Neglected German shepherd eats dirt to survive - WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC PIC

Neglected German shepherd eats dirt to survive
April 13th, 2010, 6:27 pm
214 Comments
posted by Samantha Gowen, Pet Tales editor

Somewhere in a lonely back yard, a young dog lived chained to a tree without food, water or attention.

He waited for that food, and when it didn’t come, he ate dirt. Eventually the dog laid down and he didn’t get up.

But still, he didn’t die.

An anonymous Good Samaritan stepped in April 7 and rescued the German shepherd from sure death. The animal, not much more than skin and bone, wailed in agony on the way to get help.

The dog was taken to an emergency animal hospital in Orange County where a horrified veterinary technician called friends at German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County.

Everyone held their breath … would the dog make it through the night?

He made it, and GSROC went to work.

The nonprofit named the dog Courage and transferred him to Community Veterinary Hospital in Garden Grove where Dr. Bill Grant got to work.

“This is as bad as it gets,” Grant said Tuesday.

The dog is too weak to stand and can barely lift his head. He weighed 37 pounds — less than half his normal body weight — when he was rescued. But with a weak kiss and a sparkle in his big brown eyes, the dog made a connection with his caretakers.
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