A five-week-old puppy that was found almost frozen in a northern Manitoba community Sunday made an extraordinary recovery.
“I’ve never seen a puppy recover after being that cold,” Manitoba Underdogs Rescue executive director Jessica Hansen told CTV Winnipeg.
Demi is a Husky Shepherd mix puppy. A local resident found her and gave her to the Rescue’s volunteers who happened to be feeding and picking up stray animals in the area, which reached temperatures between -16 and -23 degrees Sunday.
According to Manitoba Underdogs Rescue, Demi’s body heat was so low that it didn’t even register on a thermometer.
Demi was driven nearly three hours to Winnipeg for emergency veterinary care.
“I thought she was going to pass away in our arms on the drive to Winnipeg. She was nearly dead,” Hansen said.
“We snuggled her into the chest of one of our volunteers, wrapped her in heat packs, and put some corn syrup on her gums to try and increase her energy levels. She was just so tiny and helpless. It broke our hearts.”
Demi is currently in an incubator being monitored and kept warm at Winnipeg Animal Emergency Hospital.
Demi has tested negative for canine parvovirus, a highly contagious virus found in dogs, but Hansen expects the treatment she’s receiving to be expensive.
“We hope her health problems will end there, but we honestly aren't sure," Hansen said.
The rescue group also brought in several other dogs in recent days and hopes to be able to care for more as the temperatures drop.
But Hansen told CTV Winnipeg that they are restricted by their financial situation.
“We rely on donations from our generous supporters to allow us to help pups like Demi,” she said.
“We’re asking our donors to please remember Demi and Manitoba Underdogs Rescue this holiday season.”
With files from CTV Winnipeg
