Ya gotta meet Molly...




Meet Molly.  She's a grey speckled pony who
was abandoned by her owners when Hurricane
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, but LSU
was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case.
You know how that goes.
But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he
changed his mind.  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,
and a temporary artificial limb was built.  Molly
walked out of the clinic and her story really begins
there.

'This was the right horse and the right owner,'

Moore insists.  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 she understood that she was
in trouble.  The other important factor, according
to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for life in
post-Katrina Louisiana ..  The little pony gained weight, and her mane finally felt a comb   A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.

The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life,
Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports.

And she asks for it.  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 sometimes, 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,andrehabilitation
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.

'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to
play in life,? Moore said.  'She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and nowshe is giving hope to others.'

Barca concluded, 'She's not back to normal,  but she's going to be better.  To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.'




This is Molly's most recent prosthesis  The bottom
photo shows the ground surface that she stands on,
which has a smiley face embossed in it.  Wherever
Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind.