Rutland Herald
Anthony Edwards / Staff Photo
Kimberly Parker sits with J.D. at Eastwood Animal Clinic in Rutland
after the two were reunited on Sunday following a ten day period of the
dog being lost around the Killington area.
KILLINGTON — More than 10 days after JD, or
“Just Dog,” ran away from his owner’s ski house on Dean Hill Road in
Killington, the yellow lab mix was found waiting on the steps of The Spa
at the Woods.
On New Year’s Eve, Kimberly Parker was enjoying her usual skiing vacation when fireworks scared off her pooch, causing him to run into the nearby woods.
Parker knew finding him would be tricky because he was a rescue pet, and skittish around strangers, especially in an unfamiliar place.
The Boston native rallied hundreds of locals and friends to help search for her four-legged companion for the next 10 days.
About an hour before Parker and her dad were supposed to pack up the car and head back to Boston, they got a phone call that JD had been spotted.
“We drove as fast as we could,” said Peter Parker, who had spent four days trudging around the mountain looking for his daughter’s dog. “She jumped out of the car and was off running. When I walked inside she was on the floor, holding him and crying.”
Peter Parker said that as a father, watching his daughter go from such despair to joy was a tremendous feeling.
“She was dreading driving home without him, without knowing if he was all right,” he said of his daughter. “I had never even met her dog, but seeing them together made me cry. I am just so happy for her.”
The father-daughter search team had been near Plymouth when they got the call that JD had been spotted near the Base Camp Outfitters ski shop on the access road.
The Parkers, along with a handful of concerned volunteers, searched the woods behind the retail store, but had no luck.
“We were walking around trying to find him for about an hour, when we got another call saying he was inside someone’s condo at the spa,” Parker’s father said.
And there he was, thin and ragged, but alive, tail wagging at his owner.
Peter Parker said he thinks the search party had flushed him through the woods and down to the spa.
“It wasn’t our intention, but it worked,” he said.
Kimberly Parker and her dad paged veterinarian Bruce LeGallais from the Eastwood Animal Clinic, who agreed to meet them back at the office as soon as he kicked off his skis and drove down to Rutland from the mountain.
“I have never been so happy to abandon a day of skiing,” LeGallais said, who had been following the story and search progress of JD online and by word of mouth.
“So many people have come through the clinic doors talking about this dog,” he said. “I was so thrilled to get the call that he was alive.”
But his thrill switched to concern when he took a look at JD.
His ribs were showing and he had clear evidence of frost bite on several areas of his body, LeGallais said.
But even that wasn’t his main concern. Due to dehydration. LeGallais was more concerned about the condition of the dog’s liver and kidneys.
“He was very dehydrated and hypodermic,” he said. “But after some blood tests, we learned that he is going to make a full recovery.”
LeGallais said all of JD’s wounds are painful, yet superficial.
The 5-year-old pup has frostbite on all four paws, his ears, nose and eyelids. He lost an estimated 12 pounds from lack of food.
The recovery process will be slow, but it will yield the desired results.
The skin on his paws damaged by frostbite will turn black and fall off. He will need to wear booties for several weeks, then every time the weather gets very cold or hot, as his skin on his paws will always be sensitive to extreme temperatures.
But the healing process will be fairly quick, LeGallais said, thanks to the help of a fairly new treatment called cold laser treatment.
“Basically it’s a strong beam of energy that helps with cell turnover and healing,” he said.
JD’s paws will heal in about two-and-a-half weeks instead of over a month.
Because LeGallais is guessing that JD has gone most of the time without food, he is on a very strict diet. Too many calories or too much fat could make him very sick. So he is on special food for several days until his body gets used to his regular food again. Even then, he will have to eat in small portions, acclimating to his normal eating routine.
Parker declined to comment about her dog’s recovery, saying she was too emotional and exhausted to leave his side as his fluid levels were replenished and he slept under a pile of blankets.
But LeGallais said he has never seen an owner so happy to find a pet.
