Pit Bull Saved From Abuse When Philly Rescue Faked Her Death
A pit bull suffering daily beatings, at the hands of her owner in Cairo, had a lucky break when an American dog rescue stepped in.
The pit bull, now called Lucy, lived in Egypt; according to The Dodo, pedigreed dogs are viewed as status symbols in the country. It may have been for this reason that the owner refused to part with her.
They Faked This Dog’s Death To Save Her From An Abusive Owner https://t.co/7cfszkI10D
— Bywatergal (@Bywatergal) June 25, 2016
The dog, just 1-year-old, the article said, was “kicked repeatedly and possibly pummeled with a brick.”
Both sides of her jaw were broken.
A rescue group in Cairo tried to convince Lucy’s owner to part with her, but he refused. The Cairo group turned to U.S. animal rescue in Philadelphia, Special Needs Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation (SNARR).
Lauren Connelly, foster coordinator of SNARR, told The Dodo that the Egyptian group concocted a plan to save the suffering dog.
“They told him she died and immediately put her on a plane to JFK airport.
“If they had not, she would have likely suffered more beatings and starved because she couldn’t eat with her jaw the way it was without specially mixed food.”
Connelly told Huffington Post that spiriting Lucy away from the owner was tricky.
“The shelter had to be very careful when getting the dog [off the property].
“If they made the man mad, then the shelter couldn’t exist.”
The volunteers waited until the owner left his property. Then, they took Lucy and sent her off to America.
We are measured in the end not by the strength we accrue but how we treat the weakest. https://t.co/iADanMaP9P
— Stephen Toulouse (@Stepto) June 26, 2016
When the owner returned home, the shelter workers told him the dog had died. The owner didn’t ask any questions about his dog, the report said.
Connelly said by the time Lucy reached her in Philadelphia, she was in desperate condition.
“The smell of [Lucy’s] infection would turn your stomach, it was awful. Her jaw was so painful, she couldn’t eat. We had to make dog food soup so she can lick it up with her tongue.”
The badly injured pit bull spent her first night in the states at Connelly’s house, where she was given the name Lucy. The next morning, the dog was hospitalized.
“You literally had to hold your breath when she was near your face; it was so bad.”
Once the infection was cleared up, the pit bull was taken to an orthopedic specialist, who Connelly said, “essentially rebuilt the jaw from the ground up.”
“The vet said that the jaw was broken in two places. She was either kicked or hit with something strong like a brick.”
Following months of reconstructive surgery, antibiotics and TLC, Lucy is recuperating in the care of a foster home in Pittsburgh.
Rescuers hope that Lucy can end up in a home like Rudy, another SNARR-rescued pit bull whose video went viral after he enjoyed a spa bath with snacks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STbtDlgdCpQ
Lucy has a happy-go-lucky personality, and loves her foster family’s three young children. But, SNARR workers report that she remains fearful around men.
“Something to be aware of is that she is timid, especially around adult males (being abused by a man, this is not surprising).
“She does not become aggressive, but withdraws acting timid, shy, and hiding.”
Connelly said that the rescue group affectionately calls the waggy, friendly, face-licking pup, “Licky Lu.”
“She’s just like any other dog now. You’d never know that anything had happened to her.”
The group said that they will send Lucy to a new forever home anywhere in the USA. To learn more, visit SNARR’s adoption page.
Updates on Lucy’s progress are available through the group’s Facebook page.
[Image via Crystal Alba/Shutterstock]
