The Daily Times

A dog recovered from a Maryville residence Thursday afternoon is fighting for its life, rescuers said, but his condition has greatly improved two days after he was found nearly dead.

Bruno, an approximately 2-year-old German Shepherd mix, was recovered after a neighbor reported the situation to authorities, said Kellie Bachman, cruelty investigator for the Blount County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). Bruno weighed about 25 pounds and appeared already dead when Bachman and SPCA volunteer Crystal Wallace happened upon his doghouse Thursday.

Bruno is currently recovering under the care of Dr. Ed Leahman at Village Veterinary Hospital, located on East Broadway Avenue in Maryville.

When rescuers found him, Bruno was catatonic and in such a hypothermic condition that his temperature didn’t even immediately register, Bachman said. She and Wallace wrapped Bruno in a towel and immediately drove him to Village Vet.

“Dr. Leahman said in all the years of his practice he’s never seen a dog so emaciated survive,” Bachman said.

And while she heard that Bruno was able to stand for the first time on Saturday, Bachman said, rescuers still aren’t sure if Bruno suffered or will be able to survive any permanent organ or tissue damage.

Wallace, who took the photos of Bruno’s rescue, said they initially didn’t think Bruno had a chance at all.

“When we walked up to the backyard the first thing in both of our minds was ‘He’s dead,’” Wallace said. “And the pictures tell it.”

The road to recovery

Bruno was immediately put on several intravenous fluids and, during the past several days, has managed to hold on and even improve in condition. Bachman said that Leahman has ruled out the possibility that a natural or acquired illness was the source of Bruno’s condition.

“It’s specific to starvation,” Bachman said.

Yet this is not the first time the SPCA has dealt with the homeowner, she said. Rescuers have been to the home on three separate occasions in the past and even provided Bruno’s owner with food and other supplies — such as a swivel chain — so the dog could lead a healthy and happy life. But the SPCA hasn’t had contact with the dog’s owner since June 2011. And it apparently gets even stranger, Bachman said.

“It’s such an odd situation,” she said. “They have this other dog in the house that is in good condition, along with a couple of other dogs, and this dog was kind of just discarded like trash in the yard.”

SPCA is working to acquire custody of Bruno, but his current owner is fighting to get him back, Bachman said. The SPCA is also working closely with police and charges against the man are pending, she added.

A groundswell of support

Both Bachman and Wallace said the response from the community has been amazing. Bruno is currently featured on the SPCA Facebook page, and rescuers have seen hundreds of responses so far — not just from Blount County, but from across the country. Wallace said SPCA’s Facebook “likes” have nearly doubled, moving from about 420 to about 750 as of Saturday night.

“It’s just mind blowing, the amount of comments,” Wallace said. “And we have people from Hawaii to Massachusetts to California (responding). It’s just unbelievable.”

Rescuers set an initial goal of $2,000 to help pay Bruno’s medical bills, and that goal was broken within the first 48 hours, Wallace said, with about $2,800 raised so far. Blount County residents have even delivered donations directly to Village Vet, requesting only that staff pass a few hugs and kisses along to Bruno in his recovery room.

“The staff has explained they’re more than happy to do so,” Wallace said.

And it would appear that the clinic’s staff are indeed following through on that promise, Bachman said.

“They said every time you go by his crate he lifts his lip and smiles,” she said.

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