Puppy recovering after alleged attack

A 12-week-old puppy, allegedly beaten by its previous owner, is recovering after her first round of surgery last week, the owner of New Hope Dog Rescue reports.

Valerie Mackett, owner of New Hope Dog Rescue, received a call on Monday, June 20, about the dog. Mackett said that the owner allegedly beat the 12-week-old collie-shepherd mix with a golf club. The neighbour witnessed the event and took the puppy to safety.

The puppy, named Candy, had a broken femur, fractured tibia and was seemingly malnourished to the point where her bones were brittle. As a result of these injuries, Candy needed surgery.

Veterinarians later released Candy into the care of a foster home where she is now recovering.

Rescuing dogs from abusive homes isn’t out of the ordinary, but Mackett said she was still horrified to hear what had happened to Candy.

"How do you do this to a little defenceless puppy," Mackett said on Sunday. "Helping abused dogs doesn’t happen every day. It happens a couple times a year. We`ll never say no to an animal in need."

Candy will need another surgery in about a month, and that could cost up to $3,500.

Veterinarians want to remove the metal plates near Candy’s femur because she’s still growing.

Donations have come in but.as of Sunday the organization had only raised about $800.

Mackett said she hopes to raise as much as possible to pay for the surgery.

"People have been great," she said. "They have been going directly to the Northwestern Veterinary Hospital and putting their donations onto our account there."

Mackett added that the Humane Society of Thunder Bay would be looking into any legal action against the owners.

Clancy Martin, an inspector for the Thunder Bay and district Humane Society, received calls all day Friday about the allegations. Through an investigation, he said he found no evidence to suggest that the owner hit the puppy with a golf club.

"At this point there are no witnesses that saw a gentleman abusing a dog with a golf club," Martin told tbnewswatch.com Monday.

"From what I found out there is not only no evidence of a gentleman or a golf club but I’m being led to believe that the animal was found outside with a broken leg. I’m being led to believe that (these allegations) were made prematurely by a multimedia outlet. People’s emotions when it comes to animals and children run high. People tend to draw conclusions from what they see."

He said he would have to wait until a veterinarian told him what the nature of the injuries was before drawing conclusions. The case remains open.

Anyone with information about the puppy can call the Humane Society on Rosslyn Road at 475-8803.