Struck by a car as a stray near Arlington, Texas, the yellow Labrador retriever's fate lay in limbo for almost a week. The dog's leg was shattered and any orthopedic surgery would be expensive — so the animal shelter where he found refuge placed him on its euthanasia list.

But there was something about the dog — dubbed Rigel — that made people take notice. The woman who first came to his aid recalled how despite his injury, the dog tried to sit for her and jump in her vehicle.

Even in pain, Rigel would hobble up to greet people at the shelter, said Libby Pattishall, a volunteer with Luvin' Labs Labrador Retriever Rescue. "He sat there for six days, untreated, bones just jammed up into each other," she said. "But he would want to lick people. He's just a wonderful, wonderful dog."

The Tijeras-based group — the state's only Labrador retriever rescue — learned about Rigel through an e-mail from Shari McChristial, who operates Texas Collie Rescue, said the nonprofit's president, Colleen Wyatt. McChristial recently had helped save two other dogs from the overcrowded shelter.

Luvin' Labs has no permanent kennel but relies on a series of foster homes throughout New Mexico to harbor Labradors and Labrador mixes, Wyatt said. In the past 14 months, the group, which numbers about 50 volunteers, has been able to find homes for 291 dogs.

The group, which also supports spaying and neutering, relies entirely on donations for rescue.

As the date for Rigel's euthanasia neared — 2 p.m. Feb. 11 — Pattishall, who updates the group's website and handles photos of rescued dogs, caught her first glimpse of the dog. The Lamy resident said she had no other choice but to reach out to help Rigel.

"I just had a connection with him," she said recently, sitting with her husband, Wyck Pattishall. "I'm a very intuitive person, especially with animals, and I asked Wyck if we could sponsor him in a way that could help."

McChristial agreed to temporarily foster Rigel, picking him up that day from the shelter and driving him to a veterinary clinic for pain medication and an evaluation. The next step was finding the right orthopedic veterinary surgeon.

The group chose James Cook, an orthopedic surgeon with the University of Missouri, Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Cook cut a deal for the rescue group, as others began donating money — more than $550 — to help offset the dog's veterinary costs and care. The Pattishalls agreed to pick up the remainder of the tab, close to $1,200.

"Jimmy is just an incredible surgeon and a remarkable person," Pattishall said. "He's done a couple of our severe orthopedic cases, and he said it's a horrible fracture, but if you can get him here, I can do a good job on it."

Getting Rigel there proved an easy task. A flight plea was quickly answered through Pilots N Paws, and Joan Nickum of the transportation coordination group, On The Road Again, agreed to take him to the Missouri hospital. The next day, Rigel had his reconstructive surgery — 12 screws to hold his shattered leg in place.

The trip to New Mexico wasn't as easy. A pilot initially agreed to fly him, but severe winds forced a flight cancellation. So road transportation was arranged. In the end, 13 people agreed to be part of a relay that brought him to Albuquerque in two days.

"It was somewhat nerve-wracking," Wyatt said. "You never know what might happen with so many people — he could jump from a vehicle. He ended up pulling off his cast during the fifth leg of the trip."

But the dog was worth saving, Pattishall said: "Everyone had a connection with him. He broke a lot of hearts along the way. People just fell in love with him."

Wyatt sees cyberspace — the group has a website, uses Facebook and networks through e-mail — as the revolution in animal rescue. While Rigel's story is unique, Wyatt sees a trend.

"I think we have extraordinary cases, and they become ordinary because we witness them all the time," she said. "That's the rewarding part of rescue."

Rigel is now recuperating mostly in a crate at the Pattishalls' home with the couple's three other yellow Labrador retrievers. It's tough for the young dog, probably about a year old, because he's feeling better and wants to play, Pattishall said. But he must keep pressure off the leg for at least eight weeks.

"There's so little bone left, that if any of the screws come loose, there's nothing we can do," she said. "I try to keep my emotional energy low and don't talk too loudly."

Yellow Labradors have long found a place in the couple's hearts. Libby Pattishall became involved with the Labrador rescue group last year, shortly after Cody, the family's purebred yellow Labrador, died, leaving them with Cody's brother, Ranger.

"I felt I needed to give back and do something," she said, noting that she discovered the rescue group while searching the site for another dog. "Dogs pick you."

The love of Labradors also drove Wyatt to devote herself to helping save them. She and a friend, rescue partner Marita Harris, took over the cyberspace rescue site last January from Tom and Jean Payne, who had been running it through Lodestar Dog Ranch for seven years.

Wyatt had a German shepherd-Labrador mix when she was growing up. But when her beloved chocolate Labrador, Dawhoo, died of cancer in 2008, she said she knew she had to devote her life to animal rescue. "He was an incredible soul," she said, "and I knew I had to do something to make a difference. So I started saving them one at a time."

Labrador retrievers are the country's most popular breed, but are often misunderstood. Their energy level remains high for several years, leading some people to abandon them. Most Labs left at animal shelters are young, usually between 1 to 3 years of age, Wyatt said.

The Pattishalls ultimately adopted another dog, Molly, through the group last year, a dog from Los Lunas that was also scheduled for euthanasia. Wyck Pattishall calls Molly — the sole female of the pack — a mix of yellow Labrador, Great Pyrenees and Marilyn Monroe. She joined Tenner, a yellow Lab puppy who was initially caller Tenor because of his squeaky voice.

"His voice changed, but we liked him so much that we decided he was a 10," she said. "Yellow Labradors, with their dark eyes and expressions, they're just so friendly and happy. They're always happy dogs."

The couple said they look forward to Rigel's recovery, so he can join the pack as they romp around their home and another property in Pecos, which has a stream running through it. But first he'll have to do hydrotherapy as part of his physical therapy.

Rigel has bonded quickly to Libby Pattishall, but like most Labradors, has plenty of love to share. The name Rigel also fits in with Wyck Pattishall's passion for astronomy. Rigel, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, is known as Orion's left foot.

"I don't know what his background is," she said. "I don't know where he's from, but he's some kind of soul that's come in all of our lives in a real special way. It feels really good to have been a part of that and to be successful. It was a challenging rescue."

ON THE WEB

• Luvin' Labs: www.luvinlabs.com or on Facebook

• On The Road Again: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OnTheRoadAgain/

• Pilots N Paws: pilotsnpaws.org