She dragged herself to a cold barn on Halloween.

It was a cold, wet, blustery night when a rural Virginia woman walked into her barn and saw something move slightly in the corner. As she hesitantly moved closer she found a tiny dog, clearly injured shivering and hiding in the straw. She approached gently not to scare her off but the dog would not or could not move. She saw dried blood, sores, and a swollen leg, and assumed she had been attacked or hit by a car. 

She brought her a bit of food and a blanket as she was scared to move her, not knowing what her injuries were. She worried all night that the dog might be dead by the morning and started reaching out on Facebook for help and to Homeward Trails and our partners at the Twin County Humane Society.

We saw her message around midnight and implored her to keep the dog warm and safe until the morning when we could come to evaluate. We found the dog still nestled in the damp straw, shivering. But she let us pet her head immediately and as we spoke softly to her you could see the tenseness in her body start to calm, as if she knew we were going to help her.

Thankfully, our wonderful local vet partner agreed to come in that Sunday, Halloween morning, to take her so she didn't have to spend one more hour suffering.  

We gently picked her up. She didn't growl or snap or try to bite, despite being terrified and in a great deal of pain. The smell of infection was overwhelming. We then noted the massively infected open wounds on her hind end an a large wound covered with dry blood on her neck. Our hearts break to think how long she had suffered until she dragged herself to this barn.

Millicent needs us. She must get fluids, injectable antibiotics, bloodwork and possible surgery to save her life. And the clock is ticking. What the vet has found so far is life threatening and her wounds are much more than we could even see. PLEASE help us help this girl.