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Photo by Sam Harrel

Sheeri Merdes comforts Pauly, an Australian Shepherd, on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008, in the Chena Ridge Veterinary Clinic after she was found partially frozen along Chena Ridge Road. Merdes, an Aussie owner herself, has been trying to recover the loose dog for the breeder in Wasilla after it ran away from its new owners three days after being delivered in August.

Pauly, a Red Australian Shepherd that has been on the lam for the last six months, is one lucky dog.

Pauly owes his life and limbs to Jay Andrews, who spotted and extricated him Tuesday morning from a roadside ditch as he was traveling up Chena Ridge Road.

Andrews was bitten three or four times through his gloves as he removed Pauly from a hole and deposited him in the bed of his pickup truck, cushioning him on absorbent oil spill pads.

Andrews said he stopped because he knew there was no way a dog could live out there in minus 30 degrees.

“He was all covered in frost and snow and ice,” Andrews said. “He was sitting there blinking and shivering and shaking. Evidently, he had been there some time. There was a trail going in and out of the hole.”

A Norcon employee recently transferred from Anchorage, Andrews was on his way to jump-start a coworker’s car when he rescued the half-frozen dog.

“If he wasn’t in such rough shape, I would have brought him home,” Andrews said.

Instead, he called a friend who works at Petco, who recommended Andrews continue up the hill and deliver Pauly to the Chena Ridge Veterinary Clinic.

There, Dr. Jean Battig took over, first muzzling the frightened, bewildered animal before attending to his severe injuries.

“He couldn’t stand up, and snow and frozen feces and urine were frozen onto his rear end,” Battig said.

Although Pauly was cold to the touch, his temperature was surprisingly normal.

As the snow and ice slowly melted, Battig began clipping away his hair and cleaning his wounds, exposing large areas of frost-bitten flesh, the skin mottled with open sores and some areas with blackened dead skin.

Intravenous fluids spiked with nutrients and antibiotics also were administered.

“He’s lost a fair amount of skin, but I think he’s going to keep his foot,” Battig said. “Time will tell.”

By mid-afternoon, Pauly was resting comfortably, muzzle removed, stretched out in a blanketed kennel.

Nearby, Sheri Merdes was hand-feeding Pauly a soft, high-nutrient food, which he gently lapped away at.

Merdes was one of several area Aussie owners who had been searching for the 3-year-old runaway dog since August.

Pauly was newly adopted from Turnagain Aussies in Wasilla to a Fairbanks family and escaped Aug. 7, just three days after he arrived.

Two weeks later, Merdes and friends, at the breeder’s request, launched an area-wide search and began posting 200 fliers with Pauly’s photo around town and placing ads in the News-Miner.

Ironically, Merdes said she delivered her first Pauly flyer to the Chena Ridge Veterinary Clinic.

During his six months on the loose, Pauly lived up to his flyer description as “sweet and evasive,” with emphasis on “evasive.”

“He’s a very clever, very resourceful dog,” said Merdes, who tracked Pauly from the city dump to the airport and to Chena Ridge on a number of occasions.

Sometimes Merdes came within an arm’s length of the skittish dog, but was unable to capture him.

“We tried real hard. We’re just glad he’s here,” said Merdes, who hadn’t spotted Pauly since around Thanksgiving. “We were afraid he was on the other side of the Tanana River.”

When Pauly arrived at the vet clinic Tuesday, he weighed 40 pounds, more than 20 pounds less than his usual weight of 60-70 pounds.

“He’s probably one of the skinniest dogs I’ve seen that’s not dead yet,” Battig said.

In just a little more than 24 hours, the escape artist gained 5 1/2 pounds and all his internal functions are go, Battig reported Wednesday afternoon.

In addition, the young fella can walk, putting his weight on his hind legs, including the badly frosted left rear leg.

“He’s sort of stumping on it like a peg leg,” Battig said.

But Pauly’s recovery is going to be a long journey of several months or more.

He will be moved to a rehab home for special care today, but Battig will be seeing him daily to remove dead skin, until he is taken back to the breeder’s home in Wasilla next week and cared for there.

And Pauly’s temperament has definitely taking a turn for the better.

“He’s kissing. He’s very friendly, and he looks very thankful,” Battig said.

“We all say we would love to hear his story.”