A shelter dog who lost one eye and escaped almost certain death is hoping to finally find a place to call home.
When Crusty Crew Rescue, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving the lives of senior dogs as well as assisting at-risk animals, first came to the aid of Winky the 5-year-old dog, he was in a very bad way.
“We rescued Winky, who was then known as Arnold, from the high kill shelter Devore Animal Shelter in San Bernardino county located in the inland empire,” Lisette McLellan, the founder and operator of Crusty Crew Rescue, told Newsweek. “Before this I was a networker and I networked with the Devore shelter dogs so that’s how we came to meet Winky.”
In what is an all-too-familiar tale for McLellan, Winky was picked up as a stray. “Unfortunately, in the inland empire area of Southern California we have a massive pet overpopulation crisis and he was picked up as a stray with no microchip,” she said.
This was a problem. According to animal welfare charity Animal Rescuers For Change, California has the biggest homeless animal population of any state in the U.S. It has also become the state where the most animals are euthanized.
In 2023, the average municipal shelter euthanasia rate in California was somewhere between 15 and 17 percent.
McLellan isn’t sure what happened with Winky’s eye. “He lost his eye due to injury sustained before getting picked up by animal control,” she said. “We are not given information about the exact injury unfortunately.”
But what she does know is that the first attempt to have it removed nearly led to Winky being put to sleep. “He was going to be killed for an injury to his eye that was removed by the shelter’s contracted vet,” McLellan said. “Sadly, the removal was not done properly. The incision area kept swelling.”
His status as a stray, coupled with the eye injury and the fact he had “no other rescue interest” meant that Winky was on borrowed time.
Winky the one-eyed rescue dog. This brave pup lost an eye after being captured as a stray.
Crusty Crew Rescue
It was only thanks to the intervention of McLellan and Crusty Paws Rescue that he is here today. They were the ones that ultimately fixed the damage done in the initial operation to remove Winky’s eye.
“Our vet had to go in to remove a gland that should have been removed when his eye was,” McLellan said. Now fully healed, Winky has been spending time with a foster carer who had other dogs.
“Winky enjoys walks and playing with his foster siblings,” McLellan said. “He prefers dogs his size over larger ones, he likes going for car rides and looking out the window, he’s cat friendly, and he loves pretty much every person he meets.”
Neutered, fully vaccinated, crate trained, dog friendly and capable of walking well on leash, like any rescue dog, Winky requires someone willing to put in the work and be patient. Do that and they will get a canine companion who, from the sounds of McLellan, is already in search of a fresh adventure.
“Winky would do best with a family that has an active lifestyle where he can come along on adventures and receive lots of belly rubs,” she said.
He’s a dog who has gone on an incredible journey. Now he just needs to find his way home.
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