When a Good Samaritan brought the white dog into the Wilson Veterinary Hospital, doctors didn't know if he would survive.
The severely injured dog couldn't even walk after being found on some railroad tracks on Jan. 21 in Emmett, located in St. Clair County.
The Sparky Fund animal rescue, which operates out of Wilson's, posted information about the dog that was hit on Facebook.
And while his owners were found, they weren't coming forward to claim him.
A train conductor also saw the post about the dog being found on the tracks, and he remembered trying to stop the train and honk in hopes that the dog would stop running down the middle of the tracks, but he told Andrea Plutter there was nothing he could do.
Plutter, a day manager at Wilson Veterinary Hospital, says because the dog is young, they were able to treat him through their Sparky Fund rescue.
Dr. Keith Burge says Emmett has a broken jaw, multiple skull fractures and ruptured discs in his neck that left him paralyzed for about the first week in their care.
"A third of dogs that get what he has will never walk again," said Dr. Burge.
But Emmett has made remarkable strides at Wilson's where he is in rehab and still needs to undergo surgery to repair his jaw.
During his jaw surgery, doctors will also clean up a portion of an ear that appears to have been ripped off when he was hit by the train.
If you would like to donate to the Sparky Fund for Emmett's care, you can call the Wilson Veterinary Hospital directly at (586)752-6217.
Click hereto fill out an application if you're interested in adopting Emmett or any of the other adoptable animals in need of a loving home.
