Henk and I both love this pony's story:

                                               Meet Molly

She's a grey speckled pony who
was abandoned by her owners when  Hurricane
Katrina hit southern Louisiana .  She spent weeks
on her  own before finally being rescued and taken
to a farm where abandoned  animals were stockpiled.
While there, she was attacked by a dog and almost died.
Her gnawed right front leg  became
infected, and her vet went to LSU for help, but
LSU was  overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare 
case.  You know how that  goes.
But after surgeon  Rustin Moore met Molly, he  changed his mind. 
He  saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different  sides  
so she didn't seem to get sores, 
and how she allowed  people to handle her. 
She protected her  injured leg. 
She constantly  shifted her weight 
and didn't overload  her good leg.. 
She was a smart pony  with a serious
survival ethic.

Moore agreed to remove her leg below  the knee,
and a temporary artificial limb was built.  
Molly walked  out of the clinic and 
her story really begins there.

'This was the  right horse and the right owner,' Moore insists.
Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. 
She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain.
She made it obvious she understood that she was
in trouble.  The other important factor,  according
to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant
owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care
required  over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for  life in Post-Katrina Louisiana ........ 
The little pony  gained weight, and her mane finally felt a comb. 
A human prosthesis designer built  her a leg.

The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life,
Allison  Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports.

And she asks for it.  She  will put her little limb out,
and come to you and let you know that she  wants
you to put it on.  Sometimes she wants you to take
it off  too.  And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca.

'It can be  pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse,' she laughs.

Most  important of all, Molly has a job now.  Kay,
the rescue farm owner,  started taking Molly to
shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and  rehabilitation
centers.  Anywhere she thought that people needed
hope.  Wherever Molly went, she showed people
her pluck.  She inspired people, and she had a
good time doing it.

'It's  obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to
play in life, Moore said.  She  survived the hurricane,
she survived a horrible injury, and now she is  giving
hope to others.' Barca concluded, 'She's not back to  normal, 
but she's going to be better.  To me, she could be a
symbol for New Orleans  itself.'