An Australian shepherd-Kelpie mix is recovering in Kamloops after being hit by a train.
It was on Dec. 8 that two CN Railway employees noticied something on the tracks in the railyard, according to a release from the BC SPCA Tuesday (Dec. 23). It was a dog that was “helpless and unmoving,” and “in obvious medical distress, seemingly having been hit by a slow-moving train.”
The two workers rushed the dog to BC SPCA Kamloops and she was brought to a vet for urgent medical care.
“We want to commend how incredible the CN workers’ response was. They acted so quickly to get this dog the care she needed,” Dana Coulter, animal care supervisor in Kamloops, said. “They’ve even reached out to check in and see how she’s doing. It’s really touching. She has a long road ahead of her, but her story could have had a much different ending without them.”
BC SPCA said the dog was originally referred to as “train stray,” but has since been renamed Bannock. She’s believed to be around two years old.
While described as resilient, Bannock had several injuries from getting hit.
She was found with her tail “traumatically amputated, presumably severed from being struck by the train.” Her front left paw was also so severely injured that it will need to be amputated.
Bannock also has multiple abrasions and lacerations, a hemmorhage on her eye and a fractured tooth that will need to be extracted.
The dog is receiving pain management treatment while awaiting scheduled surgeries on Dec. 31, as well as antibiotics to ward off any infection. BC SPCA said Bannock is being kept on strict kennel rest until then.
Coulter said Bannock seems to enjoy being all cozied up in her kennel and lounging on her blankets.
“She has the most soulful eyes, and she’s so tolerant of us. Despite the immense amount of pain she has been through, she always gives every single one of us a tail wag whenever she sees us,” she said.
“In addition to pain medication, it’s not uncommon for us to offer sedation for dogs when they’re in such rough shape, but Bannock just has such a calm and gentle demeanour; she hasn’t needed that to keep her happy.”
Bannock remains in the care of the BC SPCA Kamloops animal centre, but with plans for a foster-to-adopt home for her to recover in.
A fund for her medical care can be found here.