Apr 6, 2018 By Trista Thurston staff Writer tthurston@observer-Reporter.Com 5 min read

In many ways, Lucky is one fortunate puppy.

Fortunate in that a good Samaritan picked him up driving home from work, was willing to drive him an hour and a half away to an animal hospital that would treat him, and that family is willing to take in a third dog.

Zack Shultz, who works for an oil and gas company that bounces him around from location to location, was driving home from work March 10 and headed back to his Waynesburg home from a site near New Martinsville, W.Va., about a 30-minute drive. It was starting to get dark and Shultz wasn’t familiar with the area, relying on his GPS to get him home.

On a back road in the middle of nowhere around 6:30 p.m., Shultz saw several cars ahead of him swerve around what he initially thought was a deer. But as he neared, that’s when Shultz saw a 1-year-old dog not breathing or moving. Shultz said Lucky looked like a ball of fur covered in blood. The stray had been hit by a car and left for dead on the side of the road.

Shultz attempted to resuscitate the dog and loaded the pup into his truck. As he was driving back, he spoke to his wife, Chelsey, at home, asking her to find a veterinarian clinic that will accept a dog in this condition. Not many places are open on a Saturday evening, and most of the ones that are don’t have good news. Several clinics told the couple that there’s nothing they could do and would have to put the dog down.

“I’m a huge dog person, so I knew immediately that I had to exhaust all resources to save him,” Shultz said.

Finally, they did find a place that was willing to work with the couple financially and in Lucky’s condition – University Veterinary Specialists in McMurray – a 45-minute drive from Waynesburg on top of the time it took Shultz to get back home.

“He was hanging in there,” Shultz said.

Lucky had a broken femur, one lung not functioning properly with an air pocket developing, several skull fractures, brain swelling and nerve damage on the right front leg. He was also covered in ticks. Lucky needed to be stabilized for three days until the veterinarians could perform surgery on his femur.

“He’s up and moving now,” Shultz said.

That leg still causes Lucky some issues, but he is up playing with the couple’s other two dogs. They have decided to take Lucky in and give him that fitting moniker. Lucky has been doing physical therapy every Wednesday since March 21. He hobbles around on three legs, still nursing that front leg. He’s slowly beginning to realize he’s more mobile, Shultz said.

Shultz said Lucky is going through underwater treadmill sessions and other therapy to help strengthen his right leg. He may need surgery down the road, and they’re hoping amputation will not be necessary.

Shultz can’t understand how someone could have hit Lucky and left him to die on the side of the road. That section of road had a hairpin turn, so the driver could not have been going that fast and must have realized they hit a dog, he said.

“I just don’t understand how someone could be so heartless as to hit a dog and leave him on the side of the road,” Shultz said.

The couple created a Facebook page to document Lucky’s recovery. Photos and videos documenting his progress can be found by searching for ”Lucky Shultz 12″ on Facebook.

The couple started a GoFundMe page to help pay for expenses, which raised $2,630 before they closed it. Now, they are directing all donations to the vet hospital that has worked with them for Lucky’s care. Shultz said they’re doing fine financially with his care, but still have more costs to cover. They are unsure what future medical costs could look like.

“My husband and I are huge dog lovers and want to give this little guy proper treatment, but are having difficulty footing the bill because our own dog just had surgery back in February,” Chelsey Shultz said.

Lucky left the clinic and has been home with the Shultz family since March 16 after about a week at University Veterinary Specialists. Lucky was doing well after his stay but needed to cover a lot of ground to get back to all fours.

University Veterinary Specialists are still accepting donations for Lucky because he will continue to need rehabilitative therapy. Donations for Lucky’s treatment can be made at www.theuvscaresfoundation.org. For more information on how to donate, call Lisa Mendicino at 724-717-2273.