Every year, the MSPCA-Angell: Northeast Animal Shelter (NEAS) relocates thousands of pets to its shelter, provides the medical care they need, and offers a safe haven until they find a loving home – regardless of age or other circumstances. And in the past three years alone, NEAS has been responsible for relocating over 10,000 animals — in many cases, saving their lives — like little Tyler from South Carolina.
Staff at NEAS first met Tyler during an adoption event at Berkley Animal Center (BAC), a municipal shelter in rural South Carolina. The shelter is part of NEAS’ mentorship program through Best Friends Animal Society, and all of the MSPCA-Angell shelters do Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return clinics with BAC. Sometimes staff even help with their adoption events. At one time, BAC was one of the highest-risk shelters in the country, but the MSPCA-Angell has worked successfully with them over the last year to help maximize their sheltering capacity and save lives.
Despite his outgoing personality, Tyler, a goofy and lovable pit bull mix, had a deformed front limb that kept him from extending his leg or even bearing weight on it. The BAC deemed it likely that the problem was from an old trauma.
The rural South Carolina shelter could not undertake the surgery due to a lack of veterinary staffing, so they asked if NEAS staff could transport Tyler to Massachusetts. Following his arrival to the Bay State in May, NEAS medical director Dr. Lindsey Rynk performed the amputation and neuter surgeries, and Tyler sailed through it like the trooper he was.
One would think that being a “tripod” would slow Tyler down, but not this dog — he had a real zest for life! He took time to recover in a caring foster home chosen from the NEAS network of kindhearted families. By the following month, he was ready for a long-term loving family — and soon, the perfect one came along. It was love at first sight!
These days, when he’s not racing around and breathing in the salt air on Cape Cod, Tyler is busy soaking up all the love and attention he can get from his new family.
