20 January 2009
Missing Dog Found Frozen to Railway Track
Veterinarian Maria Just treats a two-year-old
American Eskimo that went
missing and was found frozen to a rail line by a CP Rail crew.
Regina Saskatchewan - After being lost in the harsh
winter weather for two weeks, a Regina family's dog has been found but is still fighting for survival.
On Sunday morning, the Regina Humane Society received a call on its 24-hour emergency line from CP Rail employees who had
found an injured dog lying on the train tracks near MacRae Bay in northeast Regina.
Gail MacMillan, director of development for the humane society, said an emergency personnel worker sent to the scene found a
two-year-old American Eskimo lying between the train tracks. The dog's tail was frozen to the side of the tracks, making
him immobile.
"We don't believe he was injured, but he was frozen in and (the emergency worker) literally had to chisel him out," she
said.
MacMillan said the dog likely went to the location, laid down and had given up, causing his body heat to melt the ice and snow between
the tracks. With the low temperatures recorded last week, the melted snow would have frozen again, trapping the dog in ice.
While it's unknown how long he was lying there, the dog's position could have helped him survive, yet also caused him trauma.
"He could have been run over numerous times by a train and it would never have injured him," said MacMillan.
The dog - suffering from dehydration, starvation, and frostbite on his legs and underside - was brought back to the humane society,
where he was assessed and immediately put into veterinary care.
"He had a tattoo in his ear, and through that, we checked our lost records and found that there had been a lost report made on
5 Jan 2009," said MacMillan.
Meanwhile, it had been two weeks since Brad McDonald and his family had last seen their dog T.J.
On the morning of 5 Jan 2009, T.J. was in the yard while the family's three children waited for their school buses. When
McDonald's son Jarvis, 18, got on the bus, T.J. ran after it.
By the time McDonald's fiancee was able to gather the kids to go search for T.J., he had run around the corner of the street and was
gone.
From there, McDonald called the humane society and reported T.J. lost, and then the family spent the day and night searching for the
dog.
"My son Jarvis and his friends spent the whole night wandering around the neighbourhood calling and looking for him, but we
couldn't find him," Brad said.
The family continued to search for T.J., putting up flyers, calling the humane society daily, and going there to see if he had been
found.
On Sunday morning, they received a call from the humane society telling them T.J. was found frozen to the railway tracks. When
McDonald heard the news, he expected T.J. to be dead. Even though the dog was in rough shape, it was welcome news to hear he was alive.
"I couldn't get out of the house fast enough to go down to the vet to see how he was," said McDonald.
While T.J.'s fate is unclear, his condition has improved since Sunday and the family is optimistic. On Monday, he was in stable
condition and progressing.
MacMillan said the family did everything right in this situation. T.J. was reported missing immediately and had tattoo identification.
"That is their ticket home and their ticket to veterinary care as well," she said. "It's lifesaving for these animals
to be licensed, tattooed, and wearing identification."
Jarvis, who was given T.J. as a puppy, said the dog means everything to him and he's thankful T.J. is alive.
"He prefers me over anybody," he said. "Now that we found out today that he's doing a lot better, I'm
happy."
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