'Every day he got better': Rescued after 27 days in a well, Bruno goes home

Bruno, a dog that survived 27 days stuck in an abandoned well, is on the mend and returning home after some intensive treatment at the veterinary college in Saskatoon.

The seven-year-old Labrador retriever was foundcurled up at the bottom of a three-metre deep well in the Estevan area Oct. 14almost a month after owners John and Cindy Billesberger noted he was missing. They, along with family and friends, had spent weeks scouring their farm property and roadside ditches trying to find Bruno.

He's got his personality back.- John Billesberger

John Billesberger finally located him after noticing his other dogs were lingering at a spot thick with tall grasses. When he pushedaside the grass, he discovered the old well and his dog.

• Dog stuck at bottom of well for 27 days has 'a real zest for life'

"He was pretty rough looking there," Billesberger said Thursday. He took the dog to the vet in Estevan about 200 kilometressoutheast of Regina where they started treatment for severe malnutrition and dehydration, as well as injuries from his trying to get out of the well, which Billesberger estimated was roughly a metre wide.

It was estimated the dog lost about 18 kilograms from his regular weight of just over 40 during the ordeal. Initially, Bruno was indire condition and the dog's survival was in question.

"Every day he got better," Billesberger said.

The gradual recovery hit a setback after five days, leading to a referral for more specialized, intensive care in Saskatoon.

"They were definitely Bruno's heroes," Cindy Billesberger said of the veterinarians and staff in Estevan and Saskatoon. "We're so grateful."

• Dog stuck at bottom of well for 27 days has 'a real zest for life'

"He's got his personality back," John Billesberger noted as Bruno wagged his tail happily before the car ride home.

"I can't wait for him to get back," Cindy Billesbergersaid, adding their other dogs have been missing Bruno. "I think he'll thrive more when he's at the farm, and around his friends, and in the fresh air and with us. He'll be happy."

Bruno will need to gradually return to a full diet, she said. He also has some physiotherapy routines and more visits to the vets to check on his paws.

A case study for vets

Douglas Freeman, dean of the veterinary medicine college at the University of Saskatchewan, said Bruno's remarkable recovery will be written up as a case study.

"It's been a very interesting case," Freeman said. "He still has lot of work to recover ... there'll be continued care at home."

He added Bruno got along well.

"I'm told he was a great patient," he said. "He never complained once about hospital food."