“I honestly can’t understand how he survived this long, especially with those freezing nights,” LeGallais said. “If he had not been found when he had, he would not have lived through another night or two. It’s amazing that he has survived.”
bryanna.allen@rutlandherald.com
On New Year’s Eve, Kimberly Parker was enjoying her usual skiing vacation when fireworks scared off her pooch, causing him to run into the nearby woods.
Parker knew finding him would be tricky because he was a rescue pet, and skittish around strangers, especially in an unfamiliar place.
The Boston native rallied hundreds of locals and friends to help search for her four-legged companion for the next 10 days.
About an hour before Parker and her dad were supposed to pack up the car and head back to Boston, they got a phone call that JD had been spotted.
“We drove as fast as we could,” said Peter Parker, who had spent four days trudging around the mountain looking for his daughter’s dog. “She jumped out of the car and was off running. When I walked inside she was on the floor, holding him and crying.”
Peter Parker said that as a father, watching his daughter go from such despair to joy was a tremendous feeling.
“She was dreading driving home without him, without knowing if he was all right,” he said of his daughter. “I had never even met her dog, but seeing them together made me cry. I am just so happy for her.”
The father-daughter search team had been near Plymouth when they got the call that JD had been spotted near the Base Camp Outfitters ski shop on the access road.
The Parkers, along with a handful of concerned volunteers, searched the woods behind the retail store, but had no luck.
“We were walking around trying to find him for about an hour, when we got another call saying he was inside someone’s condo at the spa,” Parker’s father said.
And there he was, thin and ragged, but alive, tail wagging at his owner.
Peter Parker said he thinks the search party had flushed him through the woods and down to the spa.
“It wasn’t our intention, but it worked,” he said.
Kimberly Parker and her dad paged veterinarian Bruce LeGallais from the Eastwood Animal Clinic, who agreed to meet them back at the office as soon as he kicked off his skis and drove down to Rutland from the mountain.
“I have never been so happy to abandon a day of skiing,” LeGallais said, who had been following the story and search progress of JD online and by word of mouth.
“So many people have come through the clinic doors talking about this dog,” he said. “I was so thrilled to get the call that he was alive.”
But his thrill switched to concern when he took a look at JD.
His ribs were showing and he had clear evidence of frost bite on several areas of his body, LeGallais said.
But even that wasn’t his main concern. Due to dehydration. LeGallais was more concerned about the condition of the dog’s liver and kidneys.
“He was very dehydrated and hypodermic,” he said. “But after some blood tests, we learned that he is going to make a full recovery.”
LeGallais said all of JD’s wounds are painful, yet superficial.
The 5-year-old pup has frostbite on all four paws, his ears, nose and eyelids. He lost an estimated 12 pounds from lack of food.
The recovery process will be slow, but it will yield the desired results.
The skin on his paws damaged by frostbite will turn black and fall off. He will need to wear booties for several weeks, then every time the weather gets very cold or hot, as his skin on his paws will always be sensitive to extreme temperatures.
But the healing process will be fairly quick, LeGallais said, thanks to the help of a fairly new treatment called cold laser treatment.
“Basically it’s a strong beam of energy that helps with cell turnover and healing,” he said.
JD’s paws will heal in about two-and-a-half weeks instead of over a month.
Because LeGallais is guessing that JD has gone most of the time without food, he is on a very strict diet. Too many calories or too much fat could make him very sick. So he is on special food for several days until his body gets used to his regular food again. Even then, he will have to eat in small portions, acclimating to his normal eating routine.
Parker declined to comment about her dog’s recovery, saying she was too emotional and exhausted to leave his side as his fluid levels were replenished and he slept under a pile of blankets.
But LeGallais said he has never seen an owner so happy to find a pet.
“I honestly can’t understand how he survived this long, especially with those freezing nights,” LeGallais said. “If he had not been found when he had, he would not have lived through another night or two. It’s amazing that he has survived.”
bryanna.allen@rutlandherald.com
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