When Tundra, a two-year-old husky-retriever cross, saw a couple of deer on her daily walk, she did what most active two-year-old dogs would do: she chased after them, hoping to play.
The deer, in response, did what every mother deer would do: protect her yearling by whatever means necessary.
In this case, it meant aiming a kick at Tundra’s jaw.
Tom Roy, Tundra’s owner, was out on his ATV with Tundra when the dog came back bleeding.
He did what any compassionate owner would do, and rushed Tundra to the vet.
“She’s kind of my baby,” said Tom, who received Tundra as a Christmas present two years ago.
“She’s his shadow,” said Tom’s wife Tracy. “He sits on the couch, she sits beside him and watches hockey games.”
The vet at the Animal Care Hospital removed four of Tundra’s teeth and helped fix her jaw. Further X-rays revealed Tundra has eight more teeth that are fractured and need to be removed. She’s doing alright for now, said her owners, but will need to go in for more surgery on Tuesday.
As many know, veterinary costs are not cheap. Tracy estimates it will cost well over $2,000 to get Tundra fixed.
“We just want to see her get better. You can’t not do anything. You’d have to be a pretty cruel pet owner to not get anything done to try and help,” said Tom.
Still, the cost won’t be easy for the couple to bear.
During the summer their house, which is located along the airport road towards Wildwood, was looted while they were evacuated because of the wildfires in the area.
Robbers stole a TV, Tom’s gun, and a number of other items around the house, as well as busting down the door, which the couple had to have fixed themselves as they lacked insurance.
Seeing Tundra hurt, has just compounded their struggle, said Tracy.
“Bad luck, we say it comes in threes. Is this the third, is there more?”
As a result, their daughter, Heather, set up a crowdfunder asking others to help with Tundra’s medical expenses.
“My parents are the kind of people that give back whenever it’s needed, they pay it forward whenever they can,” she said on the crowdfunding page.
“Any funds that aren’t needed will be donated back to the SPCA or given to the vet for someone who has the same situation,” said Tracy. She said they’ll be getting Tundra the medical attention she needs no matter what, but anything that people give will help.
Both Tom and Tracy say Tundra is an important member of the family and it’s hard to watch her suffer.
“It’s no different than one of your children. To me its the same,” said Tom.
Tom, who has severe health problems, said that Tundra helps keep him young.
“I take her with the quad. I’m physically challenged but the quad gets me out with her and she looks forward to it.”
“Tundra gets him out every day,” said Tracy. “She demands to go out and get her exercise, which gets him out.”
Tom is obviously fond of his dog. He chuckles when he talks about her, and when asked to send a photo of Tundra to the Tribune he sent at least nine, something both Tom and Tracy warned us he would do.
“She’s a sweet dog. She’s learning. She is young yet, she can be a bonehead at times,” he said. “She’s going to learn the hard way.”
Tracy and Tom are both surprised and grateful that people have already donated to help with Tundra’s recovery.
“I would thank them from the bottom of my heart for helping,” said Tom.
“I can’t believe there are people out there that would do that. It kind of restores your faith in people to see that there are good people out there.”
To donate, people can go to Tundra’s crowdfunding site at www.youcaring.com/tundra-1058057, donate through the Animal Care Hospital to “Tundra Roy” at 250-392-5510, or give Tracy a call at 250-305-8063.
@Tspricker
tara.sprickerhoff@wltribune.com
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