A large, injured, gorgeous 5-year old black male was rescued by Regap in September 2000. Benji had a crudely re-set broken back leg at the hock. The break was clearly not set by a vet as the bone was resting beside the bone that should have been supporting it!
He was clearly in pain and very afraid. He trembled against me when I visited him before sending him to foster care. He couldn't walk on the leg, the hock was swollen to the size of a baseball, and the story goes, this older boy was asked to run on the injured leg one last time before we were able to rescue him!

One of our marvelous foster homes, Karen Mahoney of Milan, took Benji in from the beginning, administering pain pills and nursing him back to the strength needed to undergo surgery and rehabilitation. He went into orthepedic surgery at VCA in Allen Park the end of September, under the supervision of Dr. Marjorie Fields. I saw Benji as he lay on the surgery table, just under and ready to be repaired. I gave him a pat on the head and all my good wishes. In the surgery, the increased damage done by lack of proper treatment was repaired, pins were inserted and he was put in a cast from his hip to his toes.

Karen was devoted to weekly visits to the vets with Benjamin as he underwent six new cast replacements that slowly decreased in size. We watched as this abused and broken greyhound demonstrated his winning style and personality by enduring post surgery pain and lugging a cast around on his long leg to go outside. He never missed a beat turning into a happy boy again, able to eventually run a little in the backyard and trust humans again.

In December, Benji was adopted by a caring home who tells us he is the most loved, best boy, getting car rides around the block upon request and resting his lovely head on a warm pillow. There is still no guarantee that Benji will be able to keep his injured leg the rest of his life. The hard fact is that if infection sets in, the leg may not be able to endure further trauma. All because the track denied this winning dog the proper treatment he so deserved. Just one more race in hopes for a few dollars more. Time will tell as Benji continues to heal, be loved and show true greyhound spirit.