Fort Simpson (Dec 10/04) - If Rusty the dog could talk, she could answer some questions about her severe and mystifying injuries.

The 11-year-old female Collie cross, who belongs to Wayne Boutilier, sustained a couple of unexplained deep cuts late last month. It took approximately 30 stitches to close her wounds.

Rusty gets her stitches removed by Lois Martin in a designated room at the Fort Simpson Health Centre. It's suspected that the Collie-mix was cut by a person wielding a knife. - Derek Neary/NNSL photo

Nurse Lois Martin, who does veterinary work after hours, said it appears as if the dog was attacked by someone with a knife.

One slice, about 12 inches long, runs across Rusty's back. Another, closer to her neck, was nearly six inches in length.

The cuts weren't jagged and aren't consistent with the dog having got stuck under a fence or a car, Martin explained. She added that she has seen the latter types of injuries in the past and they're more like a "rip" than a clean cut.

"It's just speculating, but I couldn't think what else could do that (other than a knife)," said Martin.

Boutilier said he let Rusty out to do her business for about 20 minutes on the night of Nov. 27. He later heard some barking, but nothing out of the ordinary. When he let Rusty in the house she was bleeding profusely.

"It was bad enough where you could peel her skin back," he said. "She doesn't bother anybody. She's well known around town. I want her to die of old age, not like that."

Boutilier said his children were "pretty troubled" by the ordeal.

He didn't report the incident to the police because he said it's unlikely the culprit would ever be found. He looked for footprints around his house but didn't find any on the snowy night, he noted.

When Martin went to Boutilier's place to initially examine the wounded dog, Rusty showed amazing resilience. She was "walking around and wagging her tail," Martin recalled.