SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida woman said the badly injured white husky she found abandoned in Southwest Miami-Dade’s Redlands community on Sunday is the worst case of animal neglect she has ever seen.
Members of an animal rescue group have since taken in the large female dog.
Georgina Milhet said she and her nephew were out horseback riding near Southwest 197th Avenue and 152nd Street when they saw movement in some bushes on the side of a dirt road by a cage.
When they found the husky, Milhet said, it was clear the animal had been severely neglected.
“All four legs are broken, so she looks like this,” she said as she bent her hands at the wrist.
Milhet said the dog is badly deformed from what appears to be years of mistreatment.
“This is the worst [case] I’ve ever seen,” she said. “I’m still angry. I’m pissed.”
Milhet said the animal can barely walk.
“Her nails are so bad that they’re growing up inside of the paws,” she said. “All underneath her, she was raw. That is the condition of an animal who’s lived in a cage.”
Heartbroken and in disbelief, Milhet sprung into action.
“I jumped off the horse, got a bottle of water and opened her mouth, and she drank the entire bottle of water, a full bottle of water,” she said. “That’s when I knew. That’s it, she was going with us.”
Milhet’s nephew, Michael Gutierrez, said they carried the husky on horseback to Rancho San Blas in The Redlands.
“You could tell it was still shaken up about the whole situation,” he said. “Of course, it had the struggle of walking, but it just sat there the whole time looking at us, with its tail wagging the whole time. It was just drinking and drinking and drinking. It was bad.”
“We were going to come back and get the car, and then when we turned around, she just looked at me and was like, ‘You’re going to leave me here?'” said Milhet.
Once she and her nephew brought the animal to the ranch, Milhet called a rescue group to get a recovery started right away.
“She’s gonna have to have a lot of surgeries. She can’t walk; she crawls,” she said.
Members of the rescue group traveled to Milhet’s ranch Sunday night and picked up the dog.
Now, as the husky recovers, Milhet has a message for the person who neglected her.
“You need to be in jail. You need to be put in a cage like the dog,” she said, “because where I’m at right now, this is a dumping ground for animals.”
The husky was taken to GTS Husky Rescue in Jupiter, where she will receive the help she needs.
Medical tests and X-rays reveal the dog has an infection, liver issues and punctures all over her body. She will need surgery in the future.
Online donations for the dog’s care can be made at GTS Husky Rescue’s website.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.