Donations for Care, Eventual Forever-Home Needed
It was a normal Tuesday on August 28, 2018, when a Zebulon, North Carolina woman went outside to hang her laundry in the sun. She heard a whining noise, and followed it until…she found a horrifying sight.
The woman, who will not be identified here, discovered a small dog in the middle of a swamp.
She waded into the marshy land — through knee-deep mud and muck — until she reached the dog.
He was on a hump of dry “island” in the center of the swamp, tied to a tree. The pup was covered with maggots, had a slit neck and chemical burns, and — from the rope securing it to the tree — appeared to have been left to die.
The woman rescued the dog and luckily had a friend associated with SPCA of Wake County. The dog was raced to a veterinary clinic and received medical care.
The pup — named “Nash” because he was found close to Nash County — was covered in filth and given a bath. The maggots were removed from its neck and ears, the neck laceration cleaned and treated, and chemical burns on its ears and tail treated.
According to Tara Lynn at SPCA Wake, the vet estimates that Nash is approximately two months old.
Where has he been for the last two months? If you recognize Nash or know where he had been living, or of any foul play associated with his appearance in the swamp, contact your local police.
One of SPCA Wake’s veterinary partners, Care First Animal Hospital, provided the treatment that Nash urgently needed.
Given the size of the dog and the mud being knee-deep on a human, it is doubtful this puppy would have gotten through the mud without being transported there by a human being. According to the woman who rescued Nash, there’s “no way” that the dog could have ended up on the island and tangled himself.
She said, “I barely got through the mud myself.”
Without a witness, it can only be suspected that it was a human that caused all the injuries and the stranding — for so long that maggots had time to infest Nash’s wounds.
The good news is that Nash is expected to recover, at which point the SPCA Wake will move to find him a safe, loving home.
To help with Nash’s care with SPCA Wake, make donations to spcawake.org/helpnash.
The SPCA of Wake County hopes to move Nash to foster care in the coming days, where he will be given time to heal, finish his medication and antibiotics, and receive love and affection to help him overcome any abuse he may have suffered.
If you recognize this dog and have information on potential animal abuse, contact your local police department, the Zebulon Police Department at 919.269.7455 or SPCA Wake at 919.772.2326.
Source: SPCA of Wake County NC
Edited by: Kay Whatley
