Starving dog believed to have been tied up in laundry bag, left to die
An extremely malnourished boxer-mix, weighing half of what he should way, was found tied up to a laundry bag and had been neglected for weeks in Detroit.
The boxer-mix is skin and bones, even three days after he was rescued from Detroit’s west side near Rouge Park. A couple biking in the area came up on the dog near Tireman and Spinoza. He was starving and tangled in a laundry bag when they found him.
They called Detroit Pit Crew Rescue and gave him water and granola bars. He’s now savoring every bite he gets.
“It’s terrible. People that do this are dangerous,” Petty Street from the rescue said. “It was so very sad when they got there that he would be left in this condition.”
The dog has now been named Ziggy and is believed to be a year-and-a-half to two years old. At first, he was too weak to walk but he’s already starting to improve.
“This isn’t a couple of days, this is weeks of not being fed,” Street said. “He wouldn’t have lasted much longer. He was very weak. He couldn’t even jump in the car.”
Street says she thinks someone put Ziggy into the laundry bag and then tied it shut. Then left him in the park to die.
Over a few days, Ziggy fought and bit his way out of the bag.
“People had noticed the bag had been there for several days. They just didn’t know a dog was in there. Who would think that there would be a dog in a bag?”
On Wednesday, 3 days after being found, Ziggy weighs 35 pounds. He’s already gained 3 pounds since Sunday but should weigh about 60 pounds.
“This is just terrible neglect. You can literally count his ribs, you can see his skeleton.”
Ziggy has fly bites and sores all over his boddy and is a tough case for the rescue.
“He’s gonna need a little more time because he can’t even be neutered yet. He’s not strong enough to be neutered,” Street said.
Detroit Pit Crew expects Ziggy will regain his strength and body weight in about a month. Now he’s with his foster mom and will later be searching for a forever home.
“His fur will be coming back in. His sores are starting to heal,” she said.
Street is grateful for the couple’s help but begs anyone who can’t take care of their dogs to call someone and not treat their dogs this way.
