FAYETTEVILLE, NC.......As everyone knows, I have been doing this for a very long time. I have seen and heard it all. I believe very little that people say about an abused dog and have to count on the Surgeons and Specialists to put all of the pieces together based on their medical expertise. The rest comes from a Gut-Feeling when you know the facts are not what has been stated.
We were contacted about a sweet 3 year old Walker Hound Mix that was a turn-in from a Family that said he was attacked by a smaller dog. They also said the injury had happened about a week prior. Cumberland County Animal Control went to pick up the dog that was in horrible pain. We agreed to take the dog into our Medical Program. My first initial thoughts were that this sweet dog had caught his paw in a trap. The injury did not just happen and looked to be at least 4-6 weeks old based on the tissue that had already granulated. The surgeons took one look and knew sweet Chief had a raging infection that had started to go up his leg, and the pain must be unbearable. They did not think the leg was caught in a trap but did think Chief was viciously attacked. Chief's bloodwork clearly showed he had an infection, was anemic and had a terrible load of heartworms. We had the Neurology Team come in to evaluate Chief to see if there was any way possible to save the leg. Too many bones and nerves had been damaged, and the leg was going to kill the dog if we did not remove it. We also had to do a full Heart work-up before we could do any surgery because of his heart worm overload. This sweet pup was going to cause a mess of worry for everyone working on him based on how unstable he was.
Chief has suffered for easily a month with these injuries. The lack of compassion this Family had for their Family dog should put all of them in jail. If this is not Animal Abuse, then I don't know what it is. The AC Officers in charge have contacted us about charging the Family with Animal Neglect and Abuse. We are supplying them with every bit of medical information we have to put these people away. Accidents happen all the time but to do nothing is Criminal. If your dog gets hurt, seek help immediately. Get the animal to the Vet and if you cannot afford the care the animal needs, reach out for help. If no help arrives, then put the animal down. Don't sit around wishing and hoping while your Dog suffers. If you love your Family Pet, then love then enough to know when to say Good-Bye. If we start charging the people with Animal Abuse that do nothing, then a lot more animals can be saved or at least they will not suffer horrible deaths.
Sweet Chief is going to be great once we get him well and get rid of the leg and the infection. We will then deal with his heartworms. We could have saved the leg if he had been brought in right after it happened. But now we are dealing with a dog that has a terrible infection, and his leg had died in too many places for us to salvage it.
The saddest part of all of this is that this is a sweet dog. He is scared but has done nothing but shower everyone with lots of kisses and caresses. Everyone loves him. He is going to make the best Family member for someone that will love him unconditionally. He is a beautiful Walker Hound Mix that is a goofy pup that wants for nothing.
Please, DONATE, toward his Medical Bills so we can bring awareness to the NPICTURESeglect that is happening in this World and to get Chief the Medical Care he needs to Survive.
