ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. – Last week, the Alexander City Fire Department rescued a dog from a burning house and helped bring him back to life. SylacaugaNews.com followed up with the family, Brad and Shannon Mullins, to see how they are doing and to get an update on their German Shepherd, Adler.
The Lake Martin Animal Shelter has been raising money through its website to help with Adler’s hospital bills. It has currently raised close to $3,500. The hospital bill is near $4,000 — and growing — as Adler is still hospitalized in Auburn.
“We don’t know when he will be able to come home,” said Mullins. “The staff at Auburn has been able to get him to eat, so that is a big step forward. We appreciate everything the community has done for us. We are just taking it day by day.”
As of Sunday, Adler had no vision, no sense of smell, and was having trouble with his two front feet, causing him to struggle with walking. He is still on oxygen and having neurological issues.
Adler is stable at Auburn University Veterinary Clinic. He wags his tail and raises his ears when he hears his name, and he can now walk with assistance.
The Lake Martin Animal Shelter has already been able to cover the Dadeville Animal Hospital bill, where Adler was taken after the fire department rescued him from the house. Mia Chandler, the manager at Lake Martin Animal Shelter, said the shelter could not afford to pay the Auburn University Veterinary Clinic bill, so it put the request on the Facebook page to ask the community to donate.
“The family already lost so much, it didn’t make sense for them to suffer anymore,” said Chandler. “This was one of those situations where I couldn’t just see it an think it was sad, but we had to do something. It’s great we have a support system to help with stuff like this.”