Severely abused dog gets new life with new home

THUNDER BAY -- A severely abused northern rescue dog is days away from a new southern Ontario home. And she’s getting attention from around the world.

Gem, a nine-month-old shepherd cross badly abused in a northern community, has limited use of her hind legs, her injuries leaving her crippled and unable to walk without the assistance of a pair of wheels strapped to her hind quarter.

Taken out of the reserve by Paws for Love dog rescue after being alerted by residents there, Gem has been recovering in Thunder Bay since last fall.

But Nikki Burns, a volunteer with the Paws for Love Dog Rescue, said rather than focus on the young pup’s injuries she’d rather focus on the positive. 

The hope is the move south will provide a level of care she can’t find in Northern Ontario.

“For the last number of months she has been seeing a vet. She’s had x-rays and has been seeing a chiropractor. She’s had energy therapy and been with a trainer – all kinds of things,” Burns said on Wednesday.

“The problem is that in Thunder Bay, as much as she’s had wonderful care from the vets and all the professionals and her foster homes, we don’t have the specialized kind of rehab care for a dog like Gem.”

The dog, which also wears a pink homemade diaper to control an incontinence problem, has system-wide issues, leaving several questions about her prognosis open to question. It’s hoped that those answers will be found in her new home.

“Paws for love decided that it’s in her best interest, as much as we all love her, to look at finding a place where she might be able to get the kind of care she needs,” Burns said.

“We contacted a number of rescues that have access to this kind of care and finally we were able to place here with a rescue in Bracebridge, Ont.”

Described as sassy and lovable, Gem simply wants to be like other dogs, Burns said.

Her new foster family will be making the 18-hour drive from the Toronto area this weekend, and plan to begin the return journey, dog in tow, on Monday.

“And her new life will begin,” Burns said.

A Go Fund Me page set up to help pay for her care in southern Ontario, has raised nearly $3,000, and was recently made a feature story by the crowd-funding website, drawing even more attention to Gem’s plight.

“As soon as they did that we started getting responses and donations from all around the world. It was just unbelievable the response we’ve had,” Burns said.