Not-So-Plain Jane

Tri-City Tales Issue No. 42

DeSoto Animal Control found Jane, a blue heeler mix, one day last November off East Little Creek Rd after she was hit by a car. Thanks to an x-ray machine donated by Tri City Friends, the staff could tell that Jane’s front leg was badly injured. Still, she wagged her tail for anyone who came near. A veterinary crew from Operation Kindness – who were at the shelter helping with spays and neuters— soon amputated her leg.

Jane spent that night tucked under blankets, recovering from surgery. The next day, Tri-City assistant manager Laura Welsh texted her friend Ben Morris, who runs a non-profit in Fort Worth called Animal Hope. The charity had been founded by his father, a longtime Fort Worth veterinarian who had been rescuing animals out of his clinic since the 1970s. After Ben’s partner died by suicide in 2014, he felt lost, wanting to use his life to make a better world. He quit his job and dedicated himself to Animal Hope.

Something else to know about Ben. He has a soft spot for amputee dogs. One of the first dogs Animal Hope rescued after Ben lost his partner came in after being caught in a chain. Her knee was broken, the wound infested with maggots. His father told Ben the dog was dying. Ben replied, “Not tonight.” She had her leg amputated and lived another five years. She helped Ben work through his grief.

She also accompanied Ben as a therapy dog to visit Mesa Springs treatment center and local schools. “You can see how she is different,” he would tell the children. “Do you think other dogs tease this dog because she’s missing a leg?” People should treat one another like dogs do, he would say, not thinking lesser of those who are not like you. After that dog passed away, he adopted another who was also missing a leg.

Laura Welsh has known Ben for 20 years. The day of Jane’s amputation, she texted him: I’ve got this really sweet heeler I think you’re going to like. The next day, Jane arrived at Animal Hope, her shoulder wrapped in pink bandages. “She was open and outgoing even though confusing things were going on,” Ben said. He knew almost instantly that she would not be put up for adoption. She was staying.

Jane now greets visitors and new dogs who come to the office, and travels with Ben as a therapy dog. They even go backstage to concerts, giving mental health boosts to tour crews separated from their families for months at a time.

“Part of the reason I gravitate to amputees is there is a certain beauty to how animals deal with adversity,” Ben said. “An amputation is traumatic, and the injury that lead to the amputation was traumatic. If this had happened to me, I would be upset. I would think that life was unfair. I wouldn’t be dealing with this with the same level of joy that Jane is.”