SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A dog found with both a knife and an old gunshot wound in Northwest Miami-Dade is expected to live after undergoing emergency surgery.
Cellphone video captured the ailing canine out cold on Wednesday night, her wounds stitched up by the medical team at VCA Knowles Snapper Creek Animal Hospital in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Volunteers with iHeart Animal Rescue were relieved to learn the dog is expected to survive.
“We can breathe now,” said Cindy Mucciaccio, who runs the animal rescue group.
Volunteer rescuers said they found the female dog in rough shape underneath a car, Tuesday night.
“We got into rescue mode, and we got her out,” said an iHeart Animal Rescue volunteer.
“It’s OK, it’s OK,” said a volunteer in the video.
“We saw she was pretty badly injured,” said the iHeart Animal Rescue volunteer.
“She has a big gash from a knife,” said Mucciaccio.
Mucciaccio said she received a tip about a mother pooch and her puppies and led the effort to help the dog with injuries so bad 7News blurred pictures of them.
Volunteers took the injured dog to the animal hospital, where they learned her injuries were even more serious than they thought.
“They say that she also has a bullet wound,” said Mucciaccio.
Veterinarians said the gunshot wound is an old injury, but they had to work fast to perform surgery because organs were visible on the outside of the dog’s body.
Vets said the surgery went well.
The injured dog wasn’t the only one recovering from a bullet wound at the animal hospital. Brut continues to recover after he was shot in the face in Homestead.
Despite the bullet still being lodged in his chest, Brut is healthy and will soon be ready for adoption.
“There’s no words, because I cannot even fathom anybody doing this,” said Mucciaccio.
Both dogs are receiving the care they need, and that might just lead to better lives.
“Amazing. We’re so, so happy,” said Mucciaccio. “I mean, I didn’t think she was gonna make it, to be honest.”
For more information about helping iHeart Animal Rescue, click here.
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