Hunter was born in a foster home of the Montreal-based rescue Eleven Eleven Animal Rescue after his mother was rescued as a pregnant stray just over a week before giving birth.
When he was born, the tiny puppy had an underdeveloped front leg. His mom would clean it, but this made it worse and because of his deformity, he wasn’t able to fight with his siblings to have a chance to eat. So, the decision was made to hand-rear him.
His foster mom, Caroline Ross needed to bottle-feed him around the clock. “My days felt like nights, and nights like days,” she said. “He took over my life, anywhere I went he had to come with. If I had errands to do, I only had two-hour leeways. He came to work with me, to long rescue events on weekends…he became an extension of me.”
As the weeks passed, Hunter grew until it came time for him to have his first surgery to remove his infected stub. Ross had nightmares about the surgery, but she knew he needed it and he pulled through with flying colors. A few weeks later, Hunter was destined for his forever home.
Watch Hunter’s heartwarming journey in the video below:
Ross was upset to say goodbye to the dog she loved as if he were her own child. “I know for the rest of my life, a day will not go by that I do not think of him, and wish he was with me. But I loved him enough to know, he could have a better life than what I could offer him. I loved him enough, to let him go. I know, I could not give him the incredible life he has now, and forever.”
The heartache she felt are what many foster families go through. But she knows there will be another Hunter in her future who will need her help. “There will always be more rescues, but I dream of the day pet owners will become responsible and no more puppies (or any animal) like him will need our help.”
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