Dogs recovering thanks to ‘hero’ veterinarian

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

KELOWNA – In his 17 years in veterinary medicine, Dr. Jatinder Mundi has seen his share of traumatic injuries to dogs—mostly from traffic accidents or fights. But what came through his door at Burtch Animal Hospital the morning of Sept. 16 was something else entirely:Three large rottweilers in various states of responsiveness, all three suffering from major traumatic wounds—clearly inflicted by a person wielding a sharp-edged weapon.

That last sentence may evoke rage from the most timid of animal-lovers, but Mundi didn’t have time for that. He had a job to do.

“They were severely injured,” he says. “In all my career I have never seen something like this.”

One of the rottweilers had an almost severed ear, another had a deep cut on her hind leg and a third was missing part of her skull and her muzzle was hanging by a thread of tissue. They had all lost a lot of blood and two were close to death.

The dogs were brought in by Lyall Grexton and Charlene Wiebe. At the time, they had few answers about what happened. Dr. Mundi warned them to expect the worst.

The gravest of them all wasn’t the two dogs with head wounds, but rather it was one-year-old Lola with several deep cuts on her body, including one on her hind leg down to the bone and almost 12 inches long. She was unresponsive. She’d lost a lot of blood and Dr. Mundi had to revive her once but ten minutes later she was gone.

“When (Lola) arrived she was not moving, just in shock," Dr. Mundi says. “We tried our best but when she went down the second time she didn’t come back…. She was an amazing dog.”

Dr. Mundi then focused his attention back on the other two dogs. Eight-month-old Rocky had a deep cut above the left ear down into the canal but was otherwise unharmed. He was able to stitch the wound back together and miraculously—you will hear that word again—it appears he will suffer no nerve damage and won’t lose his hearing.

But then there was 10-year-old Sheena.

“Sheena was severely injured,” Dr. Mundi says. “She had an open wound on her face and the skull was sliced off and I could see the brain. There was a fracture of the nose also and the nose was kind of moving and she had a deep cut on the left shoulder. She was so depressed and in so much pain.”

Dr. Mundi has treated countless injured animals over his 17-year career, but nothing like this. All vets have to make the call to either treat or euthanize but Dr. Mundi wouldn’t give up easily.

He took pictures and sent them to a specialist in reconstructive surgery. The specialist assured him it was possible, but put the agonizing truth before the owners of the dog. The cost would be $10,000 just for Sheena’s surgery.

“It was very expensive,” Mundi says. “So the owners told me to do whatever I can for them.”

Dr. Mundi, who only moved to Kelowna two years ago, spent most of the day reattaching Sheena’s face, muzzle and skull using wires and countless stitches. It went better than anyone could have expected given her condition that morning; he even saved her left eye and it appears she won’t have lasting nerve damage.

“The main thing now is to control infection,” he says. “The wounds were open for a long time.”

The bill for treatment of all three dogs, including the stay in the hospital, is $5,500. More than half of that has already been paid through donations from citizens who were affected by the vicious act.

Lyall and Charlene say they don’t know how they will ever be able to repay Dr. Mundi, his staff and the community for all the support they received.

“We just want to say thank you to everyone who has gone out of their way to help make this a little better," Lyall says. "Dr. Mundi is a hero. I won’t say we were lucky because we lost one of our dogs, but we still have two and that’s because of Dr. Mundi.”

Rocky, an eight-month-old Rottweiler, was one of three dogs seriously injured by an attacker last week., Dr. Jatinder Mundi of the Burtch Animal Hospital. Photographer: Adam Proskiw

WARNING VERY GRAPHIC CONTENT: The photos of the dogs taken shortly after the attack are extremely difficult to look at but illustrate the extent of their suffering and their miraculous recovery.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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19 responses

  1. dr jatinderpal you did a marvellous job.

  2. Harinderpal Singh Mundi

    I’m proud of him:)

  3. Tina V. McDonald

    What an amazing caring doctor and their owners as well as the unsung heros who donated.

  4. Valerie Rose

    Thank you so much Dr. Mundi!You are a true Hero!

  5. LeeAnn OReilly

    We just called and made a $50 dollar donation to help this family..we challenge YOU.to give a little too! 1-250 860 8000 the bill is not paid…please folks…this could have been YOUR fur babies.

  6. LeeAnn OReilly

    BLESS YOU Dr Mundi….Your soul has been surely set aside for a special place in the heavens.

  7. Caroline King

    I hope this mans neighbour does time in jail for this attack. I think it said on the news it was a neighbour dispute that led to the attack?

  8. This story and the accompanying photos brought tears to my eyes.My heart goes out to Lyall and Charlene.And for Dr. Mundi to be confronted with this atrocity, and to rise to the occasion with such remarkable success…

  9. Charlene Myers

    Thank you Dr. Mundi! The word “hero” is the best word to describe what you have done for Rocky and Sheena. And thank you for your special care for Lola, too.

  10. Terence Hill

    A random act of kindness is such worthy intention. Thank you Dr. Mundi. Good karma to you.

  11. Brent Rudyck

    Alicia Marie B no he wasnt but he did raise his dogs to be agressive!!!!!! i feel very bad for the dogs they r beautiful just wish they had a different owner, and it avtually was caused by something he did because the guy that did it new him!!

  12. Brent Rudyck

    great job to the vet, but not to lyal grexton he is a very bad person , i know this first hand, he is a fraud , lier and ect! slum lord!

  13. Dr Mundi is a wonderful vet and such a nice man, we take our pet to him too.

  14. Marg Barker

    thank you Dr Mundi, for all you did for these dogs.You are truly a special person.

  15. Gwen Hill

    HONESTLY, WHAT KIND OF PERSON WOULD/COULD DO THAT TO THESE ANIMALS? It always makes me think they could do the same to a person. These people who do such disgustingly cruel things to dogs as this need to be found. They are dangerous people. I’m well into my senior years and am really concerned at the amount of cruelty that’s happening in the world today. Where is it coming from? Is it all the vicious things in the shows that are on TV and the games that kids can get where they’re shooting and beating people up. It’s frightening to think what our young children are being subjected to and what kind of people are they going to be meeting as they grow? Yes Dr. Mundi you are a very generous man of spirit and lovingtoward your patients. What you did for these dogs is almost miraculous. Thanks go out to people like Dr. Mundi. ‘

  16. Cameron Sims

    a true hero in the worlds eyes.

  17. Corinne Mitchell

    Angels and HerosDr. Mundi and staff.

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Adam Proskiw

Adam has lived in B.C. most of his life. He was born in the Caribou, grew up in the Okanagan, went to university on Vancouver Island and worked as a news photographer in Vancouver. His favourite stories incorporate meaningful photography and feature interesting, passionate locals. He studied writing at UVic and photojournalism in California. He loves talking tractors, dogs and cameras and is always looking for a good story.


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