Injured dog found abandoned in river bed
Colton, CA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Feb 21, 2008
County: San Bernardino
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
CT scampered around his "pet condo" at the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley on Tuesday, living in the lap of luxury with doggy toys, a fluffy little bed and plenty of food and water.
It was major step up from the condition in which he was found by a Caltrans worker on Feb. 21, wrapped in a blanket soaked by rain and shivering in an isolated river bottom in Colton, near Slover and Pepper avenues. His right hind leg was broken and his tail mutilated, exposing bloody flesh and bone.
CT is short for Caltrans, the agency where the worker who found the dog is employed.
"Someone went to great lengths to walk him to a remote area and just leave him," said Jamie Simmons, a humane officer with the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley who responds to animal cruelty and abandonment calls. "To me, that goes beyond abandonment. It constitutes a felony."
Although whoever abandoned the puppy likely did so with the best of intentions, Simmons said that doesn't justify the action.
"Even if they meant well, this wasn't an option for the animal," Simmons said.
CT's predicament is only one in hundreds of cases of animal abandonment and cruelty countywide. Animal control officials continue to grapple with the skyrocketing numbers of stray, abandoned or abused dogs and cats they come across daily.
Affordable spay and neutering services provided by the Humane Society haven't even put a dent in the problem.
The Humane Society spays and neuters 900 cats and dogs a month, said Carin Orange, spokeswoman for the organization.
In 2007, 10,484 cats and dogs were spayed or neutered at the Humane Society's low-cost clinic, and 54,584 vaccinations were administered. Humane officers investigated 472 complaints of animal abuse and neglect, and 304 animals including dogs, cats and horses were confiscated from unsafe environments.
Cases like CT's are a rarity, but show there is hope.
On Monday, CT underwent surgery on his right hind leg and tail, most of which was surgically removed, leaving a stub about two inches long. "He's going to look more like a Rottweiler now," Simmons said.
No one knows how CT's injuries were inflicted.
With a plastic cone around his neck to prevent him from chewing on his fresh stitches and bandages, CT playfully chewed on the shoelaces of a newspaper photographer on Tuesday in his "condo," a small room enclosed by glass walls and door.
Finding an adoptive parent for the playful pup won't be difficult.
"The vet who performed the surgery fell in love with him and is considering adopting him," Simmons said, adding that the Humane Society has already received three calls from people expressing an interest to adopt CT.
The Northside Vet Clinic in San Bernardino, where CT underwent surgery, has received four telephone calls as well, Simmons said, adding that publicity from a local radio station broadcast on CT's plight fueled the interest.
For now, CT will remain at the Humane Society over the next several weeks so he can have time to fully recover before he's adopted out. "They bounce back really well," Simmons said. References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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