They're calling him Ace. He's approximately two-years-old and has had a recent traumatic experience but the Shih Tzu found at the side of the highway near Midale should be just fine in a few more days.
"He's very timid right now, and that's understandable," said Marlene Moore, president of the Estevan Humane Society who took the young dog in after a couple of local men discovered him locked in a cage, left on the roadside.
The pooch arrived at the shelter Oct. 6 in an emaciated condition and in desperate need of some water, and a bath, but may otherwise be in decent health although he hasn't been checked by a veterinarian yet.
Doug Hayward and his friend were heading to Calgary when they came across the cage with the dog in it. "It just seemed a little bit insane, that he'd be left like that," said Hayward who is currently seeking employment in Estevan, so can't take on the care and feeding of a dog himself, but knew that something positive had to be done for the dog's safety.
"We knew there wasn't any place we could take him to in Midale, so we brought him back to Estevan and took him to the Humane Society's shelter," he said.
The shelter's manager Judy Martin, took charge of the dog from that point, checking out his general health and giving him some food and water. Moore said she would probably provide a bath for Ace Friday afternoon but he would need some radical grooming too, for health reasons.
"His hair is all matted as you can see. He hadn't been groomed at all I don't think. I don't know if he could even see very well with all that hair," she said.
The dog wasn't too responsive to early efforts to approach him after he was released into the kennels from the metal cage he had been stuck in, backing up whenever people approached, but was slowly coming around to Moore's patient efforts.
"He ate pretty well last night and his teeth appear to be all right. They are spaced a bit, but don't appear to be damaged," she said.
Hayward said he remained in Estevan, instead of turning around to re-start the trip to Calgary, wanting to know how the dog would fare.
"I just wanted to know if he was going to be OK," he said.
The pooch wasn't located in the ditch, but rather left right on the highway's shoulder and Moore said that it was probably one slight sign that whomever abandoned him, at least had the foresight to put him in a cage, otherwise he probably would have been run over within minutes due to the volume and intensity of the traffic on Highway 39.
"At least they cared enough to do that, but abandoning a dog like that, it's just despicable," she said, noting that unwanted animals should be relinquished properly by bringing them into the shelter and assuring their health and safety.
"What were they thinking? Were they just hoping that someone would stop and pick him up?"
Besides the matted coat and obvious timidity, Ace should be back into good physical condition within a week or two, hopefully with some weight gain and not too traumatized by the experience.
In the meantime, he's just happy to be the latest client at the shelter, waiting to get acquainted with the other dogs and cats who have found safety there.
