OAKLAND PARK, Fla. – An injured dog is on the road to recovery in Oakland Park after it was found with a collar that was embedded in its neck more than an inch thick.
Volunteers were emotional Monday as they came to the rescue of the 1-year-old pit bull, who was visibly suffocating on his own puppy collar.
“He’s been out there for a long time,” Amy Roman, of the 100+ Abandoned Dogs of Everglades, FL Rescue Group, said. “The collar was the size of a puppy collar that he’s outgrown, and he’s been suffering every day.”
Roman said the dog, now named Red, had been suffering for months while living in an abandoned warehouse in Fort Lauderdale.
“One of my board members, my teammate, reached out to me because she works in the area. And she said, ‘Amy, I’m begging you. This dog is starving and he has this very bad injury,’” Roman said.
The group moved in to help rescue the dog Monday after several failed attempts.
Volunteers brought Red to the Blue Pearl Pet Hospital in Oakland Park for treatment, where veterinarians were finally able to remove his collar.
“Red’s reaction was also relief, as it had been on him for some time,” the veterinarian said.
While he still faces a long road to recovery, veterinarians said they’re optimistic Red will be back to normal soon.
“Red fortunately has a very good prognosis,” the veterinarian said. “We were able to get him in, clean the wound, put him on medication. He overall has a very good prognosis to be able to recover from this.”