Woman and Teen Arrested After Allegedly Sawing Off Hind Legs of Paralyzed Dog

By Amanda Thomason October 1, 2019 at 9:43am

Oftentimes, we excuse negative outcomes by arguing that the people involved had the “best of intentions” — but that only goes so far.

It doesn’t matter how good your intentions are if you cause suffering and then refuse to alleviate it, as may have been the case in one instance of alleged animal cruelty in Slidell, Louisiana.

A little dachshund-chihuahua mix was found in a trailer park in the pouring rain in September.

When a good Samaritan spotted him and scooped him up, they realized that he was missing his back legs. All that was left were two infected stumps.

Nobody claimed the little invalid at first, but he was rushed to Lakeshore Veterinary Hospital.

Once he’d been examined, it became clear why no one was stepping forward to claim him.

According to Dr. Lee Capone, the vet at the hospital, someone had intentionally removed the dog’s legs.

“I would guess it might be a saw,” he told WWL-TV. “I mean, maybe a hack saw, maybe some kind of a blade.”

“This little dog was being watched by the grace of God, in my opinion, because I don’t understand how you could cut through muscle and skin,” he continued. “You’re going to get bleeding, and they are lucky they didn’t get any major veins.”

When the owners were finally found, they claimed that the dog — now named Buddy — had been shot in February, which paralyzed him. The 50-year-old mother and her teenage daughter claimed that they bandaged his legs too tightly and it resulted in his legs falling off.

Capone disagreed with that story.

A page was created for Buddy on Sept. 24 by the rescue that took him in (Dante’s Hope – Animal Rescue East) to try to raise funds for all the medical care he would need.

The page explained that the dog’s leg bones were sticking out and infected, and that Buddy desperately needs more surgery but is in no shape to undergo the knife yet.

He needed medication and transfusions immediately — and to top it all off, there were still two bullets embedded in his back.

“As far as his case we can say that after statements by both our veterinarians and a separate board certified surgeon which was submitted to law enforcement that buddy is not paralyzed and has full use of both his nubs and his tail,” Gina Polk posted to Buddy’s page on Friday. “There is no way his legs came off on their own and had to be in fact sawed off which is what his wounds and X-rays also support.”

“This was an intentional act which no animal should have to endure regardless of the circumstances and we are waiting on the sheriff’s office to bring charges against the person or persons involved,” Polk wrote.

According to a news release from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Buddy did actually suffer “partial paralysis in his hind legs and was unable to walk” as a result of the February shooting.

Now, three people have been identified and charged in Buddy’s case.

A 50-year-old mother is being charged with cruelty to animals for failure to seek medical attention for the injured dog. Her 17-year-old daughter, who police accused of being “responsible for the dog’s condition” is being charged with aggravated cruelty to animals.

Another 17-year-old (the daughter’s friend) is also being charged with cruelty to animals allegedly abandoning the injured dog at the trailer park.

“We like to thank each one of you but we are just so overwhelmed at the moment,” the dog’s fundraising page shared on Sept. 24. “You all are saving Buddies life…. we are just still so heartbroken over seeing him like that today. Tears haven’t stop all day. He is so deserving of help. He is so sweet… he just gives kisses and wants to be held.”

“All we can do is love on him and tell him its gonna get better. We love him and will do whatever we can to help him with all of you on our side.”

In total, the Facebook fundraiser has earned over $16,000 for Buddy’s care. After he’s been fixed up — and perhaps gets a set of wheels — any remaining funds will go to helping other serious cruelty cases that the rescue regularly sees.

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