Residents of Lake Echo, N.S., and surrounding communities are rallying behind a dog that was found severely emaciated, and wandering the area.
Now in the care of Homeward Bound City Pound, “Echo,” affectionately named for the people who helped rescue her, was picked up by animal control over a week ago.
Staff there said so far they’ve been unable to track down her owners and it’s unclear how long she was on her own.
“The community came together. They saw her running around so they came together with animal control and helped catch her,” said Sarah Wilson, animal care specialist at Homeward Bound City Pound.
“She spent a couple days at Metro Animal Emergency Clinic kind of recouping, getting blood work done, making sure she was stable enough to come into our care.”
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Adult, female Cane Corso dogs typically weigh between 90 and 120 pounds. When she arrived at the pound, Echo weighed a mere 68.
“I have been here for four years now and I’ve seen probably just a handful of emaciated dogs come in,” said Wilson.
“I mean, we see dogs that are thin, but never quite this thin.”
Echo had to be slowly re-introduced to food and was immediately put on a recovery diet. She is now on a strict and highly regulated feeding program to ensure she doesn’t get sick while trying to gain back the weight.
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Aside from her weight, Echo is an otherwise healthy dog with a sweet and loving personality.
Crystal Ward is one of the residents rallying behind the dog. She said she heard about the situation on social media and immediately knew she wanted to do something to help.
“It just broke my heart,” Ward said.
“I thought, you know, she deserves to have something good, so that’s where all the stuff is coming from to make sure she has something for her.”
She said people have been contacting her with donations of food, beds, toys and blankets. As of Monday, she already had several bags full of donations she plans to bring to the shelter.
“I’ve had a lot of people that I’ve gone and picked up from… they’ve met me at Tim Hortons and just said, ‘You know, they really appreciate that someone is doing this,'” said Ward.
Homeward Bound City Pound is funded by Halifax Regional Municipality, therefore, they do not ask for donations.
Wilson said that while all Echo’s medical expenses will be taken care of, there are a number of shelters throughout the municipality that could benefit from people’s generosity.
“There are many rescues out there that see dogs like Echo all the time that could very well use all these donations that are being gathered for her,” said Wilson.
“By all means, bring them in and if we don’t use them here, we’ll definitely allocate them to other rescues we work closely with.”
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Const. Joanne Landsburg, chief provincial inspector with the Nova Scotia SPCA, said as of Monday afternoon, they had not received any information about the dog in question.
However, she said they can’t investigate animal cruelty if no one reports it.
“It’s very important to report any suspected cases of abuse or neglect to the SPCA,” said Landsburg.
We may already have a case pending on this or we may have some information related to the case. So it’s very important if you suspect something like this to make sure that you report it to the SPCA.”
She said it is often difficult to locate the animal’s owner without the help of a microchip or tags. In cases where the owners are suspected of wrongdoing, it’s likely they will not come forward at all.
“We would certainly be interested in finding out who owned this dog and to see if there are some underlying causes, or perhaps the dog is just lost and the owners are actually looking for it,” said Landsburg.
Echo will likely remain at Homeward Bound City Pound for at least the next month while she gains weight and rebuilds her strength. Staff there said they will be posting on their social media accounts when she is ready for adoption.