He was abandoned and left in the freezing cold for hours. A pit bull mix is doing much better after being found by a jogger Sunday morning, but the dog still has a ways to go. And authorities want to know who dumped him.
“It looks like he’s been neglected for a long time,” said Laura Burban, Director of the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter in Branford.
After being abandoned Saturday night outside the Branford Community House, Burban says the dog waited with only a small towel left for him. The temperature stayed below freezing that night and hit a low of 20 degrees.
“He had frostbite on his toes, and he had demodex mange, overgrown toenails, he has pressure sores from being crated, we’re assuming, as well as his underneath almost looked urine-soaked,” said Burban.
The dog, now named Lincoln, also had infected eyes and is about 10 to 20 pounds underweight, said Burban.
“The first day we got him, he really couldn’t walk on his feet because they hurt so much, and now you can see he’s bouncing all over the place,” said Burban.
Local
Lincoln is 2 to 3 years old, and, it turns out, is pretty resilient. In just a few days he’s put on weight, his fur is starting to grow back, and despite his previous situation, he loves the attention and the treats.
“He’s kind of goofy actually. He wants to be a lap dog. He talks a lot. He’s got a lot to say, and he’s curious about everything,” said Burban.
Burban says it’ll be a month or so before he’s ready for adoption, and you can already tell it’ll be tough competition to see who gets to bring him home.
While Lincoln continues to heal, authorities are looking for answers into who left him behind.
“We’re hoping people who are watching will recognize Lincoln and give us a call at the animal shelter to provide us some information on who may have owned him,” said Burban.
If you’d like to donate to help pay for Lincoln’s medical bills, you can head here: https://www.branford-ct.gov/departments/animal-shelter/donation
The Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter Facebook page also lists other items that can be donated: https://www.facebook.com/dancosgroveanimalshelter/
