Puppy gets new feet

[Catherine]

Last winter a puppy was born to a stray dog in northern Saskatchewan. It was -40C and the puppy froze to the ground and lost his back feet and part of his tail.

It may have been a rough start for the little guy, but now he is a big dog and he has new legs, paid for by loving people.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchew...-1.2873644

Tell me if you were able to watch him walk and not feel a few tears of joy for his happiness.

[LPC]

Yes, you were right, Catherine! Tears of joy were difficult to suppress. How wonderful to see him enjoying himself, even pulling on the lead in the snow! A joy to watch. But the kindness of all the people also is so impressive....

[Tobi]

What a wonderful story!
It fills up your heart. Hector is beautiful. I like it that she can hardly keep up with him when he sets off running. He doesn't mind his new legs at all, and is definitely having fun on them!
I am so glad that someone found him and helped him. It is possible that his mother, biting off his legs, could have saved his life. I wonder what has happened to her? Poor sweet girl, having to give birth in minus 40.

This kind of reminds me of a vet in the UK "The bionic vet", Noel Fitzpatrick, who has come up with amazing solutions for permanent prosthetics for dogs and cats:

http://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/

Maybe this deserves a thread of its own. I might put one up.

[Catherine]

I thought it was amazing that Hector learned to walk on his two front feet. I didn't think that was possible. Now that he has legs he can run. I notice he can only do an hour at a time with his legs. I am sure he will build up endurance and some day will be good for the whole day.

Tobi, you wouldn't be used to the effects of -40C. That temperature is so cold that frost bite can occur in five minutes. The puppy was wet from birth and literally froze to the ground. I understand that the mother picked the puppy up and pieces of his feet and tail stayed stuck to the ground. They were already frozen and more would have needed to be amputated. If Hector had not been rescued right away he would have died of hypothermia. He is lucky that he only lost his back feet and tail.

You should do a post about the Bionic Vet. He is doing good work with the animals.

[Tobi]

You are right Catherine, I have no idea what -40 is like. The only insight I get into that is from watching films about Everest, K2 and Denali expeditions.
The worst we ever get here is about -15 and that is not so frequent where I live now. The mountains in N.Wales were colder in winter, but the worst that ever got was -18-20
It was indeed fortunate that he was found so quickly or he would definitely have died. I still think about his mother though, bless her.

Humans definitely came to the rescue here. Thank goodness for people, sometimes eh? There are very many caring people, I think.

[Catherine]

When I lived in Edmonton we had a full week of -40 and it is like nothing you ever imagined. They advised people to stay home. When I had to go out, I had a mesh wool scarf that covered my face completely and I looked out through the holes. It was so cold that ice crystals hung in the air. If you breath deeply at that temperature you will frost your lungs.
The air is so cold it burns.

I had a big Hudson's Bay Parka and heavy boots etc. They mean it when they say that exposed skin freezes in 5 min.

The puppy only survived because he was found right away. They don't say, but I assume the mother ended up at the same shelter and was adopted. I hope so.

[Catherine]

It seems that there are other dogs that need help. This one is a dog born with deformed legs. They created front legs for him so he can run.
http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/18/see-d...runs-fast/

These dogs are amazing and the people who help them are angels.