UPDATE: New furry friend Madison gets some love from outside her home county

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The Madison County Sheriff’s Office said the dog is getting love from outside her home county.

MCSO shared that a kind woman from Tallahassee brought some toys for the emotional support K-9 in training.

Sheriff David Harper and staff thanked Mrs. Claudia Stodghill for bringing the toys to Madison.

“Madison loves them! Mrs. Stodghill brought them all the way from Tallahassee on behalf of her dog Ava-Lyn,” MCSO wrote on Facebook. “It was such a sweet gesture, and we are grateful for thoughtful and generous people like her.”

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - There’s someone new walking the halls at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.

A three-legged dog that was rescued from the side of the road is now making a new home with law enforcement.

“She came in on three legs and came right up to me and put her head in my lap,” Madison County Sheriff David Harper said. “She had me, and I knew that I had found my station dog.”

Wherever Sheriff Harper goes, Madison isn’t far behind. This ball of fur stole the sheriff’s heart from the moment he saw her.

But her story had a rocky start.

“It was in such bad shape,” Christy Tuckey said. “There were maggots, yellow flies, really bad infection.”

Tuckey and her husband found Madison a few weeks ago on the side of the road. She was malnourished and had a leg injury and parasite infection.

“As soon as we saw the magnitude of her injury, we just knew at that moment, there was no going back,” Tuckey said. “We were going to do everything that we could to help her.”

Tuckey sent Madison to the veterinarian for surgery. It turns out her leg needed to be amputated.

That’s when Tuckey made a post on Facebook asking people to donate. By the time the dog came out, there was enough money to cover the cost of the surgery, leading to her name.

“I said, ‘Let’s name her Madison after the town that saved her,’” Tuckey said.

Saved by her community, Madison now gets to serve her community.

Once she’s fully recovered, she’ll receive training to become a therapy dog and officially join the Madison County K-9 unit.

“She’s a story of trust, love, commitment,” Sheriff Harper said. “And, you know, I think that’s a good message that I can spread throughout the community.”

For now, Madison is bringing smiles to the sheriff’s office dispatchers and is content sitting right by the sheriff’s desk.

A fundraiser is planned for next Monday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Four Freedoms Park, where the community can come out to meet Madison and the sheriff.

The proceeds will help cover the cost of Madison’s continued recovery.

There is also a GoFundMe set up on her behalf.

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