UPDATE: The Kingsport Animal Shelter said Friday that Hope is expected to make a full recovery. Although she tested positive for heartworms, a serious but treatable condition, the vet said she is "woofing down" food and looking better already.
The Kingsport Police Department said animal cruelty charges are still pending.
Please send gifts to:
Kingsport Animal Shelter
2141 Idle Hour Road
Kingsport, TN 37660
Specify "Hope's Fund" in the note.
KINGSPORT, Tenn. – By the time animal control found Hope, tied up and left for dead behind an abandoned house on Dunbar Street, the chain around her neck had sliced open her flesh 2 inches deep. The raw tissue growing up around the chain was matted with blood and infected. She had no meat or muscles, only bones rubbing skin. She weighed 25 pounds when she should have weighed 60.
Hope, a hound dog around 12 years old, arrived at the Kingsport Animal Shelter Wednesday morning smelling bad and barely able to walk.
“They just left her there to die,” said shelter Supervisor Lisa Holly. “On that chain, she had no chance at anything. All she could do what just lay down and die.”
The dog’s owner died some time ago, according to Kingsport Police Lt. Rick Meredith. But someone was responsible for taking care of the animals – a little white fluffy dog was found perfectly healthy and well fed on the front porch of the same house.
Donna Davidson, the shelter’s senior supervisor, said when Hope was found, her chain was twisted into a ball so small the dog couldn’t move. They had to cut it from her neck with bolt cutters. Both ears are severely infected and her tail is scarred from frostbite. They guessed she hasn’t been fed in months.
“I don’t know how she survived the cold,” Davidson said. “She must be a really tough girl.”
Meredith said the department is investigating who was responsible for the dog’s care. He said that person will likely be charged with animal cruelty, a class A misdemeanor.
The animal shelter sent Hope to the vet Wednesday afternoon. They said the bill will be upwards of $600.
To make a donation to Hope’s recovery, call the shelter at (423) 247-1671.
While she recovers, a foster home is needed for the dog, and the hope is a permanent home can be found once she’s better.
“She deserves for the last few years of her life to be good ones – for somebody to care for her and just let her run and not be chained up anymore,” Davidson said. “She deserves to live out the rest of her life happy, loved.”
cgalofaro@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2531
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