What Can You Do for Freeway, the Three-Legged German Shepherd

By all accounts Freeway is very much in touch with his feline side. The German Shepherd puppy that was dragged beside a pickup truck driving on Interstate 780 used up at least one life and lost a leg in the bargain.

When Benicia Middle School campus supervisor and Pinole resident Angie Porter saw driving down the freeway, her first move was to try and let the driver know what was happening. But when the rope around the dog’s neck broke she stopped to take care of the injured animal.  The California Highway Patrol responded to Porter's 911 call and took the badly injured dog to All Creatures Veterinary Hospital in Vallejo where Dr. Robert Linville has his practice.

“When he came in he was in shock, very stressed out,” said Linville who first saw Freeway on April 19. Now, eight days and a major operation later, Freeway is headed to a foster home affiliated with the Humane Society of the North Bay but there are still medical bills to be paid.

That is where Maya’s Fund enters the picture. According to the Humane Society of the North Bay web site, when Maya was a 3-month-old puppy she was left for dead after sustaining life threatening injuries. She recovered and was adopted.  Money donated to Maya’s Fund is used to pay medical expenses of animals in similar situations-like Freeway.

Dr. Linville is holding the line on the costs but not care for Freeway.

“We’re doing this at cost for the humane society,” Linville said. “We work with the humane society a lot and we try to stretch those dollars as far as we can.”

Freeway was in Linville’s care for five days before the leg was amputated.

“We knew pretty much right away that he would lose the leg,” said Linville, who explained that the surgery had to be put off until Freeway’s condition stabilized.  “His injury would have prevented normal growth of the leg.

“The needs of injured animals in this area (southern Solano County) is huge,” said Linville. “The humane society is running on a very small budget.”

Benicia Middle School students are doing their part to support Freeway's recovery.  Friday th they held a coin drive with, all proceeds going towards his medical expenses.

Anyone who wants to help can drop off donations at Benicia Middle School, mail a check to the Humane Society of the North Bay or go to the group's website where donations can be made online.

Checks should be made out to HSNB and be sure to write "Maya's Fund" in the memo line and mail to:
Humane society of the North Bay
1121 Sonoma Boulevard  
Vallejo, CA 94590