Meet  Molly A most heartwarming story---beats the heck out of murders,  politics and terrorists!!! She's a gray 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.'        This  is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom photo shows the ground  surface that she stands on, which has a smiley face embossed in it.  Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print  behind.