INDIANAPOLIS – The little speedster who got loose during race week on the track is now in the care of a local Chihuahua rescue, but he needs an expensive surgery before he can be given to his forever home. That's where you come in.
It’s a video that was viewed thousands of times and likely popped up on your newsfeed: A small white dog speeding around the track, avoiding humans trying to catch it.
He stole the spotlight the Thursday before the Indy 500, but if you watch closely, it’s no joking matter.
“I think a lot of people thought it was funny, and it wasn’t funny,” Chihuahua Rescue Indiana Inc. volunteer Sharra Ferbrache said. “I saw the terror and the (fear) in this dog.”
Ferbrache says she saw something else while watching: The dog had a noticeable limp, not putting any weight on one of its back legs.
“We knew we could help this dog,” Ferbrache said.
So after no one claimed the 8-year-old pooch, her rescue took him in.
“He has no microchip, no owner, and wasn’t fixed,” Ferbrache said. “So the chances of him not having an owner are big.”
The nonprofit took him under its wing this week.
Although he hasn’t been named yet, the Chihuahua is making himself at home on the north side at the house of a foster parent.
The group is trying to figure out how it will pay for a surgery to fix his leg. Volunteers believe he has what’s called a “luxating patella.”
It’s a knee problem that can cost as much as $5,000 to fix.
“If he doesn’t get the surgery, he’ll become really arthritic as time goes by,” Ferbrache said. “He’ll be in a lot of pain and he won’t use the leg.”
He can still hop around and play, but the rescue wants to make sure he is healthy before he goes to his forever home.
“We want to adopt out a healthy dog that will have a happy, healthy, long life,” Ferbrache said.
Here’s how you come in.
There will be a fundraiser to help come up with a proper name for the dog, which will help get money for his surgery.
To find out how you can donate or help, reach out to the shelter and get your questions answered here. The rescue says it will post information this week on its site about the fundraiser where you can help name the dog.
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