speckled
pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana,
USA . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and
taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there,
she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost
died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went
to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare
case. You know how that goes. But after surgeon Rustin Moore
met Molly, he chan ged his mind. He saw how the pony was careful
to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores,
and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured
leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't overload her
good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.
Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary
artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and
her story really begins there.
"This was the right horse and the right owner," Moore
insists.
Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as
nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made
it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble. The other
important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed
and compliant owner who is dedicated
to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the
horse.
Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana
. The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human
prosthesis designer built her a leg.
The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca
DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports.
And she asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come
to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes
she wants you to take it off too." And sometimes, Molly gets
away from Barca. "It can be pretty bad when you can't catch
a three-legged horse", she laughs.
Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm
owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes,
rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed
hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired
people. And she had a good time
doing it.
 "It's
obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life",
Moore said, "She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible
injury, and now she is giving hope to others. "
"She' s not back to normal," Barca concluded, "but
she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New
Orleans itself."
This photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which
has a smiley face embossed in it.
Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print
behind! |
This is Molly's most recent prosthesis. 
