Turbo’s Rescue: A Puppy Hit by a Car and Given a Second Chance

Turbo wasn't supposed to end up at the shelter. Five months old. Pure GSP energy bottled up behind the new shelter bars. But that leg, you could see it immediately. Dangling, hanging, useless, but he was still trying to put weight on it to balance as he stood.

Through all this, his tail wagged. That's the part that gets you.

The shelter was loud, packed—every kennel full, a few dogs doubled up. The kind of day you feel the burnout creeping in, but can't walk away. Once the attendant completed the paperwork, she gently placed Turbo in the back of the car. He stood, shaky and trembling, still unsure of what to feel. That was it. But before driving off, I called Dr. Kang. They already had the X-rays the shelter provided. We all wanted the same thing: to save the leg if we could. You hang onto that kind of hope until the very last second.

Didn't pan out.

Old fracture, shattered bone, no strength in the bone. The kind of damage that no plate or pin could fix. Dr. Kang did everything he could. At some point, you stop talking and nod, because you already know what's coming. Turbo was going to be a tripod.

The surgery went long. Everyone was quiet when Greg left. But by the next morning, this puppy—this scrawny little GSP who'd been hit by a car, dumped at a shelter, lost a leg—wasn't trying to stand. He was standing and moving as if he had lost a leg in a previous life and already knew what to do.

A couple of days later, he was hopping to the door when I grabbed my keys. Wanted to come on errands, sit shotgun, meet the world. People smiled at him everywhere we went. He didn't care about missing a leg. He just wanted love. Some pet him, not noticing he stood on just three legs.

Tripod dogs don't feel sorry for themselves. We do that part for them.

Turbo's looking for his person now—someone with the energy for a young GSP, the patience to keep up with his physical therapy once the stitches are removed. Maybe some patience and a sense of humor about the chaos that comes with it. There's a lot of heart in this dog. While he only has three legs, he has a lot of love.

Watch Turbo's rescue story unfold here:

If you've ever thought about adopting a GSP puppy, sponsoring a rescue, or just helping out a rescue, this is what it looks like. This is where your donations go. Your shares. Your time. The village that saves one dog at a time.