"....A dog found by a Good Samaritan on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Fla., has been called a miracle dog. But the Greyhound known as Freeway is still struggling to recover from his severe injuries incurred after wandering on the road and being hit by a car. On May 9, 2012, Gold Coast Greyhound Adoptions was contacted when a 2-year old Greyhound was recovered from the highway with cuts and road burns over 80 percent of his body. He was nicknamed Freeway and was immediately take to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. Freeway has since undergone four life-saving surgeries. Doctor Joseph Bradcase, a veterinarian at the University of Florida, said that based on the nature of his injuries, Freeway had been “hit by a car” and is “lucky to be alive, mainly," he added, "because we had the people willing to invest the time and effort into him.” Gold Coast Greyhound Adoptions said when Freeway was found, “He was in shock, had a high fever, and was severely dehydrated.” Gainesville branch volunteer coordinator Kendra Stauffer was on the scene when Freeway was taken to the emergency animal clinic and put the initial $1,500 charges on her personal credit card. However, Staffer’s willingness to incur Freeway’s initial medical bills was no guarantee that that dog would pull through. "We didn't think he was gonna make it through the first 12 hours," she said. "He was very dehydrated. The first day was pretty touchy." After reaching out to the community for help with Freeway’s medical expenses, Gold Coast Greyhound Adoptions began getting support from people all over America and Canada. For the past three-and-a-half weeks, volunteers have been working around the clock to give Freeway both medical and emotional support and he is making progress. “His personality is really starting to show,” according to an update on the Gold Coast Greyhound Adoptions Facebook page. “He now does the three small steps out the porch and into the yard, eating very well, (but) he does have separation anxiety.” Greyhounds are sensitive, loving dogs, with a deep desire to please the people around them. Since the tragedy that brought Freeway so much suffering, more has been learned about how the greyhound ended up abandoned on the highway. “We subsequently, after a lot of searching, found out his race name is Petey D. This wasn't an easy feat as the owner wasn't listed in GreyData. It did take a bit of poking around and a lot of help from an assistant trainer and a friend in another adoption group to track down the owner of two of Petey's littermates that raced at Derby Lane. We are now in contact with the owner who signed Petey D Freeway over to Gold Coast,” according to Gold Coast. Freeway is not out of the woods yet and his medical bills have already reached $8,000. However, there is little doubt that Freeway, (Petey D) is a young dog who is not ready to give up and still needs help......"