US pony with prosthetic leg
By Justine Thompson
General news
01 February 2010 10:10
A grey pony who has survived a hurricane, abandonment and a vicious pit-bull attack has been giving hope to others facing adversity.
Molly is a pony who was abandoned in Louisiana, USA, when Hurricane Katriona hit. She spent weeks fending for herself before she was found and taken to a farm – but while there she was viciously attacked by a pit-bull terrier.
The pony almost died in the attack, and again hit trouble when her gnawed front leg became infected. She was taken as a welfare case to the local veterinary centre, where her fight was most likely to have been put down.
But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, the course of her future changed. The vet saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't 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. He described her as a ‘smart pony with a serious survival ethic’.
Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and try her with a temporary artificial limb was built. Then a human prosthesis designer agreed to build her a leg.
Moore said: ”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.”
Now the little pony actually asks for the prosthesis to go on. “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!”
Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and 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.