THUNDER BAY -- Hunter became the hunted in December.
Hunter, a possible wolfhound mix, who got his name after being turned into the Thunder Bay and District Humane Society, had been roaming the woods some 60 kilometres north of the city when a pair hunters stumbled upon the lovable pooch and his seriously ill sidekick.
Abandoned by its owners or an escapee, there was no telling how long the dogs had been wandering. All the two men knew was they couldn’t let the poor hounds suffer.
Maryann Kleynendorst, executive director at the Humane Society, said their persistence paid off.
Hunter was captured rather quickly, though it took several trips back to the site for the second dog to lose its fear of humans and succumb to the food left out to lure it into captivity.
Unfortunately the wound on the side of the second dog was an open cancer sore, and after being examined by a vet, it was determined the best course of action was to put the dog down.
The neutered Hunter is likely between seven and 10 years old has rebounded well and is ready to be adopted.
It’s an amazing story, Kleynendorst said.
“Somebody at some point loved him enough to get him neutered. Whether these two dogs escaped from somebody and ran away, whether they were dumped up there, we really have no way of knowing,” she said.
An exhaustive search of records shows no missing dogs fitting the description of the two animals.
“I don’t know where they came from. It’s really impossible to know.”
What she does know is how friendly Hunter is.
In fact, for now, he has the run of the Rosslyn Road facility.
“He’s a pretty cool guy. He was pretty lethargic when he first came and very, very emaciated. He’s done well. We’ve had him vet checked twice now and had blood work run on him last week. His organ function is quite normal,” she said.
“It’s taking him a while longer than we would like to gain the weight back, but he’s picked up a little bit. He’s really good with cats, he’s really good with other dogs. He’s kind of a couch potato. He likes to just lay around and he likes to get up and go outside and do his thing. Then he’s more than happy to come back in and lie on his bed again. He doesn’t really like to be left alone.”
Kleynendorst said she’s already had interest from one woman in Geraldton who is coming to see Hunter to see if he’d be a good adoption fit. But the organization said there are no guarantees and she welcomes the public to stop by for a visit.
Without the two hunters, Kleynendorst said, Hunter’s story almost assuredly wouldn’t have had as happy an ending.
“These guys, that brought these dogs to us, the dedication they showed going back and back and back, day after day after day, giving up their hunting trip in a lot of ways, was amazing.”
