Dog’s best friend
DRIVER RESCUES DOG WANDERING ON THE HIGHWAY EAST OF COALDALE
A stray dog found on the highway over New Year’s highlights the continuing need for homeless animal care in and around the city.
The dog was found east of Coaldale on Highway 3 by a local resident in the late evening on Jan. 1. The resident said the dog was wandering into traffic and back into the ditch alongside the road, and, worried it would be struck by a vehicle or freeze to death, she managed to coax it into her vehicle.
When they arrived home, the resident contacted the Lethbridge Animal Shelter, but was told the shelter deals only with city animals and cannot take highway animals.
On Jan. 2, the resident contacted the Lethbridge and District Humane Society.
“It’s very hard to tell whether (the dog) drifted from a rural home, and, for some reason he ended up on the highway running around in traffic,” said society manager Barb Grodzicky. “Or maybe someone dropped him off out there because someone didn’t want him anymore. There are all kinds of scenarios.”
Grodzicky said the society wanted to help in spite of being full up with animals at the moment. Some animals had to be moved to alternative sleeping arrangements in order to facilitate the new dog and his larger size.
Grodzicky believes the dog is a Lab/Pyrenees cross. She said the animal is very friendly and there have been no issues with him at the society.
“He’s a big boy, though,” she said, noting the animal weighs close to 70 pounds.
She said the outcome for the dog could have been very different if nobody had stopped to pick him up.
“This could have been very tragic,” she said. “He could have easily been hit by a vehicle, and it would have been a very bad ending for him.”
Now that the animal has been with the society for more than a week, he will begin the process to prepare him for adoption to a new family. Grodzicky said the society tries to track down the owners of lost pets through social media and lost and found pages.
Preparation for adoption will include a visit to the vet for vaccinations and to be neutered.
“Then we’ll proceed to find him a good home,” Grodzicky said. “Hopefully, forever.”
“Quite often, the ones who show up don’t have anyone looking for them,” she added. “And the people who are looking for them, lots of times they don’t find (the animals).”
The Lethbridge and District Humane Society looks for permanent homes for abandoned, stray and previously owned animals from Lethbridge and surrounding area.
It is a no-kill haven that works to educate the public on the need to spay, neuter and vaccinate their pets, as well as on responsible pet ownership.
For more information or for donation information, visit lethbridgehumanesociety.com.
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