Wolf-dog’s hard life and road to recovery
"I heard a commotion and a dog crying outside and rushed to see the dogs clinging to his neck through the fence."
Nordic Rescue is a Roodepoort-based husky rescue initiative that rescues these wolf-like dogs from horrific circumstances and although they have many sad stories to tell, they have had some great successes.
One of these success stories is that of Mika, who was saved by the rescue team in 2013. Mika was raised by a family in Krugersdorp who had no other dogs and he got so close to his family that he became extremely jealous.
Photo: Submitted.
The family had problems with him because of his continued jealousy and eventually they abandoned him. They wanted to euthanase him, but Nordic Rescue said they would take him in.
A few weeks after being in the rescue kennels he became extremely ill. He had difficulty breathing and coughed all the time.
“We took him to the vet, who suspected it was kennel cough, an illness his family hadn’t treated him for previously,” said Leana Smit, one of the rescuers. “He also contracted chronic bronchitis. All that got him through that terrible illness was cortisone, which he lives on now.”
Nowadays Mika is extremely loving and caring of people. All he wants is love and affection and he’s much calmer as well.
“I believe he became calmer because now he doesn’t have to fight for attention and he’s with other dogs all of the time. “
About two years ago however, two dogs attacked Mika through the fence of the kennel. The rescuers believe the dogs came out of a drunk man’s yard.
“I heard a commotion and a dog crying outside and rushed to see the dogs clinging to his neck through the fence. He had wet himself and had multiple wounds. I poked the other dogs with a stick through the fence so I could separate them. We had to rush him to the vet as the hair around his neck was torn off. Luckily he survived.”
Photo: Submitted.
The rescuers had to lean him over bowl of water three times a day to treat his wounds. He began getting fits when he got scared and wet himself a lot. The rescuers treated him with Clomicalm just so he could stay calm. Since the incident, he is much better and is a wonderful dog despite his hard and challenging life.
More recently, he tested positive for Giardia, an intestinal parasite and is getting treatment. But he’s a fighter and the rescuers are trying everything in their power to get him healthy.
To find out more about Nordic Rescue, contact Elke du Bruyn on 082 927 4222 or visit their Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/nordicrescuesa/.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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