In Knoxville, TN bound for home from Massachusetts, their newly adopted daughter in tow, the elated Allen family never expected a rogue “sheep” on the highway to further transform their lives.
The curly-haired creature stranded on the median turned out to be a poodle in a very unfortunate situation. Mom Brittaney Allen shared what the family discovered after circling back to collect the dog and rush her to the closest vet:
She had a severe spinal cord injury, severe brain injury, was temporarily paralyzed, a broken leg, just a disaster. But her will to live was unbelievable.
Knox was “just barely there,” her moving chest the only indication she was still hanging on. “She fought so hard,” said Brittaney. An hour later they arrived at an animal hospital, not fully expecting Knox to make it through the night. She began having seizures, and didn’t pass any of the neurological tests.
One rough evening and an MRI later, Brittaney received a phone call with pretty surprising news: the MRI results were “beautiful” and showed no signs of permanent paralysis. According to Knox’s neurologist, she was a dog that “just needs more time.”
From then on, Brittany was thrown into full-time poodle nurse. She changed dog diapers, provided round-the-clock care, and her kids helped feed Knox in her recovery area. “As time went by,” she said, “we would just see little glimpses of her being a dog again.”
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One memory in particular stuck out:
One of my favorite times was when we were all in the living room together as a family and I felt a presence, and we look over and [Knox is] standing up for the very first time. She can’t walk, but she’s standing up, like ‘Look what I did!’
Over the next three months, Knox slowly began walking more and more until one day she brought Brittaney a toy, and that was it. Milestone after milestone, this poodle was becoming a happy, healthy dog again.
“She’s so gentle with my kids, she’s so loving, she wants to be near you all the time. She’s just so incredible. I’ve fallen in love with a poodle. I didn’t even know that was possible!”
Knox is living her absolute best life in the mountains of Massachusetts, playing with toys, running in the yard with her new dog sibling, and very likely getting secret scraps from her tiny human BFFs. We daresay she might be one of the luckiest poodles in the world, and it’s all thanks to some amazing vets and one incredibly generous family who helped her heal.
