FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) — The severely starved dog that’s being treated at Fort Wayne Animal Care & Control is worsening and the shelter’s medical staff isn’t sure how much longer he’ll hang on.
“Unfortunately yesterday he did take a turn for the worse,” Animal Care & Control’s Holly Pasquinelli said.
The emaciated 10-month to year-old dog found abandoned on the city’s southeast side last week had been doing better the past few days.
But when he stopped eating Thursday, the medical team at Animal Care & Control immediately ran a battery of tests and found he wasn’t regenerating his red blood cells.
So Friday he received a dog blood transfusion as a last ditch effort to try to save him.
“With the community support and kind of those tiny, tiny baby steps that we had been seeing with him, it’s just really disheartening and it’s very frustrating and sad to see that this is kind of where we are right now,” she said.
She knows the community and even people around the world are now emotionally invested in the dog, but asks you not to call for updates on his condition.
“We are so appreciative of the support, but our emergency lines are getting extremely backed up and sometimes the wait is up to 30 minutes for emergency calls to come through. And we want our dispatchers to be able to address those immediately,” Pasquinelli said.
She says the medical team at the shelter has grown attached to the pup despite their best efforts to remain aloof for their own emotional protection.
“What they’re doing is so emotionally and physically taxing on them. To see them go through this is extremely difficult. When they go home they can’t turn their brains off from this because they’re not sure how he’s doing here at the shelter, so they get in their cars and they come back over here and they sit with him,” she said.
The shelter is caring for other severely abused and neglected animals right now, and officers need tips to help those investigations, as well as this one.
Pasquinelli says the emergency medical tests, X-rays, and care for the dog has depleted the shelter’s Angel Fund, so donations would be appreciated.
Again, the shelter asks that you only call if you have information about who’s responsible for the dog’s condition.
The number is 427-1244, option 1.
If you’d like to donate to the Angel Fund to help pay for his medical bills, click here.
The next update on the pup will come from Animal Care & Control on Monday.
