Puppy Dragged For a Mile by Car is Adopted

If there is a story that illustrates the resiliency of a dog's spirit and the essential caring nature of humans, it's the heartbreaking tale of Walker, a Cocker Spaniel puppy who almost died after being dragged for a mile behind a car. But don't worry -- things are looking up for little Walker! Grab some tissues and read on.

Linda Tilton, 49, was working at the K&K Food Mart in Lockport, New York, when a customer frantically ran into the store, screaming about a dog. "It was Saturday, August 8," Tilton tells Paw Nation. "I'll never forget it. [The customer] said, 'I just found some people dragging a dog behind a car! It's in the parking lot.'"

According to the Niagara Gazette, a witness named Martin Clough first noticed a pure-bred Cocker Spaniel being dragged behind a Chevrolet Lumina near the K&K store. Clough got the car to stop, whereupon a "teenage girl driver and male passenger got out of the car, opened the trunk of the car to release the leash, then got back into the car" and sped away.

As soon as Tilton heard about the dog, she ran out from behind the counter, but the man stopped her. "No, no, don't go out there," he said. "You don't want to see the dog; it's dead." Tilton, an animal lover and pet owner, started crying.

Just then, a second customer ran into the store and said the dog was trying to walk and needed water. Tilton rushed to the parking lot and saw a black and white puppy that looked like it had been torn open. "All up his right front leg and across his shoulder and chest were exposed," Tilton recounts to Paw Nation. "His chest, groin and stomach looked like it had been ripped apart. I could clearly see his ribs." The top and bottom of each paw had been burned away by the road and Tilton could see his bones and tendons. There was a terrible smell of burning skin.

Wrapping the puppy in a sweatshirt, Tilton got into her car and raced to the nearest veterinary clinic and sped to the Greater Buffalo Veterinary Emergency Clinic 20 miles away. The entire time, the puppy never lost consciousness and never made a sound, says Tilton. "He couldn't lie down. He stood on the floor of the front passenger side and laid his head on the seat."


At the emergency clinic, veterinarians immediately anesthetized the puppy so he could no longer feel the pain. They doubted the puppy would survive, but prepared him for surgery. Tilton paid $1,500 toward the vet bill, which would end up totaling over $3,700. She signed a "Do Not Resuscitate" order so the puppy wouldn't have to suffer anymore if the surgery was unsuccessful. After four hours and over 600 stitches and staples later, veterinarians were able to save the dog's life.

"It was gruesome," Barbara Carr, executive director of the Erie County SCPA, tells Paw Nation. "There wasn't an inch on that puppy that wasn't rubbed raw. The trauma was terrible." It was one of the worst cases of animal abuse she had ever seen.

The puppy was alive, but couldn't walk. "I named him Walker in the hopes that he would one day walk again," Tilton explains.

After three days at the Greater Buffalo Veterinary Emergency Clinic, Walker was transferred to the Erie County SPCA for round-the-clock nursing care and narcotics for the pain. Tilton visited Walker every day he was hospitalized. "The day after the surgery, he put his paw on my hand and laid there and looked right at me," recalls Tilton, choking up with tears. "He knew I saved him." By the third day, the puppy was able to stand and take his first tentative steps. He wagged his tail every time Tilton came to visit him at the SCPA.

"I look at him and think, 'Oh my god, how could someone do this to him?'" says Tilton.

Tilton received a mysterious phone call from a male caller some days later informing her of a group of teenagers who had been doing drugs at an abandoned house and tied the puppy to the back of the car when the animal began to annoy them. The next morning, the teenagers got into the car to drive to the store for something to eat, forgetting that the dog was still leashed to the car. According to WIVB News, the teenagers are from Florida and will not face charges unless they return to the state of New York.

After spending several weeks at the Erie County SPCA, Walker went home with Tilton on September 11. The next day, Walker led a parade of 1,000 dogs as part of the Paws in the Park walk in Grand Island, New York.

Walker's story has touched people everywhere. "Thousands of cards, letters, toys and donations came from all over the world," says Tilton. An American firefighter stationed in Iraq sent a thousand dollars. Someone in Malaysia sent money and people in every state in this country donated.

"There's no way to thank everybody," says a grateful Tilton. "It's been life-changing and overwhelming. It makes you realize that people really do have a heart." Walker's story has helped raise money for the Erie County SCPA's Yelp for Help fund for animals who are sick and injured from abuse, neglect or disease. "It's a restricted fund where all the donations are used strictly to help the animals and are not used towards administration costs," Carr tells Paw Nation.

As for Walker, "he's all healed," says Tilton. "He is an incredible dog. He's full of life. He wakes up every morning literally leaping off his bed." He's a rambunctious puppy who constantly wants to play with Chloe, Tilton's 8 year-old Beagle mix. "She's the queen, and he pushes his limits with her," laughs Tilton.

On Saturday, October 10, from noon to 3 p.m., the Erie County SPCA and the owners of the K&K store where Tilton works are sponsoring a party to celebrate Tilton's official adoption of Walker. The party will be held at the K&K Store at 4536 Lake Avenue in Lockport, NY 14094 and will be attended by other animals in need of homes.

Walker, it seems, has forgotten all about his horrific ordeal, though he still bears long, pink scars over most of his body and a small, white scar on his nose. "Time has gone by and he's happy and healthy," says Tilton. "He loves everybody and every animal. He'll flop right at your feet and look back up at you waiting for you to rub his stomach."

Source

Tags: cocker spaniel puppy walker dragged by car, CockerSpanielPuppyWalkerDraggedByCar