Top 10 Happy Tails of 2023: Meet Luke

As 2023 comes to a close, we're taking a look back at all of the lives that we’ve saved thanks to your support. While there are really more than 950 stories we could tell, we've chosen 10 dogs to highlight that include long stays, medical cases, seniors and a newborn puppy. Thank you for making each of these stories possible, and for being part of another amazing year of lifesaving in 2024!

Today’s Happy Tails story is about Luke and really speaks to the definition of “it takes a village”.

Brenda and Steven started out just looking at the Muddy Paws adoptable dogs page - they had lost their beloved dog not too long ago and were flirting with the idea of welcoming another four-legged family member into their lives. As they scrolled through the photos of hopeful faces, one in particular caught their attention - it was Luke.

Still, Brenda and Steven weren’t sure they were ready yet. When they read that Luke had a bone and joint abnormality called Osteochondritis Dissecans, which required him to have surgery, it deepened their hesitation. Understandably, they weren’t sure they were ready to go through long days and nights at the vet again. Luke waited for four months in foster, while his medical condition likely made lots of folks pass over him.

As Brenda and Steven went back and forth with the adopting Luke, the thought that someone else might not want to rescue Luke due to the care and costs associated with his condition crushed them. With a shifted mindset, Brenda and Steven reached back out to Muddy Paws to officially indicate their interest in Luke. Armed with a specialty surgeon and hospital they wanted to use to take care of Luke, they were ready for whatever medical needs he had, but to their surprise, they were told that Luke had already undergone his surgery! He was in rehab in his foster home, waiting for Brenda and Steven to come around and adopt him!

“We're forever grateful for Muddy Paws helping Luke with his surgery and for his foster family taking such great care of him.”

Today, Luke loves racing around his backyard at full speed. He plays frisbee with his buddy Tommy, he shows off his goofy side at any chance he can get, and he’s always the happiest when he sees his family. Luke is full of life. You’d never know he had an abnormality that required surgery as a puppy.