Dog severely emaciated, abandoned
Camden, NJ (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Feb 10, 2007
County: Camden
Disposition: Open
Case Images: 5 files available
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A call came in on Feb 10 to Camden County animal shelter saying a dog had been wandering the streets of Camden. Animal control took him to the shelter.
A 1-year-old pit bull terrier mix should weigh about 90 pounds. This one weighs 34 pounds.
Officials at the shelter say it's one of the worst cases of abuse they've ever seen, and they have asked for help to care for the dog they've named Zero.
Fortunately, the dog is now on the road to recovery.
"I've never seen anything that bad, and I've been in the shelter business for over five years," said adoption coordinator Amy Whitmire.
The dog had no marks, cuts or burns. His coat was in good shape. But every bone in his body was visible. Workers said he had been deliberately starved, and they named him Zero because he resembled a skeleton dog in the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas."
"It still really bothers me," Whitmire said.
He couldn't walk, hold his head up, or eat hard food. Though dehydrated, he couldn't get intravenous fluids. Because his heart was so weak, it was feared he might drown.
Zero was lucky. Tracey Persia took him home for foster care, something she'd done a dozen times but never for a dog that was in that poor of shape.
"It was heartbreaking to see him," Persia said. "What really broke my heart was that his tail was wagging the whole time when he saw people come toward him. ... He wobble. He walks somewhat. Today, he's walking a little bit better -- standing maybe two to three minutes before he collapses."
Persia has kept Zero warm, spoon-fed him, given him water around the clock. Her other dogs were giving him doses of doggy love.
"He wants to live, and you can just see it in his personality," Persia said.
There was a lot of love and care that will, hopefully, help Zero get well, NBC 10's Edie Huggins said. Persia wants him to be adopted by a loving family that will take care of him when he's ready.
To donate money to help save Zero, please call the shelter at 856-401-1300 or visit the Web Site of the Camden County Animal Shelter.
Case UpdatesAfter days of gentle feeding and lots of love, Zero, the emaciated pit bull who was rescued and nearly 45 pounds underweight, died in his foster mother's arms.
A representative of the Camden County Animal Shelter said the grossly underweight pit bull passed away Sunday night after his health started to rapidly decline.
"He took his last breath in his foster mother's arms knowing love for probably the first time in his life," Camden County Animal Shelter's Heather Speeks wrote in an e-mail to NBC 10.
"Zero's foster mother did everything possible to save [him]," she added. "Despite our best efforts to do so, we can't always undo the damage that has been done."
Last week, authorities found Zero, who was named after the skeleton dog featured in the movie "The Nightmare Before Christmas," and took him to the New Jersey shelter.
They turned him over to an experienced foster mother who said that despite being starved, abused and neglected by a former owner, Zero always wagged his tail and seemed happy. He also got along well with the other dogs in the home.
Workers at the shelter said Zero was initially so starved and dehydrated that he could not eat solid food because it made his gums bleed. Veterinarians could not hook him up for IV feeding because they feared it would drown his weak heart.
The foster mother worked with him and gently fed him soft food, but she and other workers weren't able to turn his condition around.
Speeks said all of the donations received in Zero's name will be used to help other sick or injured animals.
"Our hope is that Zero's death is not in vain," Speeks wrote. "His legacy is to make people aware of the cruelty and abuse suffered by animals."
She urged anyone who knows of or suspects animal cruelty or neglect to report it immediately. She also said if someone finds an animal alone on the street, they should call authorities. | Source: NBC10.com - Feb 19, 2007
Update posted on Feb 24, 2007 - 7:32PM |
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