Young pup Nova needs some help.(Prince Albert SPCA/Facebook)

By Ian Gustafson

Power of Social Media

Community supports dog with broken leg

Jan 19, 2020 | 6:50 PM

A dog taken in by the Prince Albert SPCA has stolen the hearts of many on social media.

Nova, a seven-month-old retriever mix was taken into the SPCA’s care back in December after she was found out in the cold dragging her front right leg.

SPCA Manager Ashlee Bober told panow when they took Nova in to see a veterinarian it was confirmed the leg was broken.

“What’s happened is that wound has been like that for quite a lengthy period of time,” Bober told paNOW. “The bones are healing back together but what’s happened is she has a lot of nerve damage which has caused her leg to have absolutely no feeling in it.”

The nerve damage has stripped Nova of the ability to move her leg at all. The SPCA and the vet clinic were hoping with time and work on her leg she would eventually get some feeling back. Someone even volunteered their time to try some electromagnetic therapy to try and heal the nerves. Unfortunately, nothing has seemed to work.

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Bober said they contacted the vet college in Saskatoon to see if there is anything they can do in surgery before they look at the option of amputating.

“Ultimately we want Nova to have that leg and we would love for her to be able to utilize it because right now it’s just dragging …and dragging it like that can actually cause more damage than good,” Bober explained. “She’s the happiest little dog you would ever meet , she’s super loving and we’ve had a huge amount of support from the community.”

On Feb. 13 Nova will have her appointment in Saskatoon for further examination and surgery will be planned if they think there is any way they can help the leg. If there are no other options, they will look at the possibility of amputation.

“Dogs recover remarkably well with having three legs and she can definitely still live a very long happy healthy life without having that leg,” she said.

The community has rallied around Nova raising over $2,600 for her. The money has been used for trips to the local vet clinic but most of it will be used for her trip to Saskatoon. Some surgeries can be quite expensive.

“With the help of all of the people that have been donating towards her cause, [that’s helped us] financially to be able to seek all of these options,” Bober said. “It’s quite amazing how much support we’re getting.”

Nova is currently in a foster home and won’t be ready for adoption until after they figure out what to do. But that hasn’t stopped people from applying to adopt her anyway.

“We have had a enormous amount of people really reaching out to provide her a good home,” she said. “There’s a lot of applications that have already come in even though we’ve been telling everybody she’s not available right now.”

“There’s a lot of people who are quite interested in her, so I know it’s not going to be to difficult to find her a great home.”

Anyone who wants to donate can do so via the SPCA Facebook page, email-transfer to manager@princealbertspca.ca, or stop by the shelter.

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Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @iangustafson12