JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Animal Care and Protective Services picked up an emaciated dog Saturday that was found in an abandoned house in North Jacksonville.
The dog was found tied up with a lamp cord at a home on Pinholster Road, not far from Florida State College at Jacksonville. Florida Urgent Rescue workers, who responded first, said they suspected the dog had not had food in several days.
FUR volunteers said she was very scared and reactive when they tried to coax her out.
A city animal control officer and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office went to the house to document the animal's condition in case animal cruelty or abuse charges are filed.
"They brought their cruelty investigator out and they handled it professionally," said Mike Merrill, founder of FUR. ""The dog is on her way to the shelter, where she will get medical care. She will be under behavioral evaluation and, hopefully, this will be the beginning of turning her around."
Merrill said this was the seventh dog abandoned at an empty house the group has rescued in the past month.
Merrill said that in addition to rescuing the dog Saturday, his organization was asked to rescue a litter of kittens found in a storm drain.