'Pretty disturbing': Manitoba dog rescue rehabbing dog found alive with hole in head
The Manitoba Underdogs Rescue (MUR) is calling on the public for help to save a dog that was found with severe injuries to his head and face.
Isaac is a one-year-old shepherd mix and was rescued over the weekend. When the organization found him, they said he had a hole in his head, around 1.5 to two centimetres wide and was missing most of one of his ears.
"We went up to a remote community on Sunday, we had some dogs to pick up there were being surrendered into our care and a bylaw officer in the community brought our attention to a dog that had an injury to his head, and the memo said that he had bone exposed," said Jessica Hansen, executive director of the rescue.
She said they were surprised at first that a dog that had bone being exposed would still be alive and thought the situation might not be as bad as they expected.
"But when we got there, it was terrible. His left ear was missing. The entire front of his face was just a wound. There was blood and pus and it just smelled so terrible."
Hansen believes Isaac's injury happened from either a bullet or an icepick and said it is probably one of the worst injuries she has ever seen.
"Especially when you think about the intent, the force and the violence behind an intentional attack like this, it's pretty disturbing for our volunteers to have to cope with."
Despite the gruesomeness of his injuries, Hansen said they expect Isaac will make a full recovery, noting he is still a very happy, human-loving dog.
"I think the thing that baffled us the most with Isaac was his personality immediately … Isaac came running over to us at full speed, super happy. If you had seen him in the distance, you never would have known, you never would have guessed that anything was wrong with him. I mean, it was like (his injury) wasn't even there," she said, adding he is still kind of playful while receiving care and he wants food and treats.
As part of his treatment, Isaac is receiving IV fluids, antibiotics to get rid of the infection in the hole, pain medicine and the bandages are getting changed daily.
Once the infection is stabilized and improving, Hansen said he might also require surgery to close the hole.
The bills for all this care is why the rescue is putting out the call for help.
"So to start off with, the hospitalization and initial treatments, we're trying to get about $2,000 … and then if we're looking at surgery, we'd probably be looking at another couple thousand dollars."
The hope is Isaac is able to make a full recovery within one to two months, not including the surgery Hansen said.
Donations for Isaac can be made online.
DONATING TO ORGANIZATIONS TO SAVE ANIMALS
While the rescue is asking for donations to help Isaac, Hansen said donations in general throughout the year are important to keep the organization going.
This year, she said veterinary bills are averaging about $30,000 a month, which Hansen said has been steadily increasing since the pandemic.
"We have found that we're getting more and more dogs in general, whether they're injured or sick or not. It's just been very overwhelming this year."
Hansen understands several pet rescue organizations including MUR are asking for donations to help and said any donation to any organization is appreciated.
"A dog saved is a dog saved … we're all working towards the same goal, we want to help dogs in this province, whether it's locally or in some of these rural and northern communities."
She added if money isn't something that is possible, people can also look at becoming a foster or volunteering.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW 'She was waiting for you': The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother in England
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Macklem tries to stay out of the fray as MPs do their best to use him to score points
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem navigates a political minefield every time he testifies before the House of Commons finance committee.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
A Holocaust survivor will mark that history differently after the horrors of Oct. 7
This year's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which begins on Sunday evening in Israel, carries a heavier weight than usual for many Jews around the world.
India's foreign minister reacts to murder charges, claims Canada welcomes criminals
India's Foreign Affairs Minister accused Canada of welcoming criminals from his country in response to the RCMP's recent arrests in a homicide that has roiled tensions between the two countries.