Dog recovers from ‘worst neglect case’ local animal rescue has seen
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - After more than a two and a half months stay at Colorado State University’s animal hospital, a dog found chained in a south Wichita yard in late October returned home Sunday.
Volunteers with local animal rescue Beauties and Beasts said Chevelle, a four-year old Pitbull, suffered one of the worst cases of animal abuse and neglect they’ve ever seen.
“He was in such bad shape, he could barely lift his head,” Beauties and Beasts Vice President Randi Carter said. “His weight was so low and his body was so weak, it was that depleted of everything it needed to survive.”
Even the volunteers who rescued Chevlle didn’t anticipate the extent of the neglect he endured, as deep and infected wounds covered his body. More than half of his tongue was missing.
“The veterinarians came back and said the wounds were caused from thermal or chemical burns that happened inside his mouth and all over his body,” Carter said. “Whether or not someone poured that on him is unknown. They weren’t able to pin anything on the owner.”
Initially, Chevelle’s chances of surviving were low. But after two and a half months of extensive medical treatment and nearly $40,000 in medical bills, Chevelle made a miraculous recovery.
“The hours put into fundraising and driving back and forth, all of that doesn’t matter,” Carter said. “He gets to finally be a dog, he wasn’t a dog before...it’s worth every second.”
On Sunday, Chevelle was reunited with the volunteer who rescued him from the backyard, who decided to adopt him.
“When I picked him up in the backyard, there was no life in his eyes,” Nichol Scrivner, a longtime volunteer with the non-profit, said. “I dropped him off at the urgent care and promised if he lived he would have a home.”
While Chevelle still has a few months until his wounds are completely recovered, he can now start a new life in a loving home.
“I want him to be that advocate for chain dogs, to know that there is hope,” Scrivner said. “We just need everyone out there to say something if they see something.”
Chevelle is the rescue’s most expensive case to date, and the organization said it still has about $10,000 left to pay in medical bills. You can donate to help Beauties and Beasts Rescue with Chevelle’s medical expenses here.
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