A woman and her family from Portland, Oregon had the most unforgettable experience of their lives while driving along the I-5.
They spotted something falling from an overpass and when they investigated, they saw that it was a dog. It was clearly injured, and couldn’t move its back legs, but as the woman’s daughter worked for a veterinarian, she got some help.
Her daughter April Eells helped the pup and has been there for it ever since and raised money for his surgeries and care. She took to Facebook about the incident, “This AM my mom went into work a couple of hours later than she usually does and was in shock as she came off the exit in North Portland to witnessed a dog being thrown off an overpass!” Eells posted on Facebook later that day.
“Given the significance of his injuries and the research gone into pinpointing the location and access, it appears he was thrown from the overpass,” she clarified on the dog’s GoFundMe page. “At this point, I will say allegedly as we do not know who it was or have a description.”
The incident shook her up, especially since this wasn’t the first traumatic episode involving an overpass that Eells had experienced.
“Almost a year ago, my own daughter tried to commit suicide and she jumped off an overpass,” she said, “So immediately it struck me because it was very symbolic of my own daughter, and my mom said that that was instantly she thought, ‘I’m not giving up on him.’ Because we didn’t give up on her.”
The dog now named as “Hank” is said to be a year or two old, and has been severely injured due to the fall, which has caused him broken bones, broken teeth and torn ligaments. However, a glimmer of hope is that he has no internal bleeding or life-threatening injuries. With loads of love and care coupled with extensive surgeries and medicine, he has improved, but it can take months before he’s walking properly again, but the family is celebrating every milestone.
Since Eells works at an animal hospital, she got a discount for Hank’s treatment but needed a sum of $3,500 to cover Hank’s leg care there. Through a GoFundMe and other fundraisers, Eells has raised at least $5,605, but as Hank’s condition is still not so good, there will be lots of costs involved along the way.
Hank had surgery last week and Eells posted an update on his condition saying, “Hank is home and comfy in his bed tonight( as pictured) but he still has a long recovery ahead of him,” she wrote. “Many bandage changes, meds, follow up xrays and potentially needing the plates off in a few months once the bones have fully fused, so we still need to continue to raise funds and circulate Hanks story.”
“Thank you to everyone who has donated and shared, every bit helps! We appreciate all the love and support, Hank is so worthy!” It is still not clear what caused Hank’s fall but because of Eells and others like her, Hank will surely have a bright future.
