Steve and Wendy were driving home from a climbing trip near Moab, Utah. They had settled into the drive, coffee in hand, good tunes, windows rolled down. Then, they spotted a black dog, literally out in the middle of the desert! They pulled over and discovered that the dog was emaciated and badly injured. They gathered her up, making room for her in the car by tying their gear on the roof. Once home in Lander, Wyoming (where they lived at the time) they took the dog to a friend who is a veterinarian. She discovered that the dog had a badly fractured femur and a dislocated hip on the other side. Steve and Wendy were young mountain guides at the time, with very little money to save this dog. They decided that they would keep her, calling her Sage, and would do what they could afford to help Sage. The vet splinted her fractured femur and reduced the hip dislocation.
Unfortunately, the hip kept coming out of the socket and the splint was not bringing the bone ends of the femur close enough together to allow healing; Sage was going to need 2 surgeries. At the time, Wendy and Steve were spending some time working in the office for NOLS and Wendy would bring Sage into work with her in order to provide good nursing care. The NOLS folks got wind that Sage was going to need surgery and people began donating money. Some would give $5, some $50. It was a touching outpouring from the community. Gregg, Wendy’s brother, decided to help by creating a website that could collect donations. In the matter of a couple of weeks, enough money had been gathered to pay for Sage’s two surgeries. Also, Dr. Blessing, from Cody, Wyoming offered to do one of the surgeries for a heavy discount. Thanks to all of the community support, Sage was repaired and has lived happily ever after.