Molly is a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her
owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana.
She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and
taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While
there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died.
Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to
LSU for help.
Then, surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly. He saw how the pony was
careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get
sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected
her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't
overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious
survival ethic.
Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee. A temporary
artificial limb was then built. Molly walked out of the clinic
and her story really begins there.
Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as
nails, but sweet. And she was willing to cope with pain. She
made it obvious that she understood she was in trouble.
Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina
Louisiana. The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb.
A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.
The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca,
Molly's regular vet, reports. She will put her little limb out,
and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it
on.
"Sometimes she wants you to take it off too." And, at times,
Molly gets away from Barca. "It can be pretty bad when you can't
catch a three-legged horse," she laughs.
Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm
owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing
homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people
needed hope.
Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired
people. And she had a good time
doing it.
This is Molly's most recent prosthesis.
The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on,
which a smiley face has embossed in it. Wherever Molly goes, she
leaves a smiley hoof print behind!
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Molly the Pony: A True Story
by Pam Kaster (2008, LA State Univ. Press, 15.95/hardback) |
