WESTPORT, Mass. — Police in Westport are working to find out who the owner of a severely injured and disabled dog was.
Vets at the Animal Rescue League of Boston spent hours shaving and cleaning the dog found abandoned with no collar, tags or identification Sunday in Westport. The severely matted fur had been restricting her walking.
“She's in pain, she's in pain in a lot of areas of her body,” Animal Rescue League Lt. Alan Borgal said. “You really couldn't discern the legs, the nails were overgrown.”
On Friday her eyes will be surgically removed to lessen the pain.
The dog is named Jersey. She’s doing better but is irreversibly blind after a long bout with untreated red eye.
“She is already blind, but the eyes are an irritant to the dog and at this point they're hurting her,” Borgal said.
Once she's made it through surgery, her many other health issues will be resolved.
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“She has severe bladder stones so she's having trouble urinating and it's causing some pain...and her dental work is really bad, she needs major dental work,” Borgal said.
Westport police are working to find out who the dog's owner is, and said the case could result in felony animal cruelty charges.
Officials said all of Jersey’s health problems were completely preventable.
“Somebody kept this dog in very poor conditions and filthy conditions, so might have kept it in a barn or a crate and at some point chose to abandon it on Sunday on a very busy road. So we're lucky the dog didn't get hit by a car,” Borgal said.
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