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Dog found in condition too bad to save
1216 Sad dog
This dog was found in such bad condition that the staff at Liberty Humane Shelter felt they could not save it. - photo by Photo provided.

The Liberty Humane Shelter is urging the public to exercise compassion and empathy with animals after a gruesome discovery Thursday afternoon.
A pregnant female Labrador mix estimated to be 2 years old was euthanized upon intake Thursday after being found in ailing condition and in a kennel with another dead animal, according to Liberty Humane Shelter Director Sandra Frye.
“We need to be trying to find people and prosecute people for this kind of thing — we should not allow it to go on …,” Frye said. “They don’t have a voice. We have to be their voice for them.”
Longtime shelter volunteer Edwina Pontikakas noticed the kennel in a ditch on the shoulder of Briarwood Circle, where the shelter and animal control are located.
“I had been over there on shelter business, and I went to leave and I looked to my left for traffic coming out, and I happened to notice a kennel askew, and it just looked so out of place, and I thought, I better see maybe if animal control is trying
to trap an animal,” she said.
But an animal-control officer said there was no trap in progress and escorted Pontikakas back to the kennel, where they made the grave discovery.
“There was an animal in there, there was movement, but it was not responsive … it was so horrific,” she said, adding it seemed that the living animal was possibly eating the dead one to survive.
“I’m telling you it had to take some sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-human to do something like that,” Pontikakas said.  
Frye said the living animal had mange, an infection and its skin was in poor condition. It appeared as though someone had poured motor oil on the animal, possibly in an effort to treat the mange.
Typically, animal control holds captured animals for seven days before putting them down, but this case of abuse was so strong that they had no alternative, Frye said.
“I don’t know if they tried to help the dog and just gave up and didn’t find the right remedy for it, but they just totally disregarded her and threw her out like a piece of trash,” she said. “When you come across things like this, you just question humanity — you question people and their standards and, you know, what were they thinking? Did they not reach out? Did they not try? If the animal was not savable, they could have at least spent the last few minutes with
her or had her euthanized.”
While Thursday’s discovery was especially gruesome, Frye said abandonment and abuse happen too frequently in this area.
“I just think it’s sort-of commonplace, unfortunately,” she said. “We do all get upset about it, but it’s unfortunately nothing unusual.”
Pontikakas said abandonment happens frequently because animal control does not accept surrendered pets — but Frye said there are other options, like rescue groups, shelters and veterinarians who may be able to treat conditions or find alternatives.
“I know everybody’s sort of fallen on hard times right now, but, you know, we take on an animal to take care of them; we’re responsible for their life. They’re not things to be disposed
of in a passing car,” Frye said.


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