TOLEDO, Ohio — A dog is fighting for its life after being surrendered by its owner to the Lucas County Pit Crew on Saturday.
Bogey, believed to be around 9 months old, was "almost dead" when he was brought to the shelter, officials said. He was immediately taken to a local animal hospital. Veterinarians said he was severely dehydrated, emaciated and suffering from several infections.
"He honestly looked like he was a dead dog already," Jean Keating, director of the Lucas County Pit Crew said.
Keating visited him Monday and said he's doing better.
"He's doing pretty well today (Monday)," she said. "He's holding his own. They've been getting him up and trying to help him to stand — he can't stand by himself yet."
Keating said that according to the hospital, Bogey is still in critical condition. On Monday, she had a dispute with the Toledo Area Humane Society over Bogey's ownership.
"They called the vet hospital today and told the vet hospital, they were taking possession of the dog," she said. "At absolutely no time did they ever reach out or contact us in any way shape or form."
We spoke to the humane society president Stephen Heaven and he said he was strictly looking to keep the dog in one place for the cruelty investigation.
"We didn't want it moved to another location, just for the sake of being able to preserve the evidence and monitor the dog through its recovery," Heaven said.
For now, Bogey remains in the care of the Pit Crew as the Humane Society investigates. Heaven said many cruelty investigations, like Bogey's, do result in convictions but jail sentences are often dropped or suspended due to lack of jail space.
Both groups agree that the way animal cruelty is treated has to change.
"In Ohio, they look at animals as property, not as living sentient beings in their own right," Heaven said. "So, I think that it's still looked at by a lot of people as just a property crime and that's unfortunate."
Keating said there's a connection among animal abuse, domestic abuse and violence.
"We just have to keep pushing forward in our education of that connection between animal abuse and human abuse and I think we're going to get a lot further in saving both animals and people," Heaven said.