A Houston dog is on the road to recovery after being found with a shoelace tied so tightly around its neck, it became embedded in its skin, causing the animal’s face to swell.
The abused dog was found last week after a Facebook photo led to Houston K-911 Rescue staff members to search for the animal in a southeast Houston neighbourhood.
Animal rights activist Rob Acuna told Houston’s KHOU11 News he and his team began to search for the dog after seeing a photo of the abused canine crossing in an area of the city where many of the buildings have long since been abandoned.
“We were in disbelief,” Acuna said. “We really weren’t prepared to find him.”
Houston K-911 Rescue said as they searched for several hours and eventually located the dog, which they named Gus.
“We were about to walk right past it, then noticed the opening and looked inside with a flashlight. After a few seconds, we commented about how badly it reeked in there,” the rescue service said in a Facebook post. “We were about to go in to look in a room that’s inside when the dog came strolling out.”
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The dog was rushed to an emergency vet clinic where veterinarians had to surgically remove the embedded shoestring.
Anna Barbosa, a rescuer with K-911 Rescue, told KBTX News that the dog also suffered from at least 25 pellet gun wounds, with some of the pellets lodged in his body.
“The vet couldn’t believe how many pellets he had in his body. Mostly on the right side,” Barbosa said.
Gus’ wounds were so bad, the dog had to be transferred to Texas A&M Small Animal Clinic to see a soft tissue specialist. The dog required another surgery to remove scar tissue around his jugular and carotid artery, while receiving a blood transfusion.
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K-911 Rescue estimated Gus to be about 10 months old, and the shoelace was tied around his neck at a very young age, becoming tighter as the dog grew.
On Tuesday, K-911 Rescue shared a video of Gus undergoing massage treatment to help further reduce the swelling in its face.
Barbosa told local Fox News station the swelling has subsided enough the dog’s nose has become more pronounced.
“He’s looking great,” she said, adding that “he’s afraid of everything, but he’s so gentle.”
As for tracking down the person responsible for the abuse, K-911 Rescue noted that Gus was found in an area “where no one will talk.”
“There is no way at all to find out who is responsible,” K-911 Rescue said in a Facebook post.