Harley - NTSRI

The Happy Ending That Almost Wasn’t:
Harley’s Story

Harley's happy ending almost didn't happen!  Some juvenile delinquents in Harlingen, Texas put him in a sewer and abandoned him there.  We're not quite sure how long he languished in that horrible place, but fortunately, someone finally discovered his plight and rescued him. He eventually came to NTSRI.

But Harley's troubles weren't over yet! In addition to his generally poor condition from the traumatic experience he'd just survived, he was also exhibiting strange symptoms that mimicked some type of brain damage. For example, he could take only a few steps before he'd simply fall over! Extensive testing was done, and Harley was diagnosed - not with the brain tumor we had at first feared - but with erlichia, a disease that is transmitted by ticks. It literally took months of antibiotic treatment to cure Harley of this disease, but at last he made a full recovery.

Harley was adopted by a loving family and now lives with Barker (pictured on the left in the second photo), another NTSRI success story.