'I can't give up now': Vet tech hopes to find forever home for 3-legged husky

Karma is a sweet, loving, 40-pound husky mix who survived a serious car accident.

"She’s never met a person that she didn’t like," said Allison Walston, a veterinary technician at PetSound Animal Hospital. "She’s very excited to meet new people."

With Karma’s big personality, it’s hard to tell that she’s had a not-so-normal life. The three-legged husky mix was hit by a car in Chatham County last September.

"She was already missing this front right leg so it had been amputated surgically years prior, and her front left leg was very badly damaged. The bone was exposed," Walston said. "I was kind of just shocked at the extent of the damage to her leg. And she was scared. She wasn't mean or aggressive; she just didn't have much of a personality. She was scared."

Animal services took her to a local shelter in Chatham County, but her injuries needed more of an innovative approach. PetSound Animal Hospital in Cary took her in shortly after.

"We've been doing experimental treatments [and] physical therapy," Walston said. "She's getting ready to start underwater treadmill therapy. We’re just trying to give her the best possible second half of her life because her first half was pretty rough."

She decided to foster Karma herself. However, Walston has been dealing with her own health troubles, and she explained it’s been a difficult journey for the both of them.

"She usually wears a harness to help her up because her remaining front leg is really unstable, so she gets tired very quickly," she said. "So I have to carry around a 40 pound dog all day every day. It's been a little difficult. But it's been extremely rewarding. And I love her very very much. I always intended on finding her forever family. No matter how long I had to foster her."

Karma has made great progress and after several months of care has been walking on three legs, again. Her calm-natured, loving personality also began to shine once more.

"Her physical therapist is Willie Blue, owner of The Dabba Company," Walston said. "He’s been incredible.

Walston said Terry Dorsey with Guardians of Angles Rescue was the one who had Karma transferred to PetSound Animal Hospital, and Dr. Shaina Stewart Soule is the veterinarian who took Karma under her wing.

"Dr. Kevin Monce, owner of PetSound has graciously donated all of karma’s veterinary expenses while she had been under the care of his hospital," she said. "There are many more people who have helped Karma along her journey, and she wouldn’t be here without their generosity."

Her goal is to find someone who has the ability to care for her long term.

"I feel like I've put in so much work and so much time and effort," Walston said. "I can't. I can't give up now. And it's been tough. It's been really hard, trying to find her place to go. But I know that there is a perfect person or family out there."