She was in so much pain her cries sounded like those of a wild animal. A Good Samaritan stopped on the Highway to see how they could help and was surprised to find Honey, a two-year-old pit bull terrier mix, lying on the side of an isolated stretch of a highway in Fort St. James unable to move. They contacted the BC SPCA and drove Honey to the North Cariboo community animal centre in Prince George.
“When they found Honey, it was obvious she had serious injuries,” says Kristen Sumner, manager of the BC SPCA’s North Cariboo community animal centre. “We immediately brought her to a veterinary clinic and they determined she had a dislocated left shoulder and her right leg had such severe nerve damage it would require amputation. She also had infected wounds on her face, neck and torso.”
Honey was given pain medication, her wounds were cleaned and treated and her shoulder joint was put back in place. She wore a splint and was put on strict kennel rest for two weeks. Her amputation and spay surgeries would have to wait until her shoulder injury had healed. Yet, none of this had any impact on her sweet personality. “She is one of the friendliest dogs we have ever had in our care,” says Sumner.
Shoulder all healed and off kennel rest, Honey was hanging out in a room off the reception area of the BC SPCA’s North Cariboo community animal centre when Cari and John walked in. They were dropping off some items for donation that had belonged to their 18-year-old lab who recently passed away. They were curious about the dog that was hanging out in the office. When they heard Honey’s story, they couldn’t get her out of their minds and hearts. Enough so that when they got home, the pair mentioned Honey to their daughter. In a twist of fate, their daughter had helped care for Honey at the veterinary clinic. She told them that Honey was in desperate need of a foster.
“We jumped at the chance to foster Honey,” says Cari. “We called the animal centre and told them we would like to come down and meet her.” When Honey came out and started licking their faces, there wasn’t any question they were taking her home. “Our plan was to foster her until she went in for amputation surgery, but we had her for two days and fell in love.” Honey’s new mom says she adores her furry family members, their daughter’s four-year-old bullmastiff named Sawyer and their one-year-old cat Frankie, another foster fail. “These three rescues immediately started sleeping together, sharing their food and playing with each other’s toys.”

“Honey is an absolute love bug,” says Cari. “When we thought we were only going to foster Honey, we didn’t let her on the furniture because we didn’t want to teach her any ‘bad’ habits for her new family. It lasted a whole day; she sleeps on the couch beside John and Sawyer, snuggled up together.”

Honey is a huge fan of all dogs. “We took her into a local pet store and there was a puppy class going on,” says Cari. “Big puppies, little puppies, it didn’t matter to Honey, she gave every dog a friendly sniff and then flopped down and rolled over.” She loves people as much as she loves dogs, and it isn’t a one-sided love affair. “People are always falling in love with her,” says Cari. “We met a woman in the pet store buying food. She had read about Honey and recognized her. She bought some extra treats and gave them to us for Honey. She wanted to thank us for looking after her.”
“Honey is ours,” says Cari. “She has the sweetest face and is such a survivor. We are looking forward to watching her get even stronger as she continues to heal from her surgeries.”