Dottie the Lab recovering at the Ottawa Humane Society

Now on the mend, Dottie, a two-year-old black Labrador Retriever, was found wandering down the side of a road in Ottawa’s west end on Dec. 6.

Visibly in distress, a passerby picked her up and took her to the Ottawa Humane Society for care. Her injuries requiring sedation, stitches and patience.

Dr. Eric Alder, a veterinarian at the Ottawa Humane Society, says they believe she was either attacked by another dog or was involved in a dog fight.

“She had been pepper sprayed, possibly due to the incident that caused her to be bleeding,” Alder said. “We needed to sedate her because she was in a lot of discomfort. We cleaned her, we flushed all the wounds up and down her legs and her face. Some of the larger wounds had to stapled or stitched closed to stop the bleeding and help healing.”

After a week in critical care, Dottie is now out exploring her new home with the help of Sydney Heins, the coordinator of canine services. She says Dottie is a shy but sweet girl who has been through a lot of trauma and needs time to adjust.

“She’s shy right now. She’s taking time to get used to everybody,” Heins said. “No one has stepped forward at this time, so she will wait for her stray period which is three days and after that we will continue to triage her for a foster home or adoption.”

Dottie’s recovery will continue at the Ottawa Humane Society until she finds a new home. If you would like to support the care she and other animals receive you can find a link here.