HAWKEYE the cattle dog has finally found his ‘forever home’ following a traumatic couple of years during which he was injured, abandoned, sent to the pound, and finally picked-up by a Hawkesbury dog rescue organisation where he was nursed back to health.
Hawkeye’s new owner, Richmond resident, Ashlee Sheen, told the Gazette she had been looking for a ‘pound puppy’ to join her family.
“The moment I looked into his beautiful brown eyes I knew he needed to come home with me,” Sheen said.
Hawkeye is one of approximately 60 dogs taken in per year by Londonderry-based SLK Cattle Dog Rescue - a small, not-for-profit organisation rescuing Australian cattle, stumpy-tailed cattle, and cattle mixes from pounds around the state.
Hawkeye was taken to the Walgett pound after a ranger found him wandering and in need of care. According to SLK’s Sharon Kitchener, the cattle dog was in bad shape, with injuries to his back legs suggesting he had either jumped from a moving car, or been hit by a truck.
His back legs had clearly been broken around six months before the ranger found him, and he had not been provided with any care to help them heal properly. The legs are now bowed, and one is shorter than the other.
“We got a call to ask if we could help him out. We didn’t know what to expect, as we weren’t given much detail. When he turned up it was a shock to the system,” Kitchener told the Gazette.
“He had that many bush ticks on him - we lost count when we got about 200 off him. His ears were full of them, they were on his eyes, on his mouth. When we got them out he was scabby and horrible from where the ticks had been. He had no muscle in his legs from his injuries.”
Kitchener - a South Windsor resident - embarked on a 12-month-long journey to rehabilitate Hawkeye, before he was finally re-homed a couple of months ago with Sheen.
“The vet saw him and said they couldn’t do anything for him in terms of surgery because his bones were all out of alignment and had fused that way. So as well as daily walking and exercise, we started to do weekly swims at K9 Swim Hydrotherapy Centre at Londonderry. He loved the swimming, it really made a big difference. The aim was to build up the back leg muscles for weight bearing, and also the muscles across his back so he could carry himself better,” said Kitchener.
“After that we always had a shallow pool in his pen so he could climb in and out. When he’d done a lot of exercise he’d go and sit in the pool to recover his legs. The water really helped him.
“He’s just the loveliest, sweetest, most trusting dog, considering what had happened to him - considering the lack of care, he’s always just loved people and other dogs.”
Hawkeye’s previous name had been Blackeye, but Kitchener changed it to Hawkeye to reflect her favourite character from television series, Mash. Sheen - Hawkeye’s new owner - agrees the name suits.
“He is just like the avenger Hawkeye, adventurous, loyal, funny and protective,” she said.