Cops Rescue Emaciated Dog Left for Dead in Below-Freezing Temperatures

By Amanda Thomason February 3, 2019 at 2:21pm

In the summer there are people who keep an eye out for dogs locked in cars during dangerously high temperatures, and now there are people looking out for dogs being left outside without proper protection from the cold.

Someone called in after noticing a large black dog tied up outside in Columbus, Ohio. The pup was incredibly skinny and poorly looked-after, and the cops who went out to investigate quickly brought the dog into their car to get it warmed up.

“THANK YOU OFFICERS FOR RESCUING THIS EMACIATED PUP!” the Columbus Division of Police Facebook page posted on Jan. 30. “This morning officers on the city’s south side received a call of a dog tied outside in these below freezing temperatures.”

“Officers found out the owner was hospitalized and family would occasionally stop by to feed the dog. That’s unacceptable in extreme weather like this.”

“The officers loaded the pup into a cruiser, brought him to the police substation where they fed him and after a lot of loving on him they took this sweet baby to the Columbus Humane.”

“We know he will find a forever home! ? ? ?. Investigation underway. This dog is the sweetest thing and deserves to be treated so. Sits for treats. Gentle kisses. Loves to be pet.”

Thankfully, the sweet dog is safe, warm and fed, but there have been many questions regarding who this dog belongs to and what action should be taken.

The dog has clearly been suffering for a while, so it looks like it’s been quite some time since it’s had proper care and love. The relatives of the hospitalized individual clearly did not honor the owner’s request to take care of the dog, and if the dog had been left outside any longer, it could have died.

It’s unclear whether the actual owner knows the current state of the dog or that it’s been taken to a shelter, but the authorities maintain that they needed to move the dog immediately.

“This dog needed immediate help,” they commented on the original post. “The family member was ok with officers wanting better for it.”

“They were all about trying to make sure they took care of this animal and got the proper care for the dog,” Commander Rhonda Grizzell said of the responding officers, according to Fox.

She added that the dog looked like a Newfoundland mix and was “maybe 60 pounds underweight. But just so precious. I mean he was so friendly and smiling and he could sit and shake, and he was just a sweetheart.”

Veterinarian Audra Hanthorn, who works with Columbus Humane, said that it can be hard to recognize the toll the freezing weather takes on a dog.

“They’re going to get frostbite, especially on the tips of their ears, their paws, their nose,” Hanthorn said. “So, it may not be able to easily identify it as people, it’s definitely the same for them.”

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