Newer updates are at the bottom.
6/20 – Five men found him on their way home from work…chained to the guardrail on the four lane, where he was hit by a vehicle. They picked him up, then contacted ARTBAR for rescue help. Donations urgently needed for medical care. We have named him Holt. As soon as I saw him, I knew he was in rough shape. I spent an hour calling all vets to try to find someone to intake him tonight. Finally, success! And a volunteer to get him there. Thank you Tammy Farley.
6/20 night update from vet: Right elbow is dislocated. He has a bleed in his abdomen. They are going to keep him until the am on fluids and pain meds. Vet could not fix his elbow because they could not put him under. She recommends Cross Lanes for that. Said otherwise just really bruised up and a lot of swelling. His back is not broke, spine is good , bladder is good. Maybe a splenic or liver bleed.
8:00 am update: Holt is on his way to Cross Lanes Veterinary Hospital Thank you Shane Snyder for doing the running this morning.
8:15 am update: Holt has safely arrived to Cross Lanes. He has been added to our account. I’ve given consent for anything he needs including our regular vetting regimen. This hospital did a very complicated surgery for us on another dog we took in who was also hit by a car not long ago. He’s in capable hands.
8:45 am update: I spoke with Dr. McNeil over the phone. Holt is stable and remains medicated for pain. His elbow is severely dislocated and more X-rays will be taken. Even once healed the elbow will never be the same. It doesn’t rebound as well as say a hip would. The plan right now until this evening is pain meds and fluids to combat the shock. He lost a lot of blood and his heart and lungs are bruised.
Dr. McNeil said he’s going to think more on a plan. Right now he says this evening they will try to put the elbow back in without surgery but he’s certain it won’t work. Holt is too weak for surgery right now, so we’ve agreed if we can put it off even for a day, we want to. He does have an ear twitch the doctor is concerned about but as far as a highly medicated dog that was hit less than 24 hours ago. neurologically he is responding correctly. It’s also likely his spleen was fractured, however the bleeding has stopped and no surgery is needed there.
We don’t know how long Holt is going to need to stay at the vet or what eventual surgeries he’s going to need. Please donate! No amount is too small (or too large).
The police officer is working hard at finding the person who tied Holt out on the four lane. A woman saw Holt being tied up. She got the license plate number of the person who left him out there and called the police. She said Holt getting hit was an accident. The driver did not intentionally aim at him and they did stop immediately. Holt apparently ran out into traffic and this appears to have been an unavoidable accident given the circumstances. Jessica has also been in contact with the police and has instructed the veterinary office to provide the police with any information they request regarding Holt’s condition. Five men on their way home from work saw this incident happen and they are the ones who pulled over and picked up Holt and got him into rescue. Because they had so many people in the truck, they couldn’t fit Holt in the cab, so one of them rode in the bed with Holt to get him to safety. The police and veterinary staff at two vet’s offices have been amazing. Holt is getting the best of care. Thank you to everyone who worked to get Holt to us and to the two vet’s offices. Everyday heroes. Gotta love ’em.
Yes, this is going to be expensive. Holt’s going to need to stay at the vet until he’s in good enough physical condition to be moved to a foster home. He may need surgery on his elbow. At this time it’s too soon to tell if he’s going to need any other surgeries.
11:30 am 6/21: Just spoke with Holt’s nurse, Alexis. She reports he is resting well and is receiving a Fentanyl drip and Rimadyl for pain. She said Dr. McNeil may add to his pain medication regimen. She actually texted me this picture. I’m loving this staff.
Foster: When he is released from the vet, Holt will need a foster home somewhere between Charleston WV and Williamson WV (Mingo County, Logan County, Boone County). If you would like to foster Holt for us when he is released from the vet, please submit our Foster Application. He must be fostered indoors. To foster for us, your pets must be altered and current on vaccinations. If you are low income, we may be able to help with that if your foster application is approved.
Rescue: If there are any rescues that are interested in Holt (when he is ready to travel), please email us. If you haven’t pulled from us before, please submit this rescue application.
6/21: Holt at the vet’s office. He’s getting spoiled and treated like a king.
6/21 5:30 pm:
Holt is waking from anesthesia. At this time his elbow had been successfully manipulated back into place.
The plan is to see how this this goes over the next 4 days then do more X-rays and see where we stand. His leg will be splinted straight out which is awkward and he will have to learn to adjust. He will be transferred back to the emergency hospital over the weekend for care and back to Cross Lanes Monday morning.
Dr. McNeil says they will be concentrating on wound care and weaning from the iv pain meds in the days to come.
Also found out that he has a broken eye tooth!
6/22 10:20 am
Holt just woke up! LOL
I spoke with his nurse, Alexis, and she reports that he pulled out his IV overnight or early morning (this is the second one he’s grown tired of). He is managing his splint well and can get up and navigate with it already. Instead of transferring him to the emergency vet over the weekend, we are trying to get him accepted at our regular vet, Danville Animal Clinic. I’m pretty sure he will be accepted for the weekend. Just waiting on the vets to confer with each other.
He’s eating, using the bathroom, very alert, and friendly 
Hopefully I can get over there for a visit tomorrow to see him.
6/22 11:20 am
Holt is killin’ it today!!! Eating and a stroll outside.
6/22 6:15 pm
There has been a slight change of plans. Holt will remain hospitalized with Cross Lanes tonight and will transfer to Danville Animal Clinic tomorrow. His doctor today wants to see how well his pain is managed on oral pain medicine longer before the transfer and we concur that’s best!
Here is Holt with his favorite nurse, Alexis. 
6/24: Volunteer needed tomorrow to transport Holt from Danville to Cross Lanes. Holt went to Danville Vet over the weekend because Cross Lanes is closed and he needed close monitoring. He’ll be moving back to Cross Lanes on Monday to have more X-rays and to have his splint changed. If it’s not healing, then Dr. McNeil at Cross Lanes will perform the surgery.
6/25: Holt has arrived back to Cross Lanes Veterinary Hospital! His X-ray shows that his elbow is healing and no surgery is needed. He will be sedated to have his splint changed and he will be ready for discharge to foster. Thank you Brandi Welker and Brandi’s mom for getting over there this morning!
6/28: Holt needs your help! Visit http://www.artbar-wv.org/holt-needs-your-help/ for more info.
