Vivian Friesen has a pet pooch that clings to life with dogged determination.
About a month ago, the amiable dog vanished from the Friesen’s farm home near Headingley, Man. Although he was missing for only two days, what happened to Zack during his absence is harrowing.
Zack’s misfortune began when he was apparently struck by a vehicle June 14 while walking along the Trans-Canada Highway, which runs past the Friesen’s yard. The accident left him with an injured shoulder, but didn’t kill him.
What happened after that is partly conjecture based on information Friesen was able to gather.
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It appears someone called the RCMP who decided it was best to put Zack out of his misery. Three bullets were fired into the dog’s body.
When workers arrived later to remove the carcass, the body had disappeared. They called the RCMP, but the officer who attempted to dispatch Zack wasn’t expected on duty until the next day.
When the following day arrived, the workers and the RCMP officer discovered that Zack’s body was gone.
“They looked around in the tall grass in the ditch,” Friesen said. “They found the dog, that had been shot and hit in the shoulder, but he had found water.”
The animal, now about three months old, was taken to a veterinarian clinic at St. Francois Xavier, Man. The blood and mud were washed away and Zack’s fur was shaved to expose the bullet wounds. Betty Hughes operated to remove bullet fragments from his neck and chest.
Because Zack was a personable pup and appeared as though he had once been well cared for, staff at the vet clinic suspected he was someone’s pet. Friesen was soon contacted by a woman asking if she had lost a dog.
“I drove right over there,” Friesen recalled. “Zack recognized me immediately and was very friendly.”
She was able to take Zack home a week later, but the bullet wounds still required careful attention.
A month has now passed since Zack’s happy homecoming. He still limps, and his fur hasn’t completely grown back where he was shaved. Other than that, he’s back to normal.
“If you came in the yard, he’d lick your face to say hello,” Friesen promised.
She remains grateful to the vet clinic for its efforts to save Zack’s life. As for the RCMP officer who shot Zack, Friesen said she harbors no hard feelings. She’s confident the officer was only doing his duty: “He did a job he had to do and I’m sure he didn’t enjoy it either.”
