It's difficult to walk into a dog shelter without wanting to adopt every dog there. For Meghan Wedge and Sarah Bauer, that impulse led to a much larger family than expected.
The story began outside Meghan’s workplace in Dalton, Georgia, when some colleagues alerted her to an injured dog lying in the parking lot. Meghan recalled, “She would try to get up, but kept falling down. When she finally managed to get on her feet, she couldn't put weight on one of her back legs.” Wanting to help, Meghan reached out on social media to see if anyone could assist the injured dog, hoping to avoid calling animal control. That's when she called her sister, Sarah, who lived in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, to ask for help. It was about to be a life-changing moment for the dog, who would soon be named Izzy.
Meghan recalls the conversation, saying, “I asked Sarah, ‘Are you sure you want to do this? You don't know what you're getting yourself into.’ But Sarah was determined.” The sisters made plans to meet in Virginia, where Sarah would take Izzy home.
The first thing Sarah did was take Izzy to the vet. There, the extent of the dog’s trauma became clear. “Because of COVID-19, I couldn’t go into the vet with her, which was difficult,” Sarah explained. “The vet came out to tell me that Izzy’s hip was dislocated, she had abrasions on her legs, and she was likely hit by a car. She also had buckshot embedded in her body.” Sarah was heartbroken. “It was devastating to think that someone could treat such a sweet dog that way.”
Izzy’s X-rays showed tiny white dots throughout her abdomen, representing the buckshot scattered across her body, including in her ears, legs, and arms. Meghan shared the emotional impact, “I cried when Sarah told me about it. I have a rescue dog myself, and she was also abused before I got her. Dogs are like angels to me. It’s sickening to think anyone would harm them.”
But the bad news didn’t stop there. In addition to her injuries, it turned out that Izzy was pregnant. The vet confirmed she had a heartbeat. But as it turned out, there weren’t just one or two puppies—there were nine.
“The vet tech came out and said, ‘So, we don’t just have one puppy, we have puppies! Do you want to guess how many?'” Sarah recalled. “I guessed three or four, but she said, ‘Nine!' I was stunned. Nine puppies—that’s incredible.”
Since then, Izzy has come alive in a way Sarah didn’t expect. Despite her discomfort from her injuries, especially when climbing stairs or running around with her pups, Izzy’s personality has blossomed. Sarah says, “She’s doing well overall, but I can tell she’s in pain. I just want her to have the best life, which is why I brought her home. I want her to be happy and safe.”