A stray dog found with a badly damaged leg, missing paw tissue, and severe infection in rural Mississippi has made a full recovery after months of intensive veterinary care, and she's now ready for adoption at a Morton Grove rescue this weekend. Maggie eventually underwent the surgery she needed.
Maggie arrived at Wright-Way Rescue on May 27, according to a Facebook post from Wright-Way Rescue Admission & Medical Services Campus. She needed amputation of her leg, but veterinarians discovered she also had ehrlichia, a tick-borne disease associated with anemia. A packed cell volume (PCV) test measures the proportion of red blood cells in a blood sample. VCA Animal Hospitals identifies 35 to 55 percent as a healthy range for an adult dog. The Whole Dog Journal classifies PCV levels of 13 to 20 percent as severe anemia and levels below 13 percent as very severe.
Ehrlichiosis is associated with anemia, and bone marrow suppression may be a cause, according to a research article published in January 2019.
Weeks of Monitoring Before Surgery Was Possible
Wright-Way Rescue's medical team drew Maggie's blood, according to the organization's Facebook post. Staff helped her walk, eat, and take her medications and supplements throughout the process, while also cleaning and wrapping her injured leg and lining her kennel with soft blankets for comfort.
Maggie's case reflects a broader pattern seen across the South, where rural shelters in states like Mississippi experience disproportionately high intake rates. Warmer climates foster year-round parasite transmission while spay/neuter programs remain less accessible, according to the BISSELL Pet Foundation. Wright-Way Rescue's core mission centers on pulling animals out of remote, under-resourced rural animal control shelters across the Midwest and American South, where euthanasia rates remain high and local resources are scarce.
From Amputation to a New Life on Three Legs
A New Life After Recovery Maggie is, in the rescue's words, happy and recovered, with encouraging blood results that have cleared her for adoption.
Meeting Maggie This Weekend in Morton Grove
Maggie will be at Wright-Way Rescue's adoption center Friday through Sunday for anyone interested in meeting her. The center is open for Maggie meetings Friday from 2 to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Interested adopters can reserve a meeting by emailing [email protected].
Wright-Way Rescue was founded in 2003 by Christy Anderson while she was attending Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and it now operates its primary intake and medical facility in Murphysboro, Illinois, alongside its adoption campus in Morton Grove. That Morton Grove campus, where Maggie's meetings will take place, was established in 2014 after a school bus crashed through the organization's former shelter facility in Niles in October 2013, temporarily displacing its operations.
Those looking to support Maggie's recovery or future rescues like hers can donate online by debit or credit card, through PayPal at [email protected], via Venmo at @wright-wayrescue, or by mailing a check to 5915 W. Lincoln Ave., Morton Grove, IL 60053. The organization also accepts cryptocurrency donations.
