Tale of a Sad dog :(
Yesterday Matt and I we driving to the house he is house/horse sitting, we have to take a back country road to get there (it's kinda back in the bush). As we were coming down this BIG hill, I saw something run across the road, being blind I was like "Oh look, a baby moose!!!" then Matt replyed with "no, it's a coyote" lol, then as we got closer the way the tail went he was like "it's a cat!!" That got me excited cuz being in a jeep and driving past a cougar isn't that scary and we would have been REALLY close!! Matt slowed down as as we got close we were both sighed "nope, it just a dog" (ok so we're both blind), but then as he past it, I gasped in horror and he slammed the brakes on -which on an icey back country road was sketchy enough but we were already heading up the steep hill.
"Holy shit" was all I could say, as Matt put the Jeep in reverse and backed down the hill. It was the most emaciated dog I have seen in a long time, a very pretty, but sickeningly skinny retriever cross!! I told Matt to be careful as he hopped out, but when the dog saw him he came trotting up to him wagging his tail - clearly not ferrel and knew people!! There was NO freaken way I was letting this poor dog continue on whatever route he was heading so we opened the back and he jumped in no prob - again clearly not a dog that hasn't been around people much, (he also knew stay, sit and come!!)
While we were driving the rest of the way to the house we noticed he had a really bad wheeze and sounded like he had some upper respiratory problem, or even maybe pneumonia or something. When we got to the house, I grabbed a bit of food and offered him some, he gobbled up the stuff in my hands like it was going out a style. I let him jump out and put a little bit on the ground. I didn't give him too much I judging by his tummy, he hadn't eaten in a while so I didn't want to over load his system. Little and often was the way I was going. We tied him on a 20ft or longer rope, thinking maybe hes a runner.... nope happily stayed with us, even when we were inside tidying up the house, he just layed there, contently by the door. I talked to a few friends at the Humane Society and as soon as we got back to town (we were about an hour out) we took him straight there so that they could take care of him, have their vet look at him and asses him from there. I am hoping that he's not that sick with his resp. system and that they can give him what he needs and he'll be ok, but I'm not holding my breath just yet. I will find out more tomorrow on his true condition.
What kills me is this dog was gorgeous. I wish I would have taken pictures of him better rather then just his sad state. The was huge - up to my waist almost, and the friendliest boy. He did have a tattoo, but I'm pretty sure it was a breeders tattoo since if it was a vet one, it would have aged the him at at least 11yrs and there was NO way he was that old. His teeth were hardly even plaquey!!
My guess is that he was a city 'drop off'. It is sadly very common for people from the city to take a dog out for a "walk" and then turn the loose on a back road in the bush, or even on the side of the highway and just leave them. If this dog was a farm dog, he should have been able to find his way back home, or at least know enough to go to another neighbouring farm, but clearly he hadn't eaten in a long time.
These are a few pictures I took of him. It makes me so sad...... and very mad!!
Him gobbling up the little bit of food I gave him. We put the rope on him but it's a slip, so it's not tight at all on him, it was a 20ft rope and he chose not to use it or pull in the slightest.
You can see how ribby he is. These pictures don't to it any justice! It was WAY worse in person!!
See how badly his ribs stick out!!!
His Hips bones also stuck out so much
Whats even worse is he was someone's pet at some point, someone cared enough about him to neuter him and tattoo him and he was well behaved and trained. I'm not saying he was a drop off, he could have gotten away somehow (although I doubt it by the way he was) but still, this sickens and infuriates me :( It's also now proven that I have managed to turn Matt into a softy, cuz before I even said we need to go back, he already had that jeep in reverse and was heading for the dog!!
"Holy shit" was all I could say, as Matt put the Jeep in reverse and backed down the hill. It was the most emaciated dog I have seen in a long time, a very pretty, but sickeningly skinny retriever cross!! I told Matt to be careful as he hopped out, but when the dog saw him he came trotting up to him wagging his tail - clearly not ferrel and knew people!! There was NO freaken way I was letting this poor dog continue on whatever route he was heading so we opened the back and he jumped in no prob - again clearly not a dog that hasn't been around people much, (he also knew stay, sit and come!!)
While we were driving the rest of the way to the house we noticed he had a really bad wheeze and sounded like he had some upper respiratory problem, or even maybe pneumonia or something. When we got to the house, I grabbed a bit of food and offered him some, he gobbled up the stuff in my hands like it was going out a style. I let him jump out and put a little bit on the ground. I didn't give him too much I judging by his tummy, he hadn't eaten in a while so I didn't want to over load his system. Little and often was the way I was going. We tied him on a 20ft or longer rope, thinking maybe hes a runner.... nope happily stayed with us, even when we were inside tidying up the house, he just layed there, contently by the door. I talked to a few friends at the Humane Society and as soon as we got back to town (we were about an hour out) we took him straight there so that they could take care of him, have their vet look at him and asses him from there. I am hoping that he's not that sick with his resp. system and that they can give him what he needs and he'll be ok, but I'm not holding my breath just yet. I will find out more tomorrow on his true condition.
What kills me is this dog was gorgeous. I wish I would have taken pictures of him better rather then just his sad state. The was huge - up to my waist almost, and the friendliest boy. He did have a tattoo, but I'm pretty sure it was a breeders tattoo since if it was a vet one, it would have aged the him at at least 11yrs and there was NO way he was that old. His teeth were hardly even plaquey!!
My guess is that he was a city 'drop off'. It is sadly very common for people from the city to take a dog out for a "walk" and then turn the loose on a back road in the bush, or even on the side of the highway and just leave them. If this dog was a farm dog, he should have been able to find his way back home, or at least know enough to go to another neighbouring farm, but clearly he hadn't eaten in a long time.
These are a few pictures I took of him. It makes me so sad...... and very mad!!
Him gobbling up the little bit of food I gave him. We put the rope on him but it's a slip, so it's not tight at all on him, it was a 20ft rope and he chose not to use it or pull in the slightest.
You can see how ribby he is. These pictures don't to it any justice! It was WAY worse in person!!
See how badly his ribs stick out!!!
His Hips bones also stuck out so much
Whats even worse is he was someone's pet at some point, someone cared enough about him to neuter him and tattoo him and he was well behaved and trained. I'm not saying he was a drop off, he could have gotten away somehow (although I doubt it by the way he was) but still, this sickens and infuriates me :( It's also now proven that I have managed to turn Matt into a softy, cuz before I even said we need to go back, he already had that jeep in reverse and was heading for the dog!!