Dog Abandoned Behind Walmart — Rescue Group: ‘She Ate Her Paw Because She Was Trapped In The Cord’ [Video]


Two men are seen on a surveillance video abandoning a dog behind a Walmart in Roseville, Michigan. The men pulled in behind the Walmart in what looked like a Chrysler 200, but according to the Macomb Daily, the Walmart video recording didn’t capture the vehicle’s license plate number. The men leave, and the Walmart surveillance video captures a heartbreaking scene where the dog is left chained up and looking around, apparently confused.

“There is enough clarity within the video to show that two black males got out, took the dog out, chained it to the fence, and then just drove off,” Roseville Police Chief James Berlin explained.

The dog was left without food and without shelter from Michigan’s cold weather on Sunday. According to the initial reports, the dog became entangled in the cord that was used to keep her tied up while on the Walmart property.

A Macomb Daily report and the video below, however, claim that the dog’s ordeal began long before being abandoned at the Walmart on Sunday.

Melanie Witter from Hopeful Heart Animal Rescue clarified that at some point, the dog that was abandoned behind the Walmart store on Gratiot Avenue at 12 Mile Road “made an excruciating decision,” according to WILX News, but that that decision was not made on Sunday behind Walmart.

“She ate her paw, because she was trapped in the cord. Pretty desperate. Really desperate. With the cold weather we’ve had she was probably out there freezing. She had no way to stay warm.”

Witter said that by the time the dog was found, the leg had already begun to decay. The dog must’ve chewed her paw off prior to being abandoned at the Walmart, she said. She believes she was forced to chew off her paw about four or five days before being left behind the Walmart. Wittner believes the men who abandoned the dog were her owners, according to the Detroit News.

“They were pretty confident about how they picked her up and set her down… In the video, she was looking for them. She was more loyal to them than they were to her.”

By the time the dog was discovered behind the Walmart store, she was suffering from life threatening injuries, was hungry, and was extremely cold. Diana Rascano from 4 Paws 1 Heart used the group’s donation funds to get medical treatment for the dog from Advanced Animal Hospital in Clinton Township. Because of the act of desperation from before being left behind the Walmart store, veterinarians needed to amputate the dog’s leg above where she chewed off her paw. In addition to that surgery, the dog sadly needed another surgery, because a piece of her own bone had become stuck in her stomach. The rescue organization named the dog who had been abandoned at the Roseville Walmart, “Courtney.”

“Courtney was probably an outdoor dog. She just was probably kept on a chain, never to be brought in or loved,” Rascano assumed.

Thankfully, according to Wittner, the dog, who was described as a pit bull-beagle mix, is recovering well from her heartbreaking ordeal. The rescue team said that besides for what has been mentioned, the dog has no signs of any long-term abuse. The dog reportedly has a very sweet disposition and is extremely friendly.

“She’s up and running around. She likes to take walks in the snow. She doesn’t even know (her leg) is gone.”

While the dog continues to recover, the Roseville Police Department is searching for the men who abandoned her on the Walmart property in the freezing weather. Chief Berlin said that the dog was “unbelievably affectionate” to the officers who rescued her. Wittner told CBS Local that she saw how nicely the officers treated the dog while transporting her from the Walmart to the emergency veterinary appointment.

“They were affectionate toward her, she must have known she was loved … giving them kisses.”

Given that the dog appears friendly to everyone she meets, it should be noted that the men who abandoned the injured dog behind the Walmart may not have actually owned the dog just because she was docile to them. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about Courtney, how she became entangled in the cord, or who abandoned the friendly dog behind the Walmart store should contact the Roseville Police Department at 586-447-4483.

[Photo via Facebook video]

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