Puppy Chews Leg to Escape Restraint
Monday, February 26, 2007
By LEO STRUPCZEWSKI
Courier-Post Staff
Courier-Post Staff
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It was an incredible sight: The young, female pit bull's leg was all but chewed off, yet she was happily wagging her tail as the trio approached. Camden animal control officer Steve
Bordi and his crew found the 8-month-old dog Bordi said the bone was sticking out of a ball of flesh when he found her. The dog was completely submissive, Bordi said, curled up on a folded piece of cardboard and apparently waiting to die. Yet, "She turned, looked at us and started wagging her tail," Bordi said. Bordi and his crew took the dog to Rothman Animal Hospital in Collingswood. The staff there has named her "Rosie." Saturday, she bounced around the hospital, jumping forward with her left leg while the right was heavily bandaged. Bordi and the hospital staffers said they think a chain or cable had tangled around Rosie's right leg. It became so taut, it cut off circulation in the bottom half of her leg. Rosie's only choice was to chew herself free. No one is sure how Rosie got into the situation she did. The hospital's night manager, Shelley Hill, said deep indentations were clearly visible above the gnawed stump, which exposed a bone and some cartilage, when Bordi brought Rosie to the hospital. "It just boils down to neglect," Bordi said. Rosie had infections that would have raced through her body and killed her by the end of the weekend, Hill said. Hill said Rosie could have chewed off her leg up to a week ago. Bordi said he thinks she made her way to the empty lot after chewing herself free.
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