The Old English Sheepdog yelped loudly Friday as veterinarians tried to move him.
"The dog has burns on its side, from its hip to the middle of its back," says Anne Davis, with the Animal Advocacy Alliance of Utah.
Davis says those injuries are from the dog being forced to lie in its own filth.
The dog also has a hole in its hind end that is filled with maggots.
"This dog is in really bad condition," Davis says.
A woman returned to the Holladay neighborhood where she had lived and found the dog. She took it to the veterinarian.
Davis says the woman was also connected to the alliance, and Davis contacted her.
"It's going to require a lot of antibiotics, and it's not a sure cure," Davis says. It's going to take him a long time."
Lt. Chris Klekas, with Salt Lake County Animal Services, says the dog's owner Dayra Miller was issued a criminal citation for animal cruelty, which equates to a class B misdemeanor.
Miller complained that it wasn't her fault that this dog was lying there in her yard, slowly being eaten to death by maggots and starving to death. She says the dog is her boyfriend's and that he should be the one responsible. So if it was your boyfriend's child chained in the backyard, covered in maggots and starving to death, you think you don't have to do anything about it? Moron.
The Animal Advocacy Alliance of Utah is setting up a fund to help pay for the dog's medical expenses. If you'd like to help, you can contact the alliance via e-mail at info@henryslaw.com or visit their website, henryslaw.com.
(KSL - June 4, 2010)
