Black Creek resident Samantha Garstang is “amazed” at the amount of support her family dog Nako has received on his road to recovery.
“He’s really feeling all the love and we certainly are too,” said Garstang. “It’s been like this beautiful miracle.”
Nako, an eight-month-old border collie-Jack Russell cross, was severely injured Dec. 15 evening when he went out for a bathroom break on Garstang’s property at Hamm and Macaulay roads.
Garstang found him just 20 minutes after he went outside and discovered punctures and lacerations to his back legs and belly, a punctured kneecap and severed tail, among other things.
While unconfirmed, as no one actually witnessed the incident, Van Isle veterinarian Dr. Laura McKenny said she was “very confident” the injuries were from a wild animal attack. And she added that a Black Creek conservation officer said the wounds looked like they were caused by wolves specifically.
After the attack, Garstang had a ChipIn account donated by PayPal where she posts updates on Nako’s recovery, and there’s an option for people to donate toward Nako’s vet costs. She also set up a Facebook page with updates on his recovery, and Van Isle Veterinarian Hospital accepts donations directly to Nako’s account.
Garstang said she was surprised by the outpouring of support, both emotionally and financially, from locals and around the world.
“It’s just been so amazing,” said Garstang. “A lot of local people, and then friends and family, and thanks to Facebook it really went all over the world. People from Hawaii, people from Australia, all over Canada, the United States, have been contributing. Lots of people I don’t even know.”
As of last Wednesday, Garstang said Nako’s vet costs were almost $4,800. Although she said there were some kinks with receiving the ChipIn account donations, which totaled about $2,000, $1,700 was given to Nako’s account at Van Isle and a further $665 was donated through e-transfers, making total donations about $4,200.
“It’s been a lot, it’s been overwhelming and it’s really inspired people I think – and proven that community has no borders,” said Garstang.
While Nako is on the mend, his vet costs are ongoing. Garstang said one puncture opened up, and that alone will take about eight weeks to heal, besides overall rehabilitation and a third surgery.
People are still welcome to send in donations by visiting http://nako.chipin.com/nako-lives, or by going to Van Isle Veterinary Hospital at 1111 Braidwood Rd., or calling the hospital at 250-334-8400 and using a credit card.
Garstang said that if donated funds exceed Nako’s vet care costs she will set up a fund at Van Isle to help “pay it forward.”
“So that if anybody else finds themselves in a situation where they have this decision to make where they have the willingness and commitment to care for an animal but money is a barrier, I would like to start a fund just to help,” said Garstang. “If the caring and willingness and commitment is there money shouldn’t be an issue.”
writer@comoxvalleyrecord.com
