A puppy who was hit by a vehicle earlier this month is on a full road to recovery, and the road to his new foster home.
After a painful recovery, Rufus was headed home to Saint John on Tuesday with his new foster family.
Although staff members at the Riverview Animal Hospital were sad to see him go, they were glad to the story had a happy ending.
“These animals become kind of a part of us very quickly, we all fall in love with them and when we get to see them go to their foster home and live a happy life, it’s almost unexplainable,” said Kelli Cormier, an employee at Riverview Animal Hospital.
Five-month-old Rufus was struck by a vehicle on April 9. That’s the night Nicole Thebeau, a volunteer at the Kent County Animal Rescue Shelter, got the call she always dreads.
“I usually go into a rush, panic mode because they said it was hit by a car and it was screaming in pain and at that point, I knew it was urgent, so I just kind of rushed over to the location,” said Thebeau.
After receiving x-rays, veterinarians discovered Rufus had pelvic fractures.
Unable to pay for emergency care, Rufus’ owner surrendered him to Thebeau, but thanks to donations through the Kent County Animal Rescue Team, Rufus was able to undergo surgery.
“He’s undergone three surgical procedures to correct multiple fractures of his pelvis,” said Doctor Lethan Dwan, a veterinarian at the Riverview Animal Hospital.
Due to the severity of his injuries, vet staff wasn’t sure if Rufus would be able to ever walk again. But the little pup keeps proving people wrong every day.
“His luck finally changed and he seemed to do much better,” said Dwan. “He has no perception as to what he’s gone through. He’s still as energetic and loveable as he would ever want to be.”
Rufus still has lots of recovery to complete, with some nerve-related issues in one of his legs. But full of energy, you would never know the horror Rufus went through two weeks ago.
“It’s a whole team effort here when these cases come in because they are heartbreaking for us all, but when we get to see a happy ending, it just reaffirms why we do what we do,” said Cormier.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Eilish Bonang
