Starving Husky Ate Rocks And Twigs To Survive

They didn’t think she’d survive, but look at her now!

Meet Willow. The Siberian Husky was found lying by the side of a road in Maple Ridge, British Columbia by two Good Samaritans. While other cars drove by, Mathieu Letourneau and Guillaume Lefevre stopped to help Willow.

At first, they couldn’t tell if she was a coyote or a wolf, or a dog. They offered her their Subway sandwich and loaded her into their car before driving her to the Maple Ridge Society for the BC SPCA.

“I decided to turn around and the dog was sitting there just giving up, barely moving,” Letourneau described. “Willow was just starved to death and needed something warm.”

When vets examined her, they realized the young Husky had been eating rocks and dirt to stay alive! When she first came in she was unable to lie down due to abdominal pain caused by rocks and soil in her gastrointestinal tract.

There were no food remnants in her stomach so we think she was eating gravel to try to stay alive. Willow is only around 2 years old and weighed 15 kg. The normal weight for a Husky here age would be 24 kg.

A few weeks after her rescue, Willow went into care with a foster family. She began to regain her health. She enjoyed going on walks with her foster pack. Her family also shared that she started responding to her name and loves car rides.

“She absolutely loves going into the water – it’s hard to keep her out!” The BC SPCA wrote, “She loves going to the river, where she tries to go for a swim, no matter how cold the water.”

After a month and a half, Willow gained 9.3 kilos and is learning her basic commands. Willow loves the water. Then came the fantastic news on March 16, that Willow has been adopted by a loving family. BC SPCA decided to place Willow with a family who has experience with the breed.

Because of her past, she has a number of behaviours that will need continued work by someone with breed experience. We were fortunateenough to find a family who has experience with this breed and they’re so happy to include Willow as a new, furry family member.