INDIANAPOLIS — Animals of all shapes and sizes need rescuing, but sometimes, an organization called Every Dog Counts has to step in for special cases involving injury or abuse.
Vet tech Jessica Johnson is used to seeing cases like little Peyton — a dog with critical injuries and no family. Johnson is temporarily fostering Peyton.
"On our end, a lot of the times, we'll see good Samaritans bring some of these really harsh kiddos off the streets," Johnson said. "It's definitely not a life sentence for a broken leg. A lot of the times, it just needs a little bit more care than what some people can afford or offer."
Dr. Tara Holloran started Every Dog Counts in 2010 to provide medical rescue to animals like Peyton.
"We're focused on animals that are sick, injured, orphaned or elderly," Holloran said. "Basically, the homeless animals that need a little extra boost before they're ready to find their forever homes."
Holloran said most of their rescues come directly from Indianapolis animal control or through veterinary hospitals they partner with. Sometimes, her rescue is the last line of defense before a shelter would have to put an animal down.
"It's not humane to just keep them in a shelter injured," Holloran said. "So they either need a group like ours that can come in and try to help them get that veterinary care, or they're euthanized."
Johnson has been working with Every Dog Counts for a while and said the rescue does an amazing job of getting those at-risk animals the care they need.
Of course, that care doesn't come without a cost. Sometimes families don't have it in the budget to take care of an animal, especially if it has a chronic issue. But in the short-term, Holloran uses her network as a physician to find fosters in the medical field. One of them is Dr. Megan Ciaccio.
"These are all medically fragile animals that normally would just be put down," Ciaccio said. "I think that's where the medical background for me...I feel even better about being able to help these animals."
Every Dog Counts, which now also includes feline friends, has helped hundreds of animals over the years, but Holloran is sure of one thing: If not for the fosters and volunteers, the number would be much lower.
"I've met some of the most amazing people in my life through dog rescue. Some really kind, generous people that do amazing work," Holloran said. "The rescue could not keep moving without our foster families and without our adoptive families, so I'm very grateful for all of them."
Those interested in fostering or adopting animals or volunteering with the rescue do not need to work in the medical field. To see the rescue's adoptable pets, click here. To find volunteer opportunities, go to edcr.org.
