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 changed
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 is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom
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!
