This pooch was euthanized and 'discarded' — but then he woke up, Texas shelter says
You can't kill Valor.
It's not a movie quote; it's real life for one Texas rescue dog. Actually, it's the beginning of his new life.
Valor, a 3-year-old blue heeler mix, was euthanized last week at a Central Texas city-run shelter, according to the foster coordinator at the rescue organization that is somehow now caring for the dog.
He had already been "discarded" with the latest batch of dogs that had been put to sleep, when he woke up, Lorrie Anding of Cuz I Matter Animal Rescue told KEYE.
Anding would not identify the specific shelter or town where the dog received the botched dose of the euthanasia drug, because if she did, she told McClatchy that the shelter might retaliate by euthanizing dogs in the future instead of allowing her organization to rescue them.
"We've gotten some backlash for not exposing who they are," Anding told McClatchy. "But it's 9 out of 10 of these smaller towns and counties when you get out past the metro areas that are quicker to put to the dogs to sleep and get rid of them than we think they should be."
An animal control officer in a neighboring town found Valor wandering around an area close to where she knew dogs were being dumped and alerted Anding, she told KTBC.
He was totally blind when he was found Saturday, but has gotten some of his vision back since he's been placed with a foster family in Austin. Cuz I Matter is based in Pflugerville, just north of Austin, and only takes dogs and puppies who are about to be euthanized, either because their time at a kill shelter is running out or because they have health problems.
Valor's foster mom, Kathry Lippert, gave him his new name, along with the beginning of what she hopes is a much happier second chance at life.
But he's not out of the woods yet. Valor has been diagnosed with heartworms. Anding said they need to find him a local forever home as quickly as possible, so he can start heartworm treatments sooner rather than later.
"I can't imagine how sick and lost he must have felt after he woke up," Lippert told McClatchy. "Valor has to be one of the strongest dogs I've ever come in contact with."
This story was originally published June 14, 2018 at 3:23 PM with the headline "This pooch was euthanized and 'discarded' — but then he woke up, Texas shelter says."