Miracle Dog

Kayla Hall, center, and her children, Landon Wiley, 12, left, and Braelyn Hall, 7, right, pose with Athena, 5, at the Red Fern Pet Lodge on Northeast 22nd Avenue in Ocala, Fla. on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. The family rescued the dog when Landon found her after she was hit by a car and severely injured in Belleview on Jan. 29, 2021. The previous owner didn’t want her anymore and the family adopted her and paid for her surgeries and medical bills with the financial help from numerous people who saw her story on social media. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted January 21, 2022 | By James Blevins
james@ocalagazette.com

Athena the pit bull continues to recover after surviving near-fatal car accident one year ago.

Last January, Kayla Hall was well on her way from Ocala to New Port Richey when she received a distressed phone call from her son Landon, then 11 years old.

Landon was walking to his bus stop when he saw a crumpled form of black and white lying still in a culvert.

At first, he thought it was a raccoon—until the animal turned and looked right at him.

Turns out, that black and white form was a female pit bull named Athena that had been hit by vehicle and left to die with critical injuries.

“I was freaking out at first because she was still alive. And it was cold out,” said Landon, now 12, who immediately called his mom for help.

Now, nearly a year after that January 29, 2021 accident, Athena has miraculously recovered from her injuries, thanks in large part to the Hall family, a bevy of veterinarians, and the kindness of dozens and dozens of strangers.

The Phone Call

Hall said the phone call from Landon that morning was one she won’t soon forget.

“He called so upset; he was crying,” said Hall, director of marketing for an Orlando-based medical laboratory. “You could tell on the phone that his whole day was ruined.”

Hall’s motherly instincts kicked in and she quickly turned around and headed for the scene.

“She was there before anybody else,” said Landon.

A mother of four—besides Landon, there’s Dylan, 11; Braelyn, 7; and Dawson, 18 months, Hall, and her husband Jeffrey, also had four dogs and two cats and weren’t looking to own anymore.

“When I got there, Athena just looked over at me,” said Hall. “And you could tell, it was on her face, ‘Please help me.’

“I walked right up to her, and I’ll be damned if her tail was not wagging,” she added.

Animal Control arrived on scene moments after Hall and discovered Athena was chipped and her owner lived just two doors down. Hall left a note on their gate and took the injured dog to Belleview Animal Hospital where vets discovered the accident had shattered Athena’s right shoulder as well as her right back leg.

Soon after, the owner called and told the vet to euthanize Athena.

“I looked at Landon and his eyes started filling up. He was like ‘No, mama, no.’ And I was like, ‘Oh God, here we go.’ I did not want that to happen,” said Hall, who called the owners and convinced them to relinquish all rights to Athena.

The Campaign

Hall then took Athena to UF Shands Hospital in Gainesville where vets advised amputating her back leg.

When Hall said no, the vets then advised her to euthanize the dog, which they had also discovered was pregnant and heartworm positive.

“I remember sitting outside in my car and I just started crying,” said Hall. “I remember asking myself, ‘Am I doing the right thing for her? Am I being selfish?’”

Hall then decided to start a fundraiser on Facebook (Athena’s Fight for Life) to help pay the $8,000 in estimated costs for treating the dog, including surgeries, medications and rehabilitation.

Within the first three days, more than 80 people had donated funds to help pay for Athena’s care. By the end of the campaign on Feb. 26, more than 70 other donations had been made and Hall had raised more than $15,000. At this point, the price for Athena’s total care, including recovery and rehab, had risen to $12,000.

Hall shared receipts for Athena’s care as well as her progress on Facebook on a near-daily basis.

“It was a lot of money, really fast,” she said. “I thought it was important to show all the invoices or visits and keep donors up-to-date on everything.”

The Surgeries

Athena had her first of two surgeries Feb. 3 at BluePearl Specialty and Emergency Pet Hospital in Clearwater. It took five hours to complete.

“The doctors told me that if it were any other dog, they would tell me to maybe consider euthanasia,” said Hall. “But they just knew this dog had something extra.”

Athena had her second surgery on her injured back leg on Feb. 4 and had to wear several apparatuses on her legs to stave off infection and allow them both to heal.

Home

Athena came home to Hall and her family on Feb. 6 and was standing again by Feb. 10—only 13 days after being hit by a car and left for dead. Twenty-five days after the accident, her harness was removed and Athena began walking unaided.

She successfully gave birth to two puppies at home March 19, but when complications set in, Athena had to have an emergency C-Section. Only one of the three remaining puppies to be birthed survived. Hall created another fundraiser the next day, asking for $2,500 for the emergency procedure. She ultimately raised $2,430.

Hall named the three surviving puppies Persephone, Aurora and Eros—maintaining the Ancient Greek theme started with their mother. All three of Athena’s puppies were adopted.

Overall, Athena is recovering nicely, said Hall, but will likely suffer from chronic arthritis in both of her injured legs for the rest of her life. She also wears a pink scar on her back—the original place of impact—where fur will no longer grow.

“It is unbelievable on so many different levels,” said Hall of Athena’s unlikely survival. “I get emails and people like to see her photo updates. A lot of people have taken an interest in her and it would be silly not to continue to update her Facebook page.”

These days, Athena is happy, healthy and home. When Hall is driving, the mischievous pit bull insists she sit in the front seat whenever she’s in the car, looking out at the road in front of her.

“Athena, essentially, is a lover; she seems to be so appreciative of what we were able to do,” Hall said. “She is so attached to our children; she could go into any one of their rooms and just want to lay and snuggle with them.

“I just can’t help but think that she was destined for us,” she added.