Seriously injured Ollie braving her long recovery

Ollie, the female German shepherd crushed and rolled by a hit-and-run driver on Dec. 26 near Jim Thorpe, is recovering — but still has a long road ahead of her brave paws.

Ollie, chasing a barn cat, had entered Behrens Road and run into the side of a vehicle. That driver stopped to help, along with Ollie’s owner Racheal Lynn DeRosa, Brian Potance and neighbor Scott Lignore. The incident took place at the end of Lignore’s driveway.

Potance rushed up the driveway to get his vehicle. While DeRosa, Lignore and the car’s driver tended to the dog, they saw another car approaching. They jumped up and down, waved, shouted — but the driver of the second car ran over the injured dog.

The driver did bring her vehicle to a stop — but soon fled the scene. DeRosa and Potance focused on getting emergency care for Ollie. The found Valley Central Veterinary Referral and Emergency in Whitehall.

The veterinarians there told them Ollie had three broken legs and seven fractured ribs. She received a blood transfusion and surgery to stabilize her broken legs — first the femur of a rear leg, then the two front legs the following day.

Flash forward about four weeks. Ollie has been treated at the University of Pennsylvania, New Bolton Center; one of the front legs’ breaks involved an elbow. The first surgery was not successful and she underwent a second surgery on that leg. She had a checkup at the University of Pennsylvania on Jan. 20.

“The veterinarians had to remove her casts to re-X-ray and make sure the bones were healing properly,” DeRosa said. “She was putting some weight on her back leg and had good range of motion (without the casts), including the elbow that needed the second surgery.”

DeRosa said she is “touched and very thankful, it was very, very nice” for donations people made to a GoFundMe account, which is on Facebook under Saving Ollie. The account raised $5,248, which was applied to Ollie’s medical bills, which are about $35,000. Counting the GoFundMe money, DeRosa has paid $24,000 toward the cost.

“The bones will have to be re-casted as she heals, probably three more times,” she said. “Right now we owe about $8,000 but will probably have a balance of around $15,000.

DeRosa wanted to thank some neighbors, youngsters Ryah Confer and her friends Kevin and Reighlynn. They’ve been helping with farm chores and have also come to visit Ollie, signing her casts.

“I fell in love with Ollie the first time I saw her, as a puppy,” DeRosa said. “It was never a question of how much money it was going to be — it was can we save her, and will she have good quality of life.”

DeRosa holds out hope that the second driver will come forward. She would not be criminally responsible for the incident. However, if she were identified, DeRosa could pursue recovering costs through the driver’s insurance company.

The University of Pennsylvania — where Ollie was a huge favorite with the veterinary students there — discounted the bill by $5,000.

“That was so nice of them,” DeRosa said. “They fell in love with her spirit.”

Lying in the road, strapped to a stretcher, going to surgery, waking up in a crate from surgery, taking her medications, or just lying on blankets in DeRosa’s living room, one thing has remained constant — the strong thump of Ollie’s tail.