Dog Found Tortured in Compton Now Recovering

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“No one is going to hurt you anymore.”

Reassuring words today for a 3-year-old Labrador mix recovering at a Rowland Heights animal hospital from what the veterinarians are calling torture.

A photo of the dog when he was first found by a good Samaritan Sunday at a park in Compton shows what bad shape he was in.

He was discovered tangled in chains, crying and hiding in the bushes near South Wilmington Avenue and Greenleaf Drive.

Rescue workers shot video of the frightened dog — shivering, near death and with with open, infected wounds all over his body.

“He was so traumatized, he wouldn’t walk, couldn’t move, in so much pain,” said Toni Eakes with the nonprofit A Wish For Animals rescue organization

Rescue workers named him Phoenix because they believe he will rise from the ashes of his abuse, but right now he is so afraid of humans he has to be sedated for the vet to tend to his wounds.

“He would flinch so badly, like ‘Don’t hurt me.. What are you going to do to me next?’” Eakes said. “Really, really sad.”

The vet thinks some sort of chemical may have been poured on the dog, causing severe burns, similar to injuries seen on dogs in the high desert last year but he said the wounds are so infected and possibly up to 3 weeks old, that it’s too late for tests to determine the exact cause.

“The front leg here,” said Dr. Samir Sargious of Colima Animal Hospital. “The leg being tangled in chains or being dragged with it it sloughed off the skin and muscles all the way to the tendon.”

Dr. Sargious said Phoenix’s psychological wounds are even worse than his physical wounds, but with a little tender loving care he should make a complete recovery.

“I believe he can be saved and he’s going to be a wonderful dog to somebody,” he said.
The case has been reported to animal control officials, but so far there are no leads to help find whoever did this.

To help support Phoenix’s medical care, please visit the GoFundMe account set up here.

Source: www.nbclosangeles.com