Dog left ‘tired of life’ after porcupine attack makes miracle recovery

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT. Abandoned dog Henry was covered in painful quills surrounded by infection after being attacked by a porcupine – and is now searching for a new place to call home

A dog was left “ready to give up on life” after a porcupine attack left more than 100 quills painfully lodged in his skin.

But after undergoing six hours of surgeries, the abandoned dog now has his mojo back and is ready to find a new home.

Henry was taken to to Saving Grace Animal Society’s sanctuary in Alix, Alberta, Canada, after a resident found him bloodied and limping on the street.

The pup was covered in painful porcupine quills surrounded by infection after being attacked by the wild animal, and sanctuary co-director Erin Deems says he simply looked ‘fed up with life’.

Heartwrenching footage shows the teary-eyed dog hunched over with a bloodied face and paw, which he raises from the floor to avoid more pain.

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Users were quick to express just how much the distressing clip upset them and they begged for an update.

After three surgeries, vets removed the quills and treated the infection, leaving the pitbull free of pain and able to regain his strength.

The sanctuary posted three updates showing Henry’s scars healed, him walking freely, and being cuddled by 34-year-old Erin to the delight of his thousands of fans.

The viral videos have now been seen more than 60million times with users praising the sanctuary for ‘saving’ the pup and others admitting that keeping up with his journey made them cry.

He is now looking to find a new home and Erin has encouraged dog lovers to get in touch to meet the grinning pooch.

Erin, also from Alberta, said: “He was scared of people when we found him, and I think that was because of the amount of pain that he was in.

“He’d been attacked by a porcupine and the quills hadn’t been removed from his face, so they were all surrounded with infection. He looked defeated and fed up with life.

“He had quills around his mouth, so he was struggling to eat and that made him lose weight. He was slow walking too, because the quills had got into his joints.

“As soon as he had his first operation we could see the instant relief. The light came back into his eyes and his smile came back too.

“It was amazing to see. He’s so much more comfortable and he’s walking a lot better. He’s up for adoption now so we’re looking forward to people booking to come and see him.”

Erin believes Henry was abandoned because his breeder had too many dogs in their litter – and she feels that’s a common problem in the area.

The sanctuary co-executive director says Henry may need more operations in future if more porcupine quills surface from his skin but say he’s now ready to be rehomed.

The shelter’s TikTok of Henry’s injuries attracted more than 270,000 concerned comments and the updates showing his recovery have led to thousands commenting to express their relief.

One user said: “He looks so much better. Thank god. He is sooooo cute. The first video was so sad I am glad he is better”

A second said: “My heart is so happy to look at this video. You saved him.”

A third simply added: “I cried.”

Do you have a dog story to sell? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.