BILLINGS — The Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter is accustomed to saving lives, just usually of the four-legged variety.
When two poodles showed up at the shelter last week, something just didn’t seem right to employee Katie Laddusaw. The poodles didn’t check many typical stray dog boxes and Laddusaw thought there may have been more to the story involving their sudden appearance at the shelter.
Well, her gut feeling ended up potentially saving a life.
"Them coming in as strays wasn’t the biggest red flag, we get strays every day. The biggest thing is that they had all of the things. They were current on everything, they seemed well taken care of and the number to the owner was a busy signal," said Laddusaw.
And that number, unfortunately, would stay busy.
"We got a busy signal for about three days. Most people would assume that the number was not good anymore, maybe it's disconnected, or maybe they got a new number and unfortunately, that would’ve been the end of the road for us. If we don’t have updated information, there’s nothing we can do but try to find them a new home," Ladduasaw added.
But Laddusaw said she couldn’t shake the feeling something wasn’t right.
"When the person purchased their license, it was a senior citizen license. So, I took that as an inkling that this might be an older person in a home that might need assistance of some sort," Laddusaw said.
And that’s when she knew something more needed to be done.
"Our executive director reached out to BPD to do a welfare check for the gal, and they said they would go by and reach back out to us with any information. And then they contacted our executive director a few hours later saying that there was a woman in the home, and she was then being taken to the hospital," Laddusaw added.
And not a moment too soon.
The identity and status of the woman was not immediately available, but MTN was told that she has a long road to recovery and that a relative is currently caring for her two dogs.
However, this story could’ve been much different without Laddusaw's persistence.
"Kudos to Katie is all I can say. Our team at YVAS is amazing and this is just one example of how our team goes above and beyond," said Director of Development at YVAS, Tiffany Smith.
And while saving a human life this time around may have been out of the ordinary. Laddusaw says, she was just happy to continue to "make a difference" anyway she can.
"We’re a big staple in the community and hope to continue to stay that way and help people and animals," said Laddusaw.
And Smith added that "it’s a moment that will live with everyone" at the shelter, for years to come.
"We see some really hard things and we see some really happy things. So, moments like this, these happy stories, are kind of what keeps everybody going. So, Katie’s an inspiration to our whole staff," added Smith.
