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Pitbull dragged behind truck in Edmonton expected to fully recover

On April 23rd in Edmonton, a pit bull named Nalla jumped out of the truck bed she was riding in and was dragged behind the vehicle by her leash for a short distance. She experienced significant road-rash injuries to her toes.

At first, it appeared that the 6-year-old dog had sustained permanent injuries.

Instead, thanks to successful surgeries and daily bandage changes, Nalla is now expected to make a full recovery.

"She's a very healthy, very robust dog who's healed incredibly well," city veterinarian Dr. Milton Ness told CBC News.

"Nalla is a particularly exceptional dog. Early on in her therapy, she was allowing us to handle these sore, infected, torn up paws; and would do it without any problem," Ness told Global News.

"She's not going to lose any toes. She's not going to have any permanent wounds from this and she should go back to being 100 per cent," he added.

Rescue Group Pit Bulls for Life have arranged foster care for the "happy" dog now only suffering from a tender foot. She should be ready for adoption shortly.

First, Pit Bulls for Life must carefully go through about 100 adoption applications.

"That's why we are taking things really slow, to make sure we find the best home for her, not just the first home," Allison Noseworthy, the foster coordinator for Pit Bulls for Life, told CBC News.

"We don't want people adopting her just because of her story. We want them to get to know her, and in order to do that, we need to get to know her first," she explained.

Nalla's owner voluntarily surrendered the dog to Noseworthy's group following the incident.

"At the time this did happen to the dog, it was being cared for by another person, so they understood that the best home and the best care for Nalla would be for them to give her up to Pit Bulls for Life so she could find a good foster home and then a good forever home," Edmonton police spokesperson Clair Seyler told the Edmonton Sun.

Because police believe the 33-year-old driver of the truck — someone who was caring for the dog, but not the owner — didn't intend to injure the dog, he was charged with a non-criminal offence under the Animal Protection Act: causing an animal to be in distress.

His court date is set for June 21.

Ness believes this incident could have been avoided:

"Dogs don’t need to be carried around in the back of pick-up trucks on leashes or ropes. That she fell out and was dragged, it simply could have been predicted very easily, and shouldn’t have been allowed to happen," Ness tells Global News.