Dog with Embedded Chain is Saved
www.belleville.com
September 29, 2006 - ALTON, MISSOURI - A 2 1/2 -year-old black lab mix was resting comfortably Thursday after having emergency surgery to remove an embedded logging chain in his neck earlier this week.
"He's friendly, jumping and running around the house," said Illinois Humane investigator Andy Torrez, who found the dog dehydrated and emaciated Tuesday morning at an Alton home.
"When I first went up to him, he was a little skittish. But after I talked to him for a little while, he was all right."
Lazarus, a name given by employees at the Alton Area Animal Aid Association Humane Society, was handed over by his owners Tuesday. Torrez said the dog had been chained to a tree behind the home, but his chain had become so tangled he couldn't move more than 6 inches.
Torrez went to the home after receiving an anonymous phone call about a dog being tied to a tree without any shelter.
The owners told Torrez they had just planned to take the dog to the country and "get rid of him," he said. They also could not remember when the dog had been fed last and told Torrez they couldn't afford a veterinarian.
"Since (the owner) said he didn't have the money to take the dog to the vet and that he had just planned to take the dog to the country, we wanted to move quickly to get him medical attention, so we asked the owners to surrender the dog," Torrez said.
Torrez said they were unable to take the owners' other dog into custody because it appeared the dog had shelter, food and water.
Lazarus was taken to the Alton Police Department, where a report was made by the department's animal control. He was then taken into emergency surgery at the Daniel Randall Veterinary Hospital in Godfrey.
Dr. Thorin Lindstrom, who performed the surgery on Lazarus to remove the chain, said it wasn't the worst case he'd seen, but it was still a bad situation.
The skin had begun to grow over the chain on the back of the dog's neck. The surgery was successful, but he must undergo another surgery so the wound can be cleaned to ensure the tissue on his neck heals properly, Lindstrom said.
"The most common thing to happen is for a pet owner to put a collar on a puppy and forget to loosen the collar over time as the dog gets bigger," Lindstrom said. "There is a big difference between the two cases. Having a dog in the back yard tied to a tree, that's more of true cruelty."
The Madison County state's attorney office is investigating possible animal abuse charges against the owners. Spokeswoman Stephanee Smith said no charges had been filed as of Thursday afternoon.
