Remarkable puppy survives 10 days in cold
Moby, a nine-month-old coton de tulear that ran off during a recent walk, was found cold, bedraggled and emaciated in a horse barn on the Tsuu T'ina reserve. A poster the pup's owners had put up led to Moby's return.
Deborah Tetley, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, December 05, 2006
She's emaciated, scratched up and her once-cottony white fur is matted, patchy and grey.
But Moby, the nine-month-old pup that went missing for 10 days during the recent cold snap, was found squatting in a horse barn Sunday on the Tsuu T'ina reserve.
The coton de tulear (a bichon-type breed) was still wearing her pink sheepskin coat.
Her owners -- who had used tracker dogs, animal behaviouralists and psychics in their search -- are reeling at the turn of events.
"It's still surreal and emotional," Ellen Kraminsky said.
"She was up against so many things, from the most inclement weather possible to preying animals.
"Somehow she toughed it out, but she's definitely not the same dog she was before she was lost."
Employees at the southwest veterinary clinic, where Moby was being treated until she went home Monday night, say the pooch is a lucky dog.
"She is just a skeleton," said Fiona Shearer, an animal health technician at the Shawnessy Pet Hospital, who was one of the first to treat the $2,000 pet when she arrived.
"When she came in, her eyes were glazed over and she had a vacant stare. She had no muscle and no fat left on her. When I picked her up, all I could feel was skin and bone. I was afraid I was going to break her."
The pup was put in an incubator to be warmed and given fluids intravenously to rehydrate her. Staff later went to work cutting and shaving the countless burrs and twigs from her fur, which had scratched her limbs.
Her once-black nose is pink from being scraped and possibly frostbitten.
Although Shearer doesn't know for sure, it appears Moby didn't eat for the entire 10 days.
"Her body lived on tissue for energy," she said, adding happy endings like this one are rare at vet clinics.
"We get animals that have been missing for a few hours and have been attacked by coyotes," said Shearer.
"I'm amazed she wasn't hit by a car, or attacked by coyotes or hawks or eagles. Even though she's a puppy, she's proved she's resilient."
Moby was found Sunday afternoon by a 13-year-old boy on the Tsuu T'ina reserve, which abuts southwest Calgary, not far from where she went missing near Anderson Road and 37th Street.
On Nov. 24, she bolted when the family's dog walker accidentally dropped her leash.
The family went to extraordinary means to try to find Moby. Their efforts included heading out several times with tracker dogs, listening to psychics, posting 300 posters around the area and taking out newspaper advertisements.
When the call came that the dog had been found, Ellen's husband was off to print 8,000 flyers with Moby's face, which were headed for direct mail.
In the end, the boy, who accepted an undisclosed cash reward, apparently saw a poster near the reserve.
The Kraminskys say although they've been "mocked" by some people for the efforts they made to find their dog, they're unfazed.
"There's people out there that will always argue that it's just a dog," Ellen said, "but it's also a member of the family, and there's no way I am going to teach my kids that members of the family are a dispensable thing."
Moby is expected to make a full recovery, although it may take several months for her to gain her weight back.
© The Calgary Herald 2006