EXETER, N.Y. (WIVB) — A dog is believed to have chewed off her own leg before she was taken from a home in Otsego County.
As a UPS driver was making a delivery in the Town of Exeter last week, New York State police say they noticed the dog, whose leg they said appeared to have been “blown off.”
The Susquehanna SPCA responded to the scene and a local veterinarian was contacted.
Immediately, the dog was taken to a clinic. A vet tech said it appears the dog, Zoe, was chained to a stake in the yard and living in a plastic pet carrier with some hay on the bottom of it.
State police also say it was observed that the dog had no food, and there was another bowl, but it was frozen and covered in snow.
The reason that veterinarians think Zoe chewed off her own leg was because bone fragments were found in her stomach.
In addition to the missing leg, Zoe had other untreated injuries and scarred ear tips.
After being taken care of by veterinarians in Otsego County, Zoe was taken to Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for more care.
Zoe’s owner, 59-year-old Carl Pritchard, surrendered her since he couldn’t pay for her vet bills.
Pritchard was charged with overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide proper sustenance and failure to provide appropriate shelter for a dog left outdoors.
He will be in court on December 4.