a Connecticut pit bull in trouble!
(cut and pasted from the Waterbury Connecticut Republican American)
http://imgsrv.1010wins.com/image/DbG...612/421534.jpg
Basically, Gretchen was beaten with a baseball bat and needs donations toward her surgery and a home.
NAUGATUCK: Donations sought to care for wounded dog
Friday, December 22, 2006
BY JOANNE M. PELTON
Copyright © 2006 Republican-American
NAUGATUCK -- The town's animal control officer and a local veterinarian are seeking donations to help offset the cost of surgery for a dog that was left abandoned after it was apparently beaten by someone with a baseball bat.
Marilyn Weid, the town's assistant animal control officer, said the dog, a young gray pit bull, was found abandoned last week in the City Hill Street area. It had a huge, football-sized tumor sticking out of its side and she took it to the Naugatuck Veterinary Hospital on Rubber Avenue.
It was discovered the tumor wasn't cancerous, but actually a giant hematoma (a tumor or swelling caused by the effusion of blood) from the animal being hit.
The medium-sized dog also suffered several broken ribs.
"She's such a sweet dog. We couldn't put her down and decided to give her the surgery," Weid said on Thursday.
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Although animal control doesn't have money in its budget for surgeries like this, Weid is hoping the public will respond with donations and someone will adopt the dog the veterinary hospital has named Gretchen.
The cost of the surgery was $600. The dog is still at the hospital and will be there through the holidays, said Lisa Jackson, hospital manager.
Jackson said Gretchen, who has a white bandage around her belly, is about 2 years old and "a sweet dog, who sits and eats out of your hand and licks you with love."
Jackson said once the dog is well enough, it will be sent back to the pound and if it isn't adopted, it will probably be euthanized.
"She's so sweet. I would hate to see her put to sleep," said Jackson.
"Our hearts are broken that someone treated this gentle animal like that," she said.
Weid said she sees many abandoned animals and just last week someone dropped off a puppy that had such a severe case of mange that it had no fur.
"It's a very young puppy. We can't tell what kind it is because it has no fur at all," she said.
Weid also said although there isn't any funding to treat the puppy, it's still being treated and she hopes someone will donate money to the animal shelter for cases like this.
"It probably just became too expensive for the owner to treat the dog for mange, so they just dumped it," she said.
For information about donations or adopting a pet, call Weid at the Animal Control Facility, 508 Cherry St. Extension, at 729-4324.
