7/2/09 Madras
 
By Doug Johnson
 
A box full of kittens left on the door step of rescue madras is no surprise for shelter founder Sandy Ballard. Being the only animal shelter in Jefferson County, incidents like this happen at least twice a year. Ballard says that's OK.
 
"I'd rather him them dropped off here than in the dump, or garbage piles," Ballard says.
 
The worst case Ballard has seen recently is chance. He's a six month old border collie mix puppy, who is starting to show signs of improvement two weeks after he was found paralyzed from a pellet gun wound, on the fringe of death. Although he still has problems eating and drinking, his strength is returning.
 
"Oh a day later he was able to scoot around in a circle, now he's able to really scoot around on his, he pulls him self around on his front legs," Ballard says.
 
A woman called the Madras Rescue Animal Shelter to report chance was following her home on the Warm Springs Reservation. She thought he had parvo. When Ballard got there she saw chance had been shot with a pellet gun and had a broken jaw.
 
"On further investigation we found out that he couldn't open his mouth all the way and suffered a wound earlier in his puppyhood," says Ballard.
 
Ballard doesn't believe he was ever a pet, and most likely has survived scrounging garbage for food. Now he's getting the proper care. Rescue Madras is asking for donations for chance, he's still in need of surgery which could cost up to three-thousand dollars. Already over five hundred dollars has been raised. Still, the shelter fears neglected cases like chance, will become more common in Jefferson county.
 
If you'd like to donate money for Chance's surgery, send it to: Madras Rescue Group, 416 N.E. 10th St., Madras, 97741 (write "For Chance" on the check).