A Riverside County Animal Services officer retrieved a dog Thursday afternoon whose condition stunned even some of the most seasoned employees at the county’s main shelter.
The dog, a female German shepherd mix, suffers from what is commonly referred to as an “embedded collar.” The neck of the dog, essentially, was constricted for such a long period of time that the dog’s fur has disappeared and all that remains is dying skin tissue.
Officer John Hergenreder responded Thursday (June 4) to a property in the 21000 block of Pepper Drive in an unincorporated area of Riverside County southwest of Perris. The dog had been confined by a Good Samaritan, Ernesto Perez, who first spotted her in the early-morning hours when he came home after working a graveyard shift. She was in the middle of the street, but started walking toward him as he walked toward his home.
Mr. Perez, 19, said the dog looked very thin and had a “bad smell, a nasty smell.” Feeling sorry for her, he provided her some dog food he had on hand. He said he didn’t realize the extent of her condition until he was leaving for work later Thursday, during daylight hours.
“Honestly, I thought her head was going to come off -- that’s how deep it looked,” Mr. Perez said of the embedded collar. “It’s crazy. I have never seen anything like that. I don’t know how anyone could let a dog get like that.”
Before he headed to work on Thursday, he coaxed the dog from a hiding space under a trailer by using slices of ham. His girlfriend, Miriam Rodriguez, assisted by standing near him with a leash at the ready.
The third piece of ham did the trick.
Officer Hergenreder said he was impressed by how much Mr. Perez got involved in assisting a stray animal. “It is one of the more serious cases of neglect I have seen,” the officer said.
Dr. Sara Strongin of Riverside County Animal Services examined the dog’s wound and sedated her. An “object was deeply embedded in the tissue around the neck and could only be visualized from the dorsal aspect of the wound,” she said. “Upon removal, the object appears to be a shoelace. The shoelace was likely tied around the dog’s neck when she was a puppy.”
The dog is about 1 and a half years old now. The depth of the wound varies, but is about one inch at its deepest. She has extensive necrotic tissue. Her wound was cleansed thoroughly. Dr. Strongin said that the wound cannot be surgically closed at this time due to the degree of infection and necrotic tissue. The dog is receiving continued antibiotics and close examination at the county’s main shelter, 6851 Van Buren Blvd., Jurupa Valley.
Animal Services Director Robert Miller shared the concerns of employees about the dog’s condition. Although he has seen dogs with serious embedded collars in his almost 30-year career, the poor shape of this German shepherd touched a nerve. He reached out to the Animal Solutions Konnection (ASK) Foundation to coordinate a reward amount of $1,000 for the prosecution and successful conviction of the person who allowed this dog to suffer such neglect.
Anyone who may know the owner of this dog (or former owner), is asked to contact Riverside County Animal Services by phone or e-mail: 951-358-7387 or [email protected].
“This is clearly a major neglect cruelty case,” Miller said. “We are stunned, like so many others will be, when they see how this dog was left to suffer as such. We can only hope that this case will also remind pet owners to never tie cords or twines around a dog’s neck. Dog collars also have adjustable lengths for a reason.”
The good news, he said, is that the veterinary team members said they are optimistic the dog could eventually survive and recover from this wound. “It’s going to be a long journey, though,” Miller said.
