Bruno, the miracle dog that endured a near-death experience in the bottom of an abandoned well for 27 days, is regaining weight and strength thanks to a very strict diet that is being designed by veterinarian nutritionists.
“He certainly appreciated the increase in his food intake,” said owner Cindy Billesberger whose husband John and son Joseph rescued Bruno from a 10 metre well on Oct. 14.
The emaciated chocolate Labrador retriever was covered in mud and weighed less than 45 pounds which was about half his regular weight. He was first stabilized and treated at the Prairie Animal Health Centre (PAHC) in Estevan and Weyburn before being transferred to the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan for further treatment when his condition took a downward turn about four days into the recovery process.
“He’s resting right now by the fireplace,” said Billesberger.
The fur coat he lost on his hindquarters and parts of his legs, has grown back. “But it seems he will lose some toe nails, and when that happens, he bleeds a little bit, but his paw pads that were pretty badly damaged now seem to be coming back,” she added.
The deliberately designed weight gain regime has gone fairly well. “He stalled in the weight gain area for awhile, but at the last weigh-in he was 23.6 kilograms (just under 53 pounds), which is good. He really enjoyed the increase in his calorie intake,” she added.
Bruno has also enjoyed a few minutes of play with another Labrador owned by the family, who is allowed in the house on occasion. “Luna isn’t shy with him any more and they are back playing around once in awhile. But the other dogs outside are still staying clear of him when he goes outside to do his business,” she explained. These former playmates are probably leery of their re-made buddy who now “probably smells differently and is acting a bit differently from what they knew before, so they’re still cautious around him,” Billesberger said. “But we all enjoy having him home and he’s enjoying the experience. He’s learned how to get the sympathy vote,” she added with a laugh. “He gets to curl up on a special blanket, or gets a seat of honour, with his own seatbelt in the truck. He loves riding in the truck and he is regaining his muscle tone. The tough weather has cut down on his exercise opportunities, but things are returning to normal,” she said.
Once the grid road out from the farm was re-opened, Bruno was scheduled to make his regular visit to PAHC to be weighed and for some more paw care. That will be a regular event for a few more weeks for the seven-year-old pooch.
“We also intend to take him to Saskatoon soon when we visit our daughter. We’ll take him around to the veterinary college again for a quick visit since they kind of adopted him and seemed to enjoy having him around for those weeks they had him there. The nutritionist consults with us anyway when his diet needs to be changed, so that will give her an opportunity to see him in person.”
The veterinary college has now composed a paper with recommendations they gleaned from Bruno’s recovery. The paper focuses on the refeeding practices since there had never been a recorded case of a dog going that many days without food, and surviving.
