‘I’ve never seen Captain so happy’: Vietnamese rescue dog coming to N.B.

(CTV News): The Captain is coming to Canada.

In February, CTV News Atlantic introduced viewers and readers to Captain, a mixed-breed dog from Vietnam who has had a rough life.

The rescue dog was badly injured when he was struck by a vehicle on the streets of the southeast Asian country five years ago.

His owner at the time abandoned him.
Captain’s back limbs were paralyzed and he had a bad eye infection.

Before he was rescued by an animal shelter in Da Nang, Captain, who resembles a small husky, spent two lonely years in a cage.

One of his back limbs had to be amputated, most of his teeth have been pulled and his right eye had to be removed.

But things have been looking up for Captain ever since he met Sarah MacLeod, a Riverview, N.B, woman who is an animal activist.

MacLeod fell in love with Captain while working at the shelter and had hopes of bringing him home to New Brunswick in the spring.

One problem — the 23-year-old didn’t have the money for the three flights needed to bring a dog to Canada.

That issue was resolved through a very successful GoFundMe campaign.

MacLeod told Captain’s story on CTV News at 5 on Feb. 8 and donations started piling in.

More than $4,000 was raised, more than enough to bring Captain to Canada.

After spending a little over a month in the Philippines due to a work-related visa issue, MacLeod was reunited with Captain on Saturday.

“I’ve never seen Captain so happy,” said MacLeod, through Facebook Messenger. “We are reunited today.”

The plan is to meet with a veterinarian this week to determine the logistics of bringing a dog that needs a wheelchair to walk on three separate flights.

“I think I’ll need to crate train him once I buy his crate because he’ll be in cargo most likely,” said MacLeod.

MacLeod and her pooch are scheduled to arrive in Canada on April 11.

Captain’s adventures can be found on Instagram at captain.danang