Dog found starving to death, covered in maggots in New Brunswick dies

WARNING: This story contains graphic information. 

A New Brunswick animal rescue group says a dog they recently saved has died.

The golden retriever-mix was rescued July 7 by the Kent County Animal Rescue after they say he was found at Main River Bridge near Rexton. When they found him, Nicole Thebeau says he was starving to death and covered in maggots.

It took a veterinarian at the Riverview Animal Hospital hours to remove more than 1,000 maggots that were found all over the dog.

Thebeau said the dog was also emaciated and his blood and sugars were extremely low.

She told Global News the dog — who was not given a name yet — also had a shunt but he was too weak for surgery.

READ MORE: Dog found starving to death, covered in maggots in New Brunswick

On Wednesday morning, Thebeau got a call that the dog’s liver and blood work was bad, he was getting “very weak” and the veterinarian suggested he be euthanized.

“I asked if we could have 24 hours to see if he would bounce back,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I asked if we could have 24 hours to see if he would bounce back," she said.

“But within a few hours she called me and it wasn’t bouncing back and he was just really going downhill fast. He was suffering at that point so we decided to euthanize.”

The dog was originally found in the water by a woman who saved it from drowning. Thebeau believes the dog was tied to a chain and did not have access to food or water for weeks. She says officials believe the dog had been chained somewhere and had been chewing at his chain, wearing down his teeth.

Once the dog was loose, Thebeau says it appears he was attacked by other dogs resulting in several holes to his backside. It’s believed the dog jumped in the water as a way to provide some relief to his injuries but was then too weak to swim.

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When Thebeau drove to retrieve the dog, she said he eventually came out wagging his tail.

“Even in all that pain, he just wanted love,” she said. “It was really heartbreaking to lose him because he didn’t even make it out of the vet. I wanted to bring him home, I wanted to show him love and we just didn’t get that chance.”

Those at the veterinarian’s office also got attached to the dog because he was there for some time, even naming him Cinnamon.

Losing the dog, Thebeau said, has been difficult but it has also renewed their drive to continue rescuing animals.

“We have bad days and good days and this was definitely a bad outcome,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We have bad days and good days and this was definitely a bad outcome," she said.

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“Sometimes it’s just a matter of having the support around you and then you see the old ones that you rescued that are living the wonderful life and are happy and healthy and loved … Yeah we lost one but there’s more that need our help so you can’t stop.”

Thebeau added donations that were given and not used and will be kept in the account at Riverview Animal Hospital for future rescues.

—With files from Natasha Pace, Global News