A dog is capturing hearts locally and far beyond after being found at the lowest point of her life along a highway in central Nebraska. Her rescuer has named her Juniper, or Juni for short, and her story shows just how much fight and resiliency a little beagle can have.
“She was running down the highway, so I mean, (it’s a) stray dog of course I’m going to turn around and see what’s going on, see if she had a tag or anything,” said Elle Worley, who found Juni as she was driving on highway 7 between Brewster and Ainsworth.
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Juni was bleeding from her mouth and was very malnourished, but came to Worley when she called.
“I just knelt down and said ‘Hey puppy!’ and she turned right around and ran towards me and then about a foot or so before she got to me she cowered down but she let me pick her up. Very snuggly, but she definitely looked defeated,” said Worley.
A trip to the veterinarian in Broken Bow a short time later revealed that Juni had been shot in the head and that the right side of her jaw was shattered.
After a referral to a dental and oral surgeon in Omaha and a drive that began at 2:30 AM the next morning, what Juni had experienced became clearer: two shots with a .22 caliber bullet had missed her brain and eye by just centimeters.
Under anesthesia, more extensive x-rays were completed and Juni’s jaw was cleaned out but a reconstruction couldn’t be done that day. The little dog needed time to heal.
“Because of the gunshot wound, the teeth lost blood flow. So we don’t know if we’ll have to extract the teeth, again a wait-and-see scenario. There was also some fragmentation that was in her nasal cavity that the vet said worst case scenario could cause chronic infections but obviously we hope that that’s not the case,” Worley explained.
Even with a discount of over $1,000 from the vet, the first bill in Juni’s journey eclipsed $4,000 and Worley was told to expect about the same cost for reconstructive surgery.
A video Worley posted after finding Juni (which now has nearly 8 million views) had already begun to spread word of her story before the visit to Omaha. Fueled by posts on both Facebook and TikTok, support from local friends and strangers across the globe allowed the bill to be paid entirely by donations. The goal in expectation of the bill in eight weeks has also been met and more donations are not being sought at this time.
The support extended past financial help, as far as people in Omaha offering to buy dinner when trips are made their direction.
Worley, who relocated from the DC area to the sandhills of Nebraska in 2021 because of family ties to the area, said she and her husband have been blown away by the generosity of friends, family, and strangers.
“People wanted an Amazon wish list for her and people bought out everything on that and people are still donating even though we have reached the goal but obviously that will all still continue going toward food or anything else she may need after the vet in eight weeks.”
Worley’s non-hesitation to help Juni would lead you to believe that she has done something like this before, because she has. Two golden retrievers, Penny and Copper, have welcomed Juni into their home as family. Penny was rescued by Worley from a South Korea kill shelter.
“I think Juni’s story is neat because she’s resilient. She’s a fighter. I think life can get tough for every one of us. We can go through ups and downs in life and sometimes (with) mental health issues, we can feel like giving up; and I think she’s just a beacon of ‘Just keep going’. That’s definitely something I’ve learned from her,” said Worley.
Juni will continue to get antibiotics, pain medication, soft food, and lots of love for the next 8 weeks ahead of her next visit to the vet. Meanwhile, Worley said she is committed to action and justice, not only for Juni but for all animals who are treated similarly.
For now, every wag of the tail seems as Juni’s way of telling the world her personality can’t be held down.
“It’s been good to see her wag her tail a couple times and I personally can’t wait to see the joy and spark come back,” Worley smiled.
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To continue to follow Juni’s story, you can follow Elle Worley on Facebook or on TikTok at @EllePlantNurse.
