Dog hurt by porcupine, helped by a good Samaritan and volunteers at Mat-Su Animal Shelter

A dog separated from her owner becomes embedded with porcupine quills, leading to a dramatic rescue and an after-hours operation.

Cristel Fields was driving on Sitze Rd. in Wasilla Tuesday afternoon when she spotted a dog in the middle of the road with quills embedded in her face.

Fields kept following the dog until she finally came close enough to be lassoed.

Fields found the dog’s tags and discovered her name was Sweetie – a name that matched her temperament.

Fields and her daughter waited for Animal Care to come from Palmer. “The Animal Control Officer said this is definitely an emergency, we need to get her in, she couldn’t open her mouth, she couldn’t close her mouth,” said Fields.

Kirsten Vesel, the Animal Care Manager with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, says she had been in that condition for several days.

Sweetie arrived at the Animal Shelter around 4:30 p.m. The clinic typically closes at 6 p.m. but because she was in such a story state, a veterinarian and three veterinarian technicians volunteered to stay late and help her.

Vesel says all “the visible quills” were removed late into the night with a numbing anesthesia used to ease Sweetie’s pain.

The next morning even more quills were pulled until Sweetie was left sore but well on the road to recovery.

Vesel says a potential owner has come forward but the Mat-Su Animal Shelter has not been able to verify their identity to release Sweetie.