UPDATE:The struggle of a husky mix found by Portage County's Animal Protection League has ended, as "Lucky" died Monday. The APL's Chalan Lowry tells NewsChannel 5 the dog had been eating and showing some signs of recovery, but stopped eating and lost four pounds -- weight she couldn't afford to lose -- before finally giving up.
Lowry says at least for her last days, "Lucky" was surrounding by care and love.
Previous coverage June 12, 2012
Portage County's Animal Protective League is asking for help in restoring a dog thought to be dead but clinging to life. WARNING: some of the images in this story may be disturbing.
The heart-breaking story began this past weekend when a Humane Officer found what appeared to be a dead Husky-type dog in Hiram, after a call the owner had apparently abandoned the animal. He found the dog barely alive and in deplorable condition. She was under weight, covered in filth and so hobbled by malnutrition she couldn't even stand.
The dog -- now named "Lucky" -- was found to be suffering from open sores, which were infected with maggots. The Portage APL says she is slowly recovering and has even taken a few tentative steps, but her prognosis remains poor while she continues to get round-the-clock care.
The APL is asking for donations to help defray the cost of the expensive rescue medical care.
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(Portage County APL) On Saturday, June 2, Humane Officer Steve Chapman got a call regarding a dog in distress. The caller reported that the owner hadn’t been there for some time and that the dog needed help. Officer Chapman arrived in Hiram around 30 minutes later to check on the dog. What he found was something out of a nightmare.
At first he worried that he was too late because the dog looked dead. But as he approached, he realized that she was in fact alive, but just barely. A Husky type dog was lying in front of him, in the dirt by a doghouse, gasping for air. Upon further examination, the gravity of the situation became clear. It was obvious that she had been lying there for quite a while. She was severely matted, extremely under weight, had open sores and feces on her and had debris in her mouth. She could not stand. Steve immediately called the veterinarian to advise that he would be rushing her there… if she didn’t die first.
Just as he thought that she didn’t have the strength to fight anymore, he began to hear a faint bark coming from the back of the van so he drove faster. He arrived at the veterinarian where a team of people quickly began working on her. They shaved her matted fur, began giving her IV fluids to hydrate her emaciated body. Her body temperature was 105.5 and could not support her body weight. Once shaved the neglect was hard to look at. She had maggots eating away at her flesh and infected sores.
“As of today her prognosis is poor. We don’t know if she’ll make it through from day to day. She is receiving almost round the clock care and the doctor said she finally took a few steps (with help) this morning.” said Chalan Lowry, Executive Director. “Portage APL will do all that we can to save her. We think she is about 10 years old and it looks like she has been in a horrible way for a long time. We’ve named her Lucky and we certainly hope that she is! She deserves a chance. Her care and recovery will be long and expensive and we’ll need the community’s support to help her and others like her.”
The APL continues to rescue animals every day and the need continues to increase each year. Portage APL is a private, nonprofit organization and relies on the generosity and kindness of individuals and businesses to help thousands of animals who have no voice.
Portage Animal Protective League http://portageapl.org
