Residents and volunteers rallied over the past few days for a Melrose greyhound who was hit by a car March 28 on Franklin Street in Stoneham.
Lokin's story was far-reaching after news of him made its way like a firestorm on social media. The regal 7-year-old greyhound ran up Isabella Street after the traumatic hit and disappeared into the night.
Volunteers from Granite State Dog Recovery, Greyhound Adventures and dozens of kind locals came out on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to hang fliers and walk the area hoping to find Lokin, who experts suspected hadn't gone very far given the likelihood that he was seriously injured.
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Lokin is owned by Stella Pathiakis of Melrose and broke out of the yard through a broken fence along with his greyhound brother on Thursday night. His brother was found in Melrose fairly quickly that night by a Good Samaritan, but Lokin was not as fortunate.
On the third day following Lokin's tragic accident on Franklin Street, a Walsh Ave. resident on Easter Sunday noticed Lokin resting in a bed of leaves in her yard. It was the second time she had seen the dog since Friday, but had no idea that folks were frantically looking for him.
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A neighbor called Stoneham Police and Stella was contacted to come pick up her boy. But when she arrived, Lokin collapsed and had to be lifted into her car.
Lokin is currently in ICU where his prognosis was not promising at first, but has been upgraded since Lokin's condition appears to be improving.
He suffered a broken scapula (shoulder), 4 broken ribs, a punctured lung, terrible bruising along the right side of his body, and had developed a heart arrythmia from the impact.
A veterinary tech from the hospital where Lokin is being treated said that there was a round imprint of some sort of emblem from the car that hit Lokin embedded in his stomach.
The care Lokin is receiving at Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn is remarkable, said Pathiakis. When she is not able to visit with her beloved dog, staff arranges for a "video visit" where she can watch Lokin from her home computer.
"The staff is just so, so kind and have eliminatied all anxiety I was having regarding Lokin's care," said Pathiakis. "They are so attentive to Lokin and me. I don't have to call in to ask how he is since the doctor calls me regularly twice daily to update me on Lokin's progress."
Pathiakis expressed her gratefulness to all the volunteers who came out to look for Lokin and for Bob Keating, who was visiting his mom, Janet Keating, on Easter Sunday and realized Lokin was in trouble.
Lokin is very lucky to have stayed alive after the accident alone outdoors for 2 1/2 days. While his prognosis is improved, his recovery will be guarded and will take several weeks. He may need surgery once he's stabilized to repair his broken shoulder.
Lokin's medical bills will be in the thousands and a fund to help defray the costs has been established.
For anyone interested in donating for Lokin's care, please make checks payable to:
Lokin's Accident Fund
c/o TD Bank
635 Lowell St.
Peabody MA 01960
All donations will be paid directly to Massachusetts Veterinary Referral Hospital in Woburn.
Many thanks to all the kind-hearted volunteers and neighbors who helped with the search and kept an eye out for Lokin.
