Neglected dog found in Portage County home struggles to recover

KENT, Ohio - "She was in shock, she was unconscious, severely dehydrated, she's emaciated, wounds all over her body, infested with maggots, she had ticks, she had fleas."  That's how Dr. Jaime Marietti of the Stow-Kent Animal Hospital described the dog that was brought to them Saturday.

Portage Animal Protective League received a call about an animal left unattended at a house in Hiram.  When a humane officer arrived at the home, he wasn't even sure if the dog was alive.

"He wasn't sure how long it had been laying there or if it could stand up on its own," said Portage APL Executive Director Chalan Lowry about one the officer who found the husky. The dog "was gasping for air and to be quite honest, he was going to rush her to the vet, but he didn't know if she was going to make it"

The staff at the hospital worked for more than two days to attend to the dog's wounds, but the dog, whose age is estimated at 10 years, was slow to respond.

By early Tuesday, Marietti had almost given up hope of any kind of recovery. 

"We actually had technicians walk away because they couldn't watch her be put to sleep."

Marietti decided to wait one more day and that day made all the difference. Lucky began to eat and tried to stand. Four times a day she is taken outside for some fresh air and given a chance to walk. The recovery is slow, but Marietti is encouraged.

"She's probably going to be in the hospital for another week or two weeks, but after that she's going to need pretty aggressive physical therapy. She's not going to be one of those dogs you can just take home and open the back door and she can go outside, she's going to need help."

Lowry said the Portage APL is still investigating.

"These cases are pretty tough," she said. "They're not usually cut and dry. There's always some story, someone did this, someone didn't do this... And we have to filter through all this nonsense and really figure out why this happened and who did this to the dog."

Once Lucky is well enough, the APL will look for a suitable foster home for her.

If you would like to donate to help with Lucky's recovery, click on this link: http://portageapl.org