Big Tino Needs A New Leg!

Dillweed “Tino” Big Sauce of Garnet Street came to me on February 20th, 2022. This sweet boy has had a tough start in life. There are two ways to tell his story: the first will tug at your heart, the other one has the ability to break it. I’ll start with the former.

Big Tino showed up in Regina on February 13th, after being rescued from Northern Manitoba by a rescue called “Tales of The Misunderstood Canine Rescue”. Once he arrived, he was quarantined because of a flea threat and underwent his neutering surgery on February 18th. On February 20th, I decided to check out the Regina Human Society page, and that's when I saw him..... Well, I didn't see him; there were no pictures, or any details for that matter, except that he was a Saint Bernard cross. I packed up my things, and I went out on my way to meet him. I walked into the kennels and saw him sitting there: peaceful, quiet, smiley, and with a horrendous cone around his neck. He was perfect. I asked to meet him, and from that first moment, I knew we were meant to experience this life together. His name was Dillweed then, and he came home with me that afternoon.

This is where his story gets sad.

That evening, I noticed that Tino had a very obvious deformity in his leg. It didn’t seem to bug him, but it bugged me. Over the next few days, I noticed that he started to limp when he was a little too active. I decided that I needed to figure this out, so I called the Humane Society to see if I could get some history on him, and they informed me that he was from a rescue based out of Calgary; so as a mama bear does, I called them. I spoke with the woman who ran the rescue, Alexandra, who told me what they know about him. Step away now and grab some tissues...

Tino was found abandoned, chained to a log in the middle of nowhere in the middle of January. He was emaciated, and covered in fleas. A woman from a close-by community had a big enough heart to start bringing him food and water until he could be rescued. Tino weighs about 90 pounds now, but back then he was 25 pounds lighter than he is today. Skinny, scared, abandoned, and abused: this is where his story starts to look brighter.

Big T was brought into a foster home, where he was fed 8 cups of food a day to put weight on him. He felt comfortable and spent time learning to be safe. He was originally supposed to come to Regina at the end of January; but on accident, he ended up staying an extra two weeks. This was divinely guided because on February 2nd, I (his mom) wrote out a list of everything I wanted in a dog. 11 days later, he arrived in the YQR for the last part of his journey home.

After learning nothing about his leg, Tino went to the vet so I could ask more questions. I will keep this short because it upsets me too much to think about. I had 3 people tell me that I could just return him to the pound. 3 professionals in the field tell me that it was easier if I just gave up on him. 3 people, who work with animals all day, say to me that he isn't worth the trouble. I was not going to be another person on his list of people who have betrayed him. Tino is too loving to give up on. After many tears, and a lot of chicken nuggets, I got to work.

March 9th, 2022. Tino went to the Veterinary Mobility Clinic. The staff there finally helped us. They did X-rays on him (which he sat so peaceful for), so we could finally get an answer as to what happened to him. Tino had both bones in his front-right arm broken, and he was never given proper medical attention so they healed deformed. Finally, we have an answer... $700 later.

This is where we’re hoping you come into this funny little story. Tino needs surgery on his leg. They need to re-break it and plate it, so he can heal and do all of the things he was born to do. This is not something you can expect to be in for when you adopt a dog; and because it was a prior injury, it can’t be covered by pet insurance. I refuse to give up on this dog, he deserves the world. I have been humbled in asking, as it is very much not in my nature. Tino deserves the best life I can give him, and I know that I can’t do this alone. I need to ask for help, for him.