What to Know
- Saint Vincent, a 10- to 12-year-old shepherd mix, was found with its mouth taped shut and inside a garbage in Brooklyn
- The dog showed signs of long-term neglect, including a urine scald on his stomach
- New York Bully Crew will take care of Saint Vincent and is planning on putting him up for adoption once he is healthy enough
Animal advocates have saved the life of a dog that had been dumped in a trash bag near a Brooklyn highway with its mouth taped shut.
The Veterinary Emergency & Referral Group in Brooklyn said in a statement Tuesday that authorities are now looking for the person who tossed Saint Vincent, a 10- to 12-year-old shepherd mix, near Jackie Robinson Parkway and Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York Tuesday night.
According to the animal hospital also known as VERG, a good Samaritan passing by saw a large black bag moving on the side of the roadway and heard what later turned out to be the labored breaths of Saint Vincent and called the NYPD.
When officers arrived, they cut open the bag and found the poor pooch inside the bag. They then called the New York Bully Crew -- a Long Island-based rescue with a lengthy record of saving and rehabilitating neglected, abused and dumped dogs -- for help, and volunteers and police brought the senior pup to to VERG-South in Marine Park for emergency treatment.
VERG veterinarians said when Saint Vincent got there, veterinarians began treating him with antibiotics, pain medication and IV fluids. He also showed signs of long-term neglect, including a urine scald on his stomach.
They quickly discovered he couldn’t move his hind legs, likely from a neurological or spinal condition, and was transferred to another VERG branch in Gowanus for an MRI and further treatment. He also has hip dysplasia, according to Dr. Brett Levitzke, VERG’s medical director.
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“His prognosis is currently guarded, but we are hopeful that he will be able to continue with treatment and recover,” he said.
But on Wednesday night, the fluffy dog already seemed to make an improvement, eating and drinking water at the animal hospital.
The animal hospital said New York Bully Crew will continue to take care of Saint Vincent and is planning on putting him up for adoption once he is medically able to be put in a new home. The shelter is accepting donations for his care.
The rescue is also taking donations for a reward for information leading to an arrest in the case; already, the purse has topped $4,500.
"Because he can't walk his owners threw him away like a piece of trash," said Carla Moran with the New York Bully Crew. "That's the most disguting part of it."
She added, "the same person that can do this to an animal can do this to a child."
Anyone with information on Saint Vincent’s former owners or the person who may have dumped him is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
