LEWISTON, Maine — Officials are looking to identify the owner of a “severely emaciated” pit bull mix found tied to a cemetery tree Tuesday night.
The young, tan male dog weighed 37 pounds, almost 20 pounds under his ideal weight, according to Zachary Black, operations manager at the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society.
“He’s skin and bones and a super, super friendly guy,” Black said. “We’re not sure how someone could do that” to him.
Police brought the dog to the shelter after responding to a call of a dog tied to a tree at Riverside Cemetery. The dog was found with a leash and choke collar.
It’s been good with people and other animals, and very hungry, Black said.
He estimated the dog’s age at 10 months to a year. Its ribs, vertebrae and pelvic bones are easily visible, he said.
State law requires the dog be held for seven days. The shelter hopes to put weight on him, neuter him, find a foster family and eventually find a home for him if the owner can’t be located.
If the owner is found, he or she could face a possible summons for cruelty to animals, Animal Control Officer Wendell Strout said.
“This happened over a period of months,” he said.
Anyone with information about the dog’s owner can call Strout at 513-3111.
I hope he finds a new, LOVING home, and quickly! I also hope his owners are found, charged, and not allowed to own any pets ever again!
I am on the same page with you. However, we do not know what it is to walk in the owners shoes, and we should hope the owner is not also starving. The owner may Not be mentally balanced or have a ph. or transportation to have taken the dog to the Humane Society. Glad the dog is in a safe place and am sure will find a loving home.
I agree, we don’t know what the owner is/was going through.
I do know though, that it took MONTHS for this dog to get in this shape. During that time, the owner could have been responsible and sought the help of others or surrendered him to a local shelter. Not tie him to a tree and walk away, letting him face a certain death. This dog is VERY lucky that he was found.
The fact that the owner acted in a cowardly (tying him to the tree, and running away) and irresponsible way, has proven to me that even if the owner has been facing hard times themselves, and may someday be doing better financially, they do not deserve to EVER own another animal.
It could also just as easily be a case of intended abuse too. You said so yourself, we don’t know.
Definately agree with you. As for the owner, hopefully the media will help find this person. Most especially if the person is also in a bad way.
That’s bull sh!t! There is NO reason ever to do this to a dog! Get the dog to a pound or other shelter or ask someone for help. If the person is mentally ill, he or she should not have a dog, period. I’d smack the dentures out of this bleep hole if I knew who it was!
do you always judge and sentence before having facts? what has happened to this dog is horrible and surely makes us want to smack the owner. I would be the first to do so, But not until I had the Facts. How long was the dog tied up at the cemetery? Facts remain to be seen.
The fact is: some jerk tied this dog to a tree and left him for dead. Whomever this miscreant is needs to be held to the highest degree of accountability. Regardless of whether he/she was having a bad day or any other sob story.
I don’t care what the owner’s situation is. If he/she couldn’t drop the dog off at the humane society, I’m sure they would have picked the dog up if called. I’m also sure the police department would have helped, as well. Unlike a human, a dog can’t ask for help- I have ZERO tolerance for this.
Facts brother, FACTS. we do NOT have the truth Yet. thus, No condemnation of whoever did this. I believe that is according to our Laws. If the owner is found and also found to be a total dispicable person, you would be in line behind Me,. to slap him bad. But wait for Facts.
poor thing, I hope he gets a new human soon.
Chain the owner to a tree! Cruel @#$%^
It never fails to amaze me the cruelty of humans. The dog could have been taken to a shelter – instead whomever chose to tie it up and let it die by starvation. Is there any hope for us?
As long as there are more comments similar to the 5 presently here, I think there is some hope.
I couldn’t do that do that even to an untrainable and nasty biter ( I had only one of those and took it back to the shelter).
This is why I prefer a dog over a husband
I do not know what is wrong with some people. I mean I do know the diagnostic terms and what they mean. What I do not understand is the casual, callous cruelty that allows them to harm animals and other people without any regard for what they have done. Sickening.
This stuff never ceases to amaze me. You don’t even have to be a die-hard animal lover to prevent yourself from doing these unspeakle acts. You only have to be human – something which this person apparently is not. I always find myself wondering what kind of other cruelty this person is capable of. How much regard does this person have for humans, or is this person careful to choose only helpless victims as in this case? A coward for sure. And it’s scary to know people like this are out there in society hiding in plain sight.
I don’t know, so called humans do this as a way of life. I mean, in a metaphorical way isn’t the GOP tying the middle class of America to a tree to die?
I’m afraid you are right.
Seriously? This isn’t the place to be on your misguided soapbox, making poor analogies.
I remember in my teen years one summer at the family camp we could hear a dog howling for a few weeks off in the distance. Being near other camps and some homes, we assumed it was someone’s pet just howling at the coyotes. I found that dog that fall during hunting season, chained to a tree. Collar still around him. I sat there and cried and cried. That next summer, heard the sound of loud mewing, and found a trashbag full of kittens. Luckily, they were all still alive and we rescued them all and gave them homes. It was an early lesson at just how sick people can be sometimes. Makes you lose a lot of hope in the human race really quick.
