Dog who lost his eye and escaped death faces one final challenge: get adopted

A shelter dog who lost one eye and escaped almost certain death hopes to finally find a place he can call home.

When Crusty Crew Rescue, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of senior dogs In addition to assisting at-risk animals, Winky, the 5-year-old dog, came to the rescue for the first time, he was in very bad condition.

“We rescued Winky, who was then known as Arnold, from the… shelter for high dead Devore Animal Shelter in San Bernardino County, located inland,” said Lisette McLellan, the founder and operator of Crusty Crew Rescue. Newsweek. “Before this I was a networker and I networked with the dogs at the Devore shelter, so that’s how we met Winky.”

In what is an all too familiar story for McLellan, Winky was arrested as a vagrant. “Unfortunately, we have a massive pet overpopulation crisis in inland Southern California and he was picked up as a stray without a microchip,” she said.

This was a problem. According to animal welfare organization Animal Rescuers For Change, California has the largest homeless animal population of any state in the US. It has also become the state where the most animals are euthanized.

In 2023, the average euthanasia rate at municipal shelters in California was somewhere between 15 and 17 percent.

McLellan isn’t sure what happened to Winky’s eye. “He lost his eye due to an injury he suffered before he was picked up by animal control,” she said. “Unfortunately we are not receiving information about the exact injury.”

But what she does know is that the first attempt to have it removed almost resulted in Winky being put to sleep. “He was scheduled to be euthanized due to an injury to his eye that was removed by the shelter’s contracted veterinarian,” McLellan said. “Unfortunately, the removal was not performed properly. The incision area continued to swell.”

His status as a stray, combined with the eye injury and the fact that he had “no other rescue interests”, meant Winky was on borrowed time.

It was only thanks to the intervention of McLellan and Crusty Paws Rescue that he is here today. They were the ones who ultimately repaired the damage done during the first surgery to remove Winky’s eye.

“Our vet had to go in to remove a gland that should have been removed when his eye was there,” McLellan said. Now fully healed, Winky is spending time with a foster parent who had other dogs.

“Winky loves walking and playing with his foster siblings,” McLellan said. “He prefers dogs his size to larger ones, he enjoys car rides and looking out the window, he is cat friendly and he loves just about every person he meets.”

Neutered, fully vaccinated, crate trained, dog friendly and able to walk well on a leash like any rescue dog, Winky needs someone who is willing to do the work and be patient. Do that and they get a canine companion who, from McLellan’s sounds, is already looking for a new adventure.

“Winky would do best with a family with an active lifestyle, where he can go on adventures and get lots of belly rubs,” she said.

He is a dog who has been on an incredible journey. Now he just has to find his way home.