A New Hope: Animal Rescue Saves Stray After Being Hit by a Car

Paula Hawkins had never seen a dog survive with such severe injuries—until Sam came along.

In mid-January, Hawkins, the owner and founder of New Hope Animal Rescue, 526 Atkinson St. in Henderson, received a call from her daughter, Samantha, who saw a Facebook post about a dog hit by a car.

Hawkins reached out to the family who stopped on the road and brought Sam, an unresponsive, ice-cold, 6-month-old stray, into the rescue for help. Because New Hope Animal Rescue is a nonprofit, no-kill shelter, she immediately posted on the rescue’s Facebook page asking for donations from the community for Sam’s veterinarian expenses. Paula immediately drove Sam to All Pet Emergency Clinic, an after-hours emergency clinic in Evansville.

“The people met us at the door and his body temperature was down to 86,” says Hawkins. “They took him back and I waited for him. They had him in an oxygen pen and had his body heating up with a heated blanket. She asked me how far they needed to go and I said do whatever it takes.”

The clinic called Hawkins at 4 a.m. the next day and told her Sam was still alive but he had broken pelvis, fractured leg, fractured spine, three broken ribs, and bad bruising. In the morning, she picked him up and drove him back to Henderson to Dr. Jamie Alka at the Henderson Animal Clinic for more x-rays. Hawkins continued to post Facebook updates and received almost $1,800 from the community to pay for Sam’s vet bills.

“On the ride back he started licking us in the face,” says Hawkins. “From that day on, he kept getting better and better.”

After three weeks, he miraculously started walking, and after he was strong enough to leave the rescue’s care, Hawkins enlisted the help of her foster family—Hal and Bobbie Branson in Henderson.

“We can’t believe he survived,” says Hawkins. “I’ve never seen that serious of injury survive like that. It’s amazing.”

After two additional follow-up appointments with the vet over the next several weeks, Sam will be available for adoption. Adoption fees at New Hope Animal Rescue range from $75 for cats and $150 for dogs.

The New Hope Animal Rescue was opened in 2008 by Hawkins and two other partners no longer with the rescue.

“My mom said that as a child I would bring a wagon full of strays home,” says Hawkins, 54. “I finally found what I wanted to do later in life. I had worked in factories, managed restaurants, jumped from job to job. I never found anything to keep my attention.”

New Hope is supported entirely by Hawkins and volunteers. The rescue can hold about 25 dogs and 35 cats at one time and offers boarding and bathing. New Hope accepts donations, dog and cat food, cleaning supplies and, of course, volunteers.

“Sometimes we get down, we see a lot of bad things but the good things outweigh it,” says Hawkins. “It gives us a wake up call that we do good and we are good for the community. It’s always good when one survives. If it wasn’t for the people, we wouldn’t be able to afford it.”