The community helped save a puppy named Sugar this week, after the La Plata County Humane Society and Lisa Parker’s Puppies put out the call.

Dog lovers donated about $4,650 for Sugar’s life-saving heart surgery, which was completed Tuesday at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

Without the surgery, the Australian shepherd-pit bull mix was not expected to make it to her first birthday. After spending the night in the intensive care unit, she now is recovering with a foster family.

“She’s doing awesome,” Parker said.

She needed the procedure to close an opening between her aorta and her pulmonary artery.

The 10-week-old puppy was rescued in Gallup, New Mexico, last month, and she is the latest in a long line of dogs to be saved by the community’s generosity.

She will be ready for adoption through the La Plata County Humane Society after about a month of recovery, Parker said.

Herald Staff