It’s been about a year now since Adrian Bell’s four-legged friend Brodie survived a wolf attack near their cabin at Prelude Lake.
Since then, life hasn’t been so rough. Brodie turned 12 in March and according to Bell, the spots on his fur have only just grown back.
“We drove back from Edmonton,” Bell explained, which is where they took Brodie to an animal hospital following the attack. “He really had to rest up for a couple of weeks before he could have even very brief leash walks.”
Bell said that Brodie has quite a bit of scar tissue on his right side from where he was attacked. If anyone were to trace their hand alongside Brodie’s right hip, they’d probably feel a small lump.
“He’s less and less sensitive all the time, but I can’t scratch him there,” Bell said, adding that Brodie still has some balance issues.
Not for nothing, Brodie’s survived a stroke and has arthritis in one of his hips. Still, it doesn’t stop him from pacing around Bell’s office, greeting anyone that steps in.
“I promised him if he survived that I’d make sure we’d have a new adventure everyday and we do that,” Bell said.
Some of those adventures saw the two get up to plenty of snowshoeing by their cabin and spending time in the woods.
Now, Brodie’s biggest issue is chasing too many porcupines, though it cost him around 50 quills in the face in December.
“He hasn’t lost his fighting spirit,” said Bell. “We had to get in there and remove them all. That’s his fourth run in with porcupines.”
Bell said they now always make sure Brodie’s walking around with a bell on him when they’re at their cabin. It’s to help other animals know he isn’t a wild animal, he explained.
To see Brodie stand on his on four legs again with a smile on his face makes Bell feel blessed.
“We’re really lucky things worked out the way it did and we just enjoy everyday,” he said.
