Touched by an angel

COEUR d’ALENE — When Lynda Edwards saw the yellow dog for the first time, she was sure he was near death.

The lab and pit bull mix tumbled out of his kennel May 5 after traveling with other dogs by van over several days from Mexico to San Diego to the Kootenai Humane Society. He was carried into the shelter and laid down.

“We waited for him to awaken while we applied cold compresses,” Edwards said. “But he didn’t wake up. We could see he was in rough shape. He seemed 100 years old. After a while, he opened one eye and we could see it — he was blind. He couldn’t lift his head, he was blind, not moving."

But the dog’s condition didn’t stop Edwards from taking him to her Coeur d’Alene home, where she lives with Terry Cox and their four other rescue dogs.

They named him Gabriel. They gave him a soft bed, fed him broth and warm goat milk and encouraged him. It was two weeks before he could sit up.

“We thought he was going to die,” Edwards said. “But he didn’t die.”

He got better.

Wednesday, Gabriel was in an area of their backyard, walking in circles, occasionally bumping into the fence around the perimeter, and raising his head to bark.

While blind, he can hear at least somewhat, said Edwards. He’s gotten stronger and put on nearly 10 pounds since his arrival.

“He’s always gentle,” Edwards said. “He’s got a hard head, though.”

Only when the other dogs bark near him does Gabriel flinch, emitting a slight growl. But as Edwards pets him, his tail wags and his tongue hangs out.

“It’s OK,” she says and he resumes walking in circles.

“He’s absolutely not aggressive,” Cox added.

That Gabriel, named after the angel, survived is almost a miracle. While he looks healthy upon first glance, a closer look reveals more. The estimated 4-year-old leans to the right when walking, has nubs for front teeth, bears scars on his face and body, and has a blank left eye.

“My blind baby,” Edwards said.

His background, she learned, was horrific.

“We called down to his southern rescuers, who said he had been saved from a dog-fighting training camp where Gabe had been used as a bait dog,” she wrote. “We also learned he had lived in a cage, not even big enough for him to stand, for over a year, and fed sporadically, whenever they had food to give him.”

A visit to the vet found that his back end was atrophied. His front teeth were ground down from chewing on wire. He had been gouged, prodded, bitten and attacked. While it was hoped an operation might restore sight in one eye, the damage was too severe.

Still, Gabriel went from a dog that Edwards was sure had given up on life to one full of life.

What brought him back?

“Love, of course,” Edwards said, smiling.

Vicky Nelson, KHS development director, said they do receive dogs that have been abused. She recalled one cat that came to KHS with cigarette burns, and a dog that had a tie wrapped around its muzzle so tight it was embedded into his skin.

But oftentimes, KHS doesn’t know the entire backstory of an animal that comes to them.

“It’s kind of hard to say what they’ve been through,” Nelson said.

That a dog growls aggressively when a man approaches, cowers when a hand is raised, or flinches at sudden noises could be a sign of mistreatment.

“Sometimes people surrender them and they have been abused,” Nelson said.

Abused animals need loving, caring homes. They can require special attention and care, and may not be able to be left alone for long periods.

“Patience is important,” Nelson said of anyone adopting an animal.

Edwards and Cox are definitely patient and happy around rescue dogs.

"Thank God I got a guy who is a nut case like me," Edwards said. "I bring ‘em home and he takes care of them."

Cox said he likes to do what he can for them.

“I identify with them. I can feel their pain and their loneliness,” he said. While they love Gabriel, they would like to find another home for him.

They are both in their 70s, love to travel and looking after Gabriel takes time and effort. And, they already have four other dogs.

They fear they might not be able to provide the care Gabriel needs and have to give him up later. Better to find a permanent home now, they said.

“We don’t want to put him in a bad situation,” Cox said. “He needs someone who can give some real care to him.”

They point out he is today happy, brave, loving and “ready for a very special home."

And, one more thing.

“He’s content as long as he has something green to eat,” Edwards said. “He loves to eat plants. He’s a vegetarian.”

Anyone interested in Gabriel can contact Edwards at 206-799-6336.