Dog abandoned with a bag of food has two injured legs

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A man from Morley made a shocking discovery Sunday when he found a small dog with its front legs in casts on the side of a dirt road.

The little dog, which may be a puli, has so much unkempt hair he can’t see and can’t move easily because his front legs appear to be broken. He was left by the side of the road with a bag of dog food.

The rescuer called Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue, an Alberta group that rescues cats and dogs in Canada and Mexico. They placed the dog in a foster home and plan to bring him to a Calgary vet on Tuesday.

Rory O’Neill, the director of rescue, rehabilitation and adoption with Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue, said that she has never seen a case like this in her 15 years working in the area.

“Never with casts on his legs and a bag of food,” she said.

O’Neill doesn’t believe the dog is from Morley because there are no dogs like it in the area.

Because the dog had two casts, which appear to be done by a vet, O’Neill said the owner may have panicked when they realized the cost of rehabilitating the animal. Often, as dogs grow, they will need another cast put on to re-set their legs.

“There’s no doubt going to be additional costs,” she said.

Rocky Mountain Animal Rescue will have the casts removed on Tuesday to x-ray the dog’s legs.

She said if no one had called about the dog, his fate could have been much worse.

“If the guy didn’t pick it up it could have stayed there for days and days,” O’Neill said.

They aren’t sure how long he was on the side of the road.

“He’s really happy to be with somebody,” O’Neill said.

“He’s happy and cuddly and really sweet … he acts a little stunned like he has a bit of post-traumatic stress.”

Meanwhile, a woman claims she picked up a dog matching this description near Radium on Friday evening and returned him to someone she understood to be his owner.

esylvester@calgaryherald.com