Andre the Giant

WASILLA — At his temporary home in Wasilla, Andre is taking a load off his two good legs.

In early March, Dennis Lords, chief animal control officer at Houston Animal Control, was working late when he received a call about an injured dog roaming around Heritage Road in Houston near the Parks Highway. Arriving at the scene, Lords immediately saw blood droplets leading back into the woods. He followed the trail back with caution.

“I tracked him back in the brush, hiding underneath an abandoned, toppled over pickup truck,” Lords said. “I knew he was injured and when I peeked under, I just saw eyes and teeth. He was pretty upset.”

Nightfall made it difficult for Lords to assess the animal’s condition, so he waited until the next morning, returning with a state trooper. When the injured animal was finally pulled out, there was quite a discovery.

“We’d instantly seen that his left hind leg was severed at the knee and his front left paw was missing,” he said. “It looked as if he’d gotten caught in a snare and then chewed off a part of his leg to get free.”

Emaciated, scared and bloodied, the dog appeared to have lost a lot of weight and blood, yet had kept his wounds remarkably clean, Lords said.

With no identification tags or signs that the dog had an owner, Lords and the trooper rushed the wounded animal back to the Houston Animal Shelter and called Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue.

At the shelter, 11-year-old Brooke Fike assisted Lords and his staff, dressing the wounds and feeding broth and water to the rottweiler mix. Lords gave him the temporary name “Brooke,” then drove him to Northstar Animal Hospital in Palmer.

“On a scale of one to 10, 10 being the worst, he was an 11,” Lords said. “Karen got to him the same day I picked him up.”

Karen McNaught got the call at her Wasilla home that a dog called Brooke was at Northstar Animal Hospital and was in bad shape. Like any other call, she went to assess the case.

McNaught, who has been working with the Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue Shelter for the past five years, said she has had a passion for animals since she was a youngster in England. She accepted animal rescue jobs in Denali State Park, working with hybrid wolves and abandoned animals, and Newport Beach, Calif., before settling down in the Valley.

“I don’t think twice about helping animals,” she said. “This dog was in bad shape when I got there, yet he was such a fighter too. I had to do something.”

Dr. Teresa Beck, a veterinarian at Northstar Animal Hospital, was the first to see Andre after his capture. She said she had seen four similar cases like Andre’s come through the door, but never with limbs as completely severed as his and no remnants of unattached tissue.

It appeared Andre, as “Brooke” would later become known, had been caught in a snare and had chewed off the remnants. Judging from the wounds, Beck said the dog had spent roughly three weeks with no hind left leg or front left paw. Three weeks wandering around the Valley.

“He was a very thin dog when he came in,” Beck said. “At least seven percent dehydrated, very goopy eyes, and then the obvious: Both left feet were completely gone. We were all very alarmed.”

After dressing his wounds and assessing Andre’s condition, Beck determined because of the nature of the wound, the dog would most likely not require any other operations, key in determining if an animal with no owner would be allowed to be kept alive.

“He’s such a nice dog,” she said “Karen and I both believed that if he’d survived that well already, that it was one of those things that he had the strong will to survive. Why give up on him?”

Malnourished at just 52 pounds and diagnosed with giardia, Beck assessed that Andre still had a good chance at a fruitful life, but that he would need some lengthy recuperation. McNaught stepped up.

“They really felt for him,” McNaught said. “Despite his wounds and injuries, they stabilized him with fluids and he managed to survive. We couldn’t put him to sleep knowing he could make it. I picked him up the next day and took him home.”

McNaught called up good friend and wildlife biologist Dr. Paul Joslin, who took a look at the miracle survivor.

Dr. Joslin was essential in the transportation of Maggie, Alaska’s elephant, who was moved to California earlier this year.

“He took pictures and caught me up on some of the trapping rules, explaining a bit of what could of happened to the dog,” she said. “He thought that because of the cold temperatures that week, his legs froze, allowing him to chew his leg free. When he came here he had a rough two weeks digesting food and getting back on track.”

After a few weeks, Andre began regaining his strength, even playing with the other dogs in McNaught’s care.

“He walks on two legs for now, which amazes me,” McNaught said. “He even starting playing ball, as sick as his is, and is a very patient animal. With his loss, I’ve never seen a better disposition.”

Wondering if Andre had a family that missed him, McNaught posted notices on Craigslist and in other public areas in hopes that Andre’s previous owners would step up and claim him. There has been no response to date.

“I don’t think he’s being looked for,” she said.

McNaught recently took Andre to an animal specialist in Chugiak. With the wound not fully healed, there was still a concern about whether Andre’s back leg needed to be amputated.

“I’m hoping he’ll maybe end up with a prosthetic leg. I did some Internet research and found a place in Denver that makes prosthetic animal limbs. If he qualifies, he could get a front paw for $400 and back leg for $600. For now, he’s walking pretty good on his right legs. He gets around like a crab, sideways. He’s mastered it.”

McNaught said that Dr. Beck has offered her time and services to fit Andre with the prosthetic limbs once they are purchased. Alaska Dog and Puppy Rescue is planning a fund-raising effort to raise roughly $1,000 needed for the prosthetic limbs.

While staying with her in Wasilla, McNaught said Andre has made himself right at home. Not fitting his demeanor, “Brooke, as he was still called, a male canine, needed a new name.

While watching the 1994 family film “Andre,” the dog began reacting each time the movie’s title character was announced, wagging his tail and barking. It was a perfect name for an imperfect dog. Brooke became Andre.

“He loves my other dogs and acts like he’s lived here all his life,” McNaught said. “People have been calling me, hearing about his amazing survival, and offer to donate a few bucks here and there, asking what can they can do. It’s wonderful the way he is so loved.”

McNaught said Andre’s story is a common one in the Mat-Su Valley. People with pets that have been caught in snares in the past have contacted her voicing their concern on what should be done, she said.

“I’ve received seven calls from different people, all saying their dogs have been caught in snares as well,” she said.

For now, Andre has a home, but once he is well enough to move around on his own, McNaught said she will find a more fitting home for Andre.

“This is the way it goes with me in my work,” she said. “They come here to live until they are better and then I find them another home. Andre will stay with me for now, with my three other dogs, but I’m sure a family would love to have him.”

McNaught believes Andre’s biggest challenge will be getting around outdoors during the winter with the deep snow. If fitted for prosthetics, he may have to be moved to an area with less snow and hassle in order to be mobile. For now though, she said, he can just be at home. “It’s a story still not completely written. It is still very much day by day with him.”

Contact J.J. Harrier at valleylife@frontiersman.com, or 352-2269.