AURORA, Colo.—Surviving the fall from the highway overpass at I-225 and East Colfax Avenue was only the first of many challenges for the young Labrador retriever who’d go on to earn the name Bonny Kelani.
When the puppy fell onto the pavement five months ago—severely tearing the ACL on one of her legs and breaking her canine tooth on impact—she was in the direct path of several cars navigating Colfax. It was a combination of good luck and good brakes that the dog’s story didn’t end after her fall.
“There were five cars that came skidding to a halt as this dog came falling from the sky,” said Cheryl Conway, spokeswoman for the Aurora Animal Shelter. “It’s amazing that this dog wasn’t struck.”
Another stroke of good luck came when one of those drivers decided to pick up the wounded animal and drive her to the nearest animal hospital. By the time the staff at the Aurora Animal Shelter received the call from the Alameda East Veterinary Hospital about the dog who’d survived the tumble from I-225, there wasn’t a lot of guesswork about what had happened. The doctors were almost certain the Labrador, who was less than a year old, had been thrown off the overpass, despite the fact that there had been no witnesses.
“How do we know she was thrown? When dogs get on the interstate … they typically run onto the median,” Conway said. “At that bridge over Colfax, there is really nothing on that side that would entice a dog to go over there. Also, dogs don’t jump over a fence when they don’t know what’s on the other side.”
The staff at the shelter had a difficult decision to make after taking the injured pup from Alameda East. The Labrador needed thousands of dollars’ worth of surgery, procedures that would be funded entirely from donations to the shelter. What’s more, the trauma of the fall could well have permanently damaged the dog’s ability to interact with people.
In another stroke of good fortune, however, the lab’s natural temperament and sweetness made the decision fairly easy.
“At the end of the holding period, she was evaluated and determined to be a lovable dog who had a very good prognosis after knee surgery,” Conway said. “With such a good prognosis, it was decided to go ahead and OK the surgery. This was a pup with a wonderful, pleasing attitude. … There were no long-term repercussions.”
Even so, the animal faced months of rehabilitation. For the first five weeks after the surgery, she was restricted to a kennel, except for brief walks to go to the bathroom. In order to allow the muscles and ligaments to heal properly, she was not allowed off-leash—a serious imposition for a puppy with boundless energy. And while the shock of the fall hadn’t affected her gentleness and her ability to relate to people, scars seemed to remain.
“She was a little skittish,” said Caryn Kabis, one of the four foster care providers who took in the Lab during her recovery. “I don’t know if it was some sort of trauma from the accident. Some sounds would make her react a little bit fearfully.”
When Kabis and her family went on vacation, the dog had to find a home with another volunteer. After a family emergency, she shifted hands again, and took up residence with Conway, her husband and her 13-year-old son. It was an arrangement that would soon become permanent.
“She’s very easy to get attached to. She is a sweetheart. After all she’s gone through, she still wants to be around people all the time,” Conway said. “She’s constantly putting her head in your lap, and she lays right at your feet. She’s got those big, brown puppy dog eyes.”
