Shockingly Starved Dog, Half Its Average Weight, Found In Branford

BRANFORD, CT —Saying the most "vulnerable animals tend to be the ones most abused," the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter is looking to find out, "Who did this?"

Sunday morning, a dangerously malnourished dog was brought to the animal shelter by a person who claimed to have found it Saturday night.

The dog was "immediately rushed" to the Emergency Veterinary Hospital to be stabilized. There, he was "given him a body condition score of 1," according to Laura Burban, shelter director.

"The veterinarians estimate he should be about 65 pounds and he is 37 pounds. We have already ruled out any kind of blockage as a source for his emaciated state," she said.

Burban said the dog "appears to have been crated in a very small crate or area, as his hunched appearance indicates."

"And the sore feet and sores on him may be caused by urinating in a tight enclosed area, which burns the skin after it becomes repeatedly urine soaked," she said. "He is anemic and dehydrated. When we see the indentations in their head/face area as he has, we know he has been in this condition for quite some time. He has been starved almost to death, and now his road to recovery and rehabilitation will be a long journey."

By late Monday, shelter staff was told that as the dog has begun "taking in nutrition slowly and under supervision," to add to his already ill health, "he also has low protein and a low red blood cell count."

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According to Burban, the shelter learned that the dog may have originated in New Haven.

"We have named him Chip in honor of another rescuer's personal dog who recently passed away," Burban said. "Some might have said that, that Chip was an underdog with the world stacked against him until that rescuer saved him and ultimately adopted him. This Chip seems to have encountered the same plight, with the cards stacked against him."

That is, until now.

"We have vowed to Chip to provide him with absolutely everything," the shelter Facebook posts reads. And that includes, "anything medically and any other necessary care to save his life and help him rehabilitate mentally, emotionally, physically and physiologically."

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Anyone with information about the owner or any other pertinent information, is asked to please call 203-315-4125. Callers may remain anonymous.

For those who are able, donations towards Chips care can be made at https://www.Branford-ct.gov/depar.../animal-shelter/donation, or by mailing a check to Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter 749 East Main St., Branford CT 06405.

Meanwhile, Desmond's Army Law Advocates is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the dog's "horrendous condition," Burban said.