Karma finds deaf, going blind 14-year-old Stillwater dog alive but frozen in creek
A story of survival out of Stillwater ended with a 14-year-old nearly blind and deaf dog found alive at the bottom of a creek Monday.
STILLWATER, Okla. (KFOR) - A story of survival out of Stillwater ended with a 14-year-old nearly blind and deaf dog found alive at the bottom of a creek Monday.
"I got sad because I was like, man, this dog froze to death," said Karma Tucker, who found the pet Monday.
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Tucker said that she was at Sanborn Lake taking pictures of the frozen area when she came across a black-haired dog named Fendy at the bottom of a frozen creek bed. The dog had been out there since Saturday; he had run away from his home and traveled nearly 9 miles.
Fendy had ended his journey in the bed of a frozen creek, barely having survived the arctic blast Oklahoma saw.
"The area he was in, his body stood out because it didn't seem natural," said Tucker. "I walked up to him and he wasn't shivering or moving. I thought let me go back to my car, I've got an emergency blanket and a first-aid kit."
She said that when she saw him shiver when she touched him, she knew then that he was alive and needed help. Tucker began warming up the dog as much as she could.
"When he shivered I thought, this dog is alive. His back legs were encased in ice like an icicle had formed around it. I was worried about frostbite," said Tucker.
She took him to the Oklahoma State University Veterinary Medical Hospital for care.
"When she brought him in, he was fine," said Franciele Black, the doctor who worked on Fendy. "He was walking, his vitals were fine. He was surprisingly good actually."
While being cared for at the hospital, Tucker said that she went to the neighborhoods around Sanborn Lake looking for the owner.
"I knocked on several dozen doors asking anyone if they recognized him or if they knew anything. I went to an apartment complex near it and knocked there too," said Tucker.
Unfortunately, nobody would claim Fendy through Tucker so he was given to staff at Stillwater Animal Welfare. Both the veterinarians and those at animal welfare checked for microchips to find the owners but there was none.
"When we got him we could tell by examining him that he was much older and he just needed to rest after all he had been through," said Rachel Wasserman, Supervisor at Stillwater Animal Welfare. "He was monitored overnight and did fine, no frostbite."
Fendy stayed with animal welfare until Thursday when the owner walked in.
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"I had happened to walk into the humane society next door and she said she happened to live in the country and asked if we had seen a black scruffy dog," said Wasserman.
Wasserman said that the owner was a woman with her son and that they both were happy.
"The dog comes in, he's a little slower and once he realized it was them he was all happy," said Wasserman. "That was the most excited I had seen him since he first got here."
Welfare posted on their Facebook page about the good news and it picked up traction online.
"I think that if I had not been there, twenty minutes later he would not have made it at all, his body was so still. He was an icicle," said Tucker. "It is so crazy he survived that."
Dr. Black and Wasserman said that if it wasn't for the quick action from Tucker, Fendy wouldn't have made it.
When asked how she felt when she saw the picture of Fendy's family reunited she said, "It was all worth it, I would do it tomorrow if I had to."
Wasserman urged people to microchip their dogs if they haven't yet and to bring in their pets with the upcoming winter weather headed to Oklahoma.
The Stillwater Animal Welfare needs hay donations as well, Wasserman said. If you have donations you can give and would like to you can call them at 405-372-0334.