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Dog bound with belt, abandoned on bike trail
Cleveland, OH (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jul 31, 2012
County: Blount
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Meet Miracle, a 2-year-old boxer mix whose story is a miracle.
"I don't think anyone has ever been nice to this dog. She doesn't know what it's like to be petted," said Dr. Bob Litkovitz, a vet at the Gateway Animal Clinic.
Miracle came to the Clinic as one of the worst cases of starvation, animal neglect, and abuse vetenarians have ever seen.
"She was very emaciated. She has not had enough food for a long time. She is 22 pounds. She should be probably twice that," added Dr. Bob.
Vets say she has managed to digest her entire body mass, but fortunately, not her internal organs.
"She still has some ability to come back. And she's doing it quickly. She's a tough little girl," added Dr. Bob.
A tough girl with a will to live.
Police say Miracle was tied to a fence and left for dead just outside the tunnel connecting the Detroit Shoreway to Edgewater Park.
"She was tied with a belt at a height where she couldn't stand up. She was forced to just lay there," said Becca Britton, the director of Friends of Cleveland Kennel.
Miracle was found three quarters of a way down the bike trail. Doctors say they don't know how long she was there, but say she would have died there had a good Samaritan not come along.
Walter Zmijewski discovered Miracle while walking his dog Sunday morning.
"I got up to it. I noticed it was tied rather aggressively against the fence, almost as if it was not supposed to be breathing much longer," said Zmijewski.
Zmijewski called 911 and removed the belt around Miracle's neck. He stayed by her side until the Dog Warden came.
"There were times when I said, 'this is it.' But I told my little dog, Bella Mia, we weren't gonna let her go by herself," added Zmijewski.
Now a dog that has never known love now knows the kindness of strangers, and will one day know the comfort of a forever home.
"What is amazing is we would see her little tail patter in the kennel cage. So we knew she had a strong will to live and be helped," added Britton. References |
