Authorities and rescue workers seized five dogs from a property in Las Vegas, New Mexico last week. They discovered that the dogs had been chained outdoors their entire lives and were all emaciated and malnourished. One dog, a Bull Terrier, was in absolutely terrible shape. He had raging infections, and his open wounds were infested with thousands of maggots.
Photo credit: Facebook / NMDOG
The rescue group NMDOG immediately took the Bull Terrier they named Hubble to the emergency veterinarians. Hubble was very close to death, so close that everyone agrees he would not have lived another 12 to 24 hours. “Help for Hubble literally came in the nick of time!” NMDOG wrote on their Facebook page.
Photo credit: Facebook / NMDOG
Warning: some details below may be disturbing to read.
When Hubble arrived at hospital he could not stand or walk and weighed a mere 26 pounds. His condition even horrified the seasoned vets at Petroglyphs Animal Hospital. “We seem to never cease to amaze & horrify even the most seasoned vets with our continuous stream of critical, mind-boggling cases of abuse & HUBBLE is at the top of that list,” says NMDOG.
Most severe was the infection to his groin area, which was necrotic and full of maggots. There were a couple of miracles during his exam – he had normal kidney and liver function. The medical team immediately set to work flushing and removing the 100s of maggots from his wounds and giving him a blood transfusion.
Photo credit: Facebook / NMDOG
During this intense time, Angela, one rescuer from NMDOG, wrote: “I visited HUBBLE, held him close, told him how much we loved him, how hard we would fight for him. I told him of all of the good that awaited him should he decide to stay. I also told him, if he did not have the fight left in him, that it was ok & we would send him home without pain, without regret & only with Love.”
Photo credit: Facebook / NMDOG
Through those first days, Hubble received lots of emotional support along with the medical care.
Photo credit: Facebook / NMDOG
However, because of the severity of his infections, his caregivers had no choice but to have him undergo a risky surgery if he was going to have any chances of surviving.
Photo credit: Facebook / NMDOG
“If the severely infected lesions are not removed & we don’t get a handle on the damage the infection continues to cause, his chances of making it are zero,” the rescue explained. Given his weakened state it would be a delicate procedure. With no other choice, Hubble underwent the surgery on September 9th. And the little fighter pulled through!
The surgery went well, but he’s not out of the woods yet. Hubble has lots more healing to do.
Photo credit: Facebook / NMDOG
He is being carefully monitored as he is fed to make sure he does not develop a serious syndrome that can develop with a dog who has been starved as severely as he has. But the good news is he’s eating!
Photo credit: Facebook / NMDOG
He’s taking baby steps, but every day is a miracle for this dog!
To find out more about the work NMDOG does for dogs like Hubble visit their website. You can also donate to Hubble’s recovery on his YouCaring site.
Share Hubble’s story with your family and friends and spread awareness of cases such as his to help put a stop to animal abuse !
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