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Ronald is defying the odds and is continuing to recover from a traumatic blow to the head that left him with a fractured skull.

THE DAILY GLEANER/MICHAEL STAPLES PHOTO

NOT JUST CATS HAVE NINE LIVES: Ronald, a nine-year-old Pomeranian, was one of eight animals rescued by New Brunswick SPCA officers from a home in Minto. He is shown with Tracy Marcotullio, a supervisor with the Oromocto and area SPCA. Ronald suffered blunt-force trauma to his head and was left for dead. Although he has a long recovery ahead of him, Ronald is progressing well.

The nine-year-old Pomeranian was one of eight dogs rescued March 6 by New Brunswick SPCA officers from a home in Minto.

Five others were killed by what the SPCA described as "blunt-force trauma" before they could be taken to safety.

Among those left for dead was Ronald.

Tracy Marcotullio, a supervisor with the Oromocto and area SPCA, said the tiny dog is showing remarkable signs of recovery.

"He's done quite well," Marcotullio said Monday. "When he came in, he couldn't stand. He would just flop over.

"When we did the X-ray and realized he had a skull fracture, it kind of all made sense."

The good news is that Ronald is eating, can stand and walk a few steps, she said.

"He is certainly not out of the woods," Marcotullio said. "It's still iffy. When you look at the X-ray, you can see where the blunt-force trauma was and where his skull is actually separated.''

She said it's a serious injury.

"He's doing really well, but we never say anything is fine because we have never really dealt with this situation before."

Ronald may be facing surgery, depending on his recovery.

The incident in which Ronald was injured and the other dogs killed is under investigation by both the New Brunswick SPCA and District 2 RCMP.

Sgt. Ken Goodine said police are in the final stages of putting evidence together and will be submitting their findings soon to the Crown prosecutor's office in Burton, where the final decision on a charge or charges will be made.

"The evidence will be presented to the Crown this week," Goodine said Monday. "The investigation has been pretty well pulled together."

Paul Melanson, chief inspector with the New Brunswick SPCA, said his organization will be meeting soon with the RCMP. He said the N.B. SPCA Act allows his organization to file its own charges, but no decision has been made yet.

Marcotullio said there were eight dogs seized from the Minto location that day. Of those animals, a newborn puppy has since passed away, leaving seven.

One of the dogs will have to have a limb amputated because of "an old broken leg" that was never set properly. It dangles separately from the bone it should be attached to.

Another Pomeranian will have to have surgery on its kneecap.

"Many of them have few, if any, teeth," Marcotullio said. "Quite a few of them were very thin when they came in because, we assume, (they) were being fed large pieces of food that they can't eat. We have them on a diet of very small kibble and canned food."

The seized dogs range in age from the newborn to five months -- with the oldest, Ronald, being between the age of nine and 10.

All of the seized dogs are in foster care because they aren't ready for adoption yet. Several Oromocto SPCA staff members are participating in caring for the animals, with Ronald falling under the personal care of an area veterinarian.

Marcotullio said she and her staff have seen many things over the years, but this incident has left them shaken.

"This particular one was disturbing in its own right, just because of the nature of what it was," Marcotullio said. "I've been doing this for 10 years and we've have seen some really bad things, but this tops it. We've had animals that were maybe in worse shape, but this has been so brutal.

"The brutality of what happened that day, is inexplicable."