Dog Recovering After Being Tossed in Trash
Rescued animal possibly part of illegal dogfighting operation
By KEITH GARVIN and MATTHEW STABLEY
Updated 7:16 PM EST, Tue, Aug 11, 2009
WASHINGTON -- A dog viciously attacked is recovering after being found in a Dumpster in southeast D.C.
The dog appears to have been injured in a dog fight, either random or illegal, but more disturbing is the fact that the still breathing animal was duct-taped inside a trash bag and tossed in the Dumpster in an apparent cover up attempt.
Leroy Shaw Robinson saw the dog sticking out of the Dumpster. When he approached, he heard thrashing and whimpering
"I didn't know if he was dead or alive," Robinson said. "Come to find out he was moving."
He called the Washington Humane Society.
Enter Officer Eve Russell.
"I was in a bit of disbelief when the dispatcher was describing to me what it sounded like the witnesses were seeing," she said. "And when I got to the scene, it was even worse than I had been expecting and I was shocked. It was probably one of the most pathetic things I've ever seen."
Russell raced the dog to Friendship Hospital for Animals, where surgery was performed immediately. After several stitches and a lot of attention, the dog is healing well.
"Her most extensive injury was a laceration over her eye," said Dr. Ashley Hughes. "It was very deep to the bone. Luckily, it doesn't look like the globe was involved at all."
The goal is to rehabilitate the dog after she heals and place her in a loving home.
Despite the fact that she was attacked and thrown away, the dog was described as a warm, sweet and loving animal. And underneath her calm demeanor she has the spirit of a survivor, doctors said.
"To have gone through what she's gone through and be as loving and affectionate as she is, she's just obviously a wonderful dog, and I think that will help her a lot with her healing," Hughes said.
She was lethargic Tuesday, so the animal hospital's outlook is guarded. She could need another surgery.
If the dog was part of an illegal dogfighting operation, she might not have been a fighter. She could have been a bait dog used to train other dogs.
The Washington Humane Society is offering a $1,500 reward for information that leads to an arrest of those responsible.
First Published: Aug 10, 2009 6:00 PM EST
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