'He's so sweet': Dog found in U.S. with crushed leg finds new life on P.E.I.
Winston, a Great Pyrenees mix, gets lots of attention with his prosthetic leg and pleasant demeanor
A dog who was found on the side of a highway in Texas with a crushed leg and dislocated hip is developing a special bond with a woman on P.E.I.
Rachelle Gallant has been caring for Winston, a two-year-old Great Pyrenees mix, in her Johnstons River home since December, after she saw his picture on the Save a Life Canada Animal Rescue Society website and decided to foster him.
"He deserves it," Gallant said. "He's so sweet."
Winston's hind leg was amputated. He wears a temporary prosthetic while a permanent one is being built at K-9 Orthotics and Prosthetics in Halifax.
Gallant said Winston doesn't mind the attention he gets when they go out for a walk in Victoria Park or at the No Frills parking lot in Stratford.
He loves to walk in the parking lot meeting people. He's too funny.— Rachelle Gallant
"People totally gravitate towards him because he's such a beautiful dog and he's so mild tempered," she said.
"We put his leg on, he'll walk in the green space but then he loves to walk in the parking lot meeting people. He's too funny."
Gallant, 47, said Winston has brought a lot of joy to her life, but also a lot of worry. The skin on his amputated leg is thin and needed a lot of care.
"When he was getting the sores on his leg I was thinking, 'Can I keep on doing this?' because it was such a strict routine — massages every night, passive range of motion, like it was a lot of my time and I felt like I just gave up my social life," she said.
"But finally now it's so much easier, just to load him in the car. We go for little walks, I feel like all that has paid off and I feel now he's in the clear. We're moving on, he'll get his leg and I know he'll be OK."
Gallant said Winston was likely hit by a car in Texas. She said she can't help but wonder about his life before he came to P.E.I.
"When I first started to foster him I think I spent probably three hours online looking at the lost pets around San Antonio because I was thinking he was such a great dog, I can't believe that he ended up on his own on the street. I know that happens a lot but those are questions I'll never get answers to. But I'm just grateful that he's safe and he's here."
Gallant is raising money for the prosthetic leg to help take some of the financial burden off Save a Life Canada, which pays for the expenses while its dogs are in foster care.
Her bond with Winston has developed so much she's thinking about keeping him for good.
"I've struggled with that decision a lot but I think when it'll come to it I don't think I'll be able to let him go. It's been so much work and I've already had him for six months so I couldn't see myself letting him go, like, for somebody else to handle him, I think that'd be really hard."
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