The dog’s owner Dominic Michael Bellamy, 20, of Lorain, turned himself in to police about 2 p.m. Thursday. He was taken to Lorain City Jail. The report indicated the homeowner abandoned a house in the 200 block of East 29th Street when she moved to Florida and her son, Bellamy, took over the property.
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| Dominic Michael Bellamy |
Police believed Bellamy knew of the 4-year-old brindle mastiff, since named Caesar by the Lorain County Friendship Animal Protective League, being on the property and failed to care for it properly, the report indicated. Police said “he left this dog to suffer inside these deplorable conditions and nearly starve to death.”
Police learned of the dog after they broke up an underage party on Oct. 20. Police heard a dog barking from inside a garage on the property.
“The dog appeared to be unable to move due to being wrapped up around the table with a cable rope,” officer Craig Payne wrote in his report. “A very foul and putrid smell emitted from the garage due to a large amount of garbage that had been piled up.
"The dog was laying on top of the garbage that was infested with maggots and flies.”
Payne described the dog as malnourished, emaciated and filthy. There were numerous sores on the its legs and mouth.
Garbage bags were ripped open as if dog was trying to find something to eat. There were piles of dog feces. There were no food or water bowls in sight. Caesar was taken to Lorain Animal Emergency Clinic for treatment. He was 94 pounds upon arrival, which is underweight for a dog of his size.
Veterinarians estimated the dog has not had food or water for a month or longer and eating garbage was likely keeping it alive.
The dog is now recovering at the Lorain County Friendship Animal Protective League. He will be available to adoption within a few months. Workers have been trying to ease him back in to a normal diet. Caesar has gained a few pounds since being rescued.
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