A puppy with an elastic hair tie around its snout is recovering after the efforts of the citizens who found it and the The Animal Shelter of Texas County.
According to animal shelter manager Marsha Martin, a Wright County citizen discovered the approximately eight-week old female pit bull mix around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a ditch alongside a rural road. Word traveled by phone and Facebook, and TASTC was ultimately advised of the situation and the dog was brought to Texas County.
When it was found, the pup had an elastic hair tie tightly wrapped around its snout.
“The people who found it had already removed the hair tie,” Martin said. “They had given her water, so she wasn’t dehydrated.”
The tie had been in place long enough that the puppy lost part of its jaw and tongue, and maggots were infesting the area of the wound.
“The jaw was gone because of the lack of blood,” Martin said. “The pressure from the elastic made it just cut right through. It had been that way quite some time.”
A view of the damage to the snout of Diamond, a puppy rescued by The Animal Shelter of Texas County.
Drs. Bryan Buttress and Steven Root, of the Texas County Veterinary Clinic in Houston, administered antibiotics and medicines to begin the healing and kill the maggots. Martin and others concocted a slurry of food.
“She went to town on it,” Martin said. “Her cheeks are a bit swollen, but she can still breathe and eat.”
Martin said authorities have been notified of the situation.
“We’re in contact with the Wright County Sheriff’s Department,” Martin said. “We do have the names of the people who owned the dog.”
Rita Romines, of The Animal Shelter of Texas County, said Monday morning that the injured puppy, Diamond, will be enrolled Wednesday in the Puppies for Parole program at the South Central Correctional Center in Licking.
Romines said the abused puppy will likely undergo reconstructive surgery.