Keesick's Next Chapter: Surgery, Recovery, and a Community That Showed Up

When we first told Keesick's story, he had just arrived in southern Ontario after a long journey from Kashechewan First Nation, rescued during a community evacuation, flown to Timmins, driven to Sudbury, and finally brought to Toronto to meet his foster family. Along the way, we noted a limp in his hind leg. We didn't yet know how serious it was. ‍

This is what happened next.

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Once he was settled in southern Ontario, a full veterinary assessment found the cause: a fractured femoral neck, right where the bone meets the hip socket. It was likely caused by a vehicle, snowmobile, or ATV strike back home. This wasn't a fracture that could be set and healed the usual way, the bone fragments were rubbing against each other every time Keesick put weight on the leg, which is exactly why he'd stopped using it. Without treatment, the muscle around the joint would keep wasting away, and the pain would only get worse.

"He deserves to be pain-free, hands down," says Dr. Tammy Hornak, our lead veterinarian for Remote Community Vet Services.

The plan was a procedure to remove the damaged bone fragments entirely, allowing scar tissue and muscle to form a new, functional joint in their place. It's not a repair in the traditional sense, it's giving Keesick's body room to build something that works, without the broken pieces getting in the way.

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It's also not a routine procedure. We brought in a specialist to perform the surgery and did it right here at our Companion Animal Hospital, so Keesick didn't need to be transferred anywhere else for the care he needed.

"He's a very young dog. He wants to run," Dr. Tammy says. "But he can't, because it hurts. That's why we're doing this."

He has years ahead of him, and the alternative, a lifetime on pain medication for a fracture that was never going to heal on its own, wasn't good enough for a dog this young. The goal of the surgery is straightforward: no more pain, no more medication, and as much mobility back as his body can manage as the muscles around his hip take over.

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Surgery like this comes at a real cost, and it's the kind of expense that would have put Keesick's care out of reach without help.

A donor in our community stepped forward and gave $10,000 to cover his surgery and ongoing care. We are enormously grateful, for the gift itself, and for what it made possible for one dog who'd already been through so much just to get here.

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He's recovering well in his foster home, putting more weight on the leg every week and looking, more and more, like a dog who's about to get his energy back.

Keesick isn't the only one who needs this chance.

There are other dogs out there right now, carrying injuries like his, waiting for the kind of assessment and care that could change the rest of their lives. And there are foster families across our community doing the quiet, unglamorous work of getting them there, the overnight check-ins, the vet visits, the patience it takes to help an animal heal.

If Keesick's story means anything to you, there are two ways to help keep stories like his going: