Dog tied to tree, abandoned
Hernando, FL (US)Incident Date: Monday, Mar 21, 2005
County: Citrus
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
A dog was found tied to a tree outside the Hernando County SPCA with a chain around her neck on March 21. A board member for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Cindy Mosier, found herself met by the brown eyes of Beth, a brown and white mixed breed dog, as she pulled into the shelter parking lot. The dog was in rough shape, Mosier explained.
"She had a swing-set chain around her neck so tight and for so long that it had embedded into it," Mosier said as she cuddled a tiny kitten named Orlando. "She was at least 40 pounds underweight."
No one at the SPCA knows who left Beth tied to their tree, or why. This cruel twist of fate, however, has left the dog in loving hands, possibly for the first time in her life.
Beth is in the early stages of heartworms and suffers chronic ear infections, an ailment that makes her brown flopping ears virtually untouchable and her neck extremely sensitive.
Her teeth are severely ground down, possibly from trying to chew herself free from the chain, making it difficult to estimate her age. She growls and nips when approached and despises being caged. She is frightened and confused.
But Mosier sees hope and determination in Beth's brown eyes.
"Any aggression that she shows is nothing but pain and fear," Mosier explained. "A lot of people are afraid of her because they don't understand her." Upon finding Beth, Mosier and other SPCA volunteers immediately brought her in, served her several bowls of food that she promptly devoured. "While I was handing her the second bowl, she nipped a little at my hand, but it was not aggressive," Mosier said. "She could have easily taken my hand off, but she didn't. That says a lot for her personality."
Beth has gained over 20 pounds since coming to the SPCA. The volunteers are in the process of treating her many ailments, an endeavor that is both time consuming and expensive.
"We are a non-profit organization that is staffed only by volunteers," Mosier said. "We can't afford all the treatment that Beth needs."
On April 11, the SPCA board and volunteers gathered to decide what action to take with Beth.
The dog needs medical treatment along with positive human interaction to help her recover mentally from her past experiences. Euthanasia was a possibility, but was quickly forgotten by the no-kill shelter. It just was not an option, Mosier said. "We know that there is someone out there with the heart and love that this dog needs," Mosier said. "There is someone out there, we just have to find him or her." In hopes of offsetting the costs of Beth's medical treatment, and to leave her new owner with funds to continue any treatment, the SPCA has established a special trust fund, solely for Beth.
Mosier estimates that the initial veterinary visit will cost the shelter around $1,000. Additional treatment and surgeries could push the bill well over $3,000.
"We just can't afford that," Mosier said.
But cost has not held the SPCA back in the past, nor will it with Beth.
Mosier told of a blind cat named Teddy, for whom they recently set up a trust fund. Today, Teddy lives in a loving home where all his special needs are met. "Beth also has special needs," Mosier explained. "So it will take a special home. Right now Beth is my priority and until she finds a home, she will be everyone's priority here."
Donations to Beth's trust fund can be made at the SPCA, 9075 Grant Street, which is off Sunshine Grove Road or by mailing a check made out to Hernando County SPCA to P.O. Box 3161, Spring Hill, Fla., 34611. Write Beth's trust fund on the memo line. Those interested in adopting Beth can call the SPCA for more information at 596-7000. References |