Typical act from a Lewiston resident
Unfortunately, it is not a matter of where one lives, but how one lives.
That is sick! Even after what the poor dog has been through it isnt resentful or aggressive towards humans. Pitbulls aren’t the monsters that people try to rentlessly portray. The human is the monster in this story like usual!
That’s a very misinformed statement with no factual basis, as someone with actual experience with the breed (not just what was on TV), I am going to disagree. Not to mention your statement doesn’t comment on the fact that this abused animal was left to die, and according to officials has been well behaved since it was picked up.
I am so mad about this.
Commenters on the BDN are so quick to jump to conclusions. It’s also possible that something happened to the owner (medical issue, assault) and the dog was abandoned unintentionally. Why always look for someone to vilify?
Even if that WERE the case, how would you ever begin to legitimately explain the dog’s physical condition? There’s absolutely NO excuse for that EVER.
I love dogs and mine just died this past week, having lived to be very old. I’m only saying that without the facts, we don’t know what happened to this dog. Thankfully the dog was rescued and will have a new chance at a happy life, just like my dog did.
it could have been a homeless alcoholic person or drug addict who OD’d who knows
That is a horrible, mis-educated thing to say. As with any other dog, raised and treated properly, they are fantastic pets.
Den – this reply isnt really to you but I cannot reply to the person you posted to so I am using your post to reply. Dont know what he said because it was flagged for review but I can only guess. ANY dog may bite or be aggressive, ANY dog. So can any human. I am so tired of all the comments against certain breeds. If you dont like them, then dont but dont spew ignorant comments. My dog of 16 years died 3 weeks ago and it has been very lonely in our home, left a huge hole. I went to the humane society today and brought home a new friend. I looked and I decided to take the dog home that seemed most loving and interested in me. Guess what.. pit mix. This dog has done nothing but cuddle all day. Stays by my side as I move from room to room in my house, rides well in the car, just lays down in the back seat. Afraid of crowds and runs in the opposite direction. He did growl at a cat crossing my yard. Oh no! A dog growling at a cat! He listens well, no means noand I dont have to repeat it. Say the word ‘outside’ and he is sitting by the door waiting for me, say “let’s go inside” and he runs to the door to come in. He walks well with a leash, or a leash and harnass, I have tried both. In one day this dog has found his way into my heart. He is more loving than many I have met. I suppose you dont look at all humans as human either, you probably single them out by color.
Well said! Good luck with your new family member and many happy years!
How horrible for the poor dog. There’s never any excuse for something like this to happen.
I’m sure there will be no shortage of offers to foster the dog and that he will find a new forever home very quickly.
Really…? Punish the DEED, not the BREED!!! You obviously have never owned a pit…if you had you would know they are loyal and loving and care not how society has discriminated against them. They still hold their heads high and devote their entire lives to their humans.
All pits should not be banned. I have four loving pit bulls and all of them would do anything to protect me and their family. When I get home they go nuts to get my affection, not try to kill me. I have plenty of friends and family who visit and not one has EVER been bitten…I have had a total of 12 dogs in my house at one time and one of them was a minature Sheltie. My pits were all behaved; and in fact the Sheltie was herding them. Tell me: if all pits are such horrible dogs why didn’t the 12 pits in my home eat each other or worse become aggresive towards the humans in the house? Why? Because I will tell you as so your brain doesn’t hurt…they were excited to have friends with them…they did not ban together to ‘eat’ each other or even the small dog?
Not all pits are out to destroy humans or each other. It is all in how they are raised. Are there aggresive pit bulls? YES! But that is how they were raised… they probably were not socialized with other dogs or humans. And by the way you can train any dog to bite. In fact I am afraid of German Shepards&Dobermans because I had an issues with them as a child. You didn’t mention banning them, but then there probably wouldn’t be police dogs to help catch criminals. Would that also be something that you support?
I know a total of about 20 pit bulls (all came from the same breeder) and every single one has never attempted to hurt a human (PERIOD)!!!! This poor feller cannot say the same for his human…
And while we are at it… Why not ban all dogs period? Any dog can bite or hurt a human or another dog.
(In reply to Andy)
i have been kind of down in the dumps lately. it is a bad world with very cruel people politicians ans what not . this is one thing i do not tolerate. alot of bad things in this world. i dont trust anyone these days for anything
People this is why we have animal shelters.If you can not feed and care for your pets please bring them there before you abuse them.
The Owner If Found Needs To Be Tied to a tree and starved…
Thats Sick….. What and the heck Is wrong with people????
I hope they find the owners,I don’t understand how anybody can be so cruel to a animal.Dogs any breed only want love and to be fed how tough is that? When they growl,bark or even bite there is a reason they can’t talk and say get out of my space or i don’t like it when you do that to me or around me and there natural instict is to protect there home and family.Don’t be so quick to judge any dog there only doing what comes natural to them and as owners we need to teach them in a loving responsible way.