Animal rescuers in Liberty County found the bodies of two dogs that had seemingly been beaten and shot in the head on Sunday. A third dog, which had also been beaten but was alive, was discovered alongside them.
Lisa Noble and Brat Hilton, who have spent years tending to abandoned dogs in the Plum Grove area, The pair told Fox 26 Houston they had seen instances of animal abuse before, but nothing like this.
"We came across this poor innocent-looking little dog sitting there, looking spaced out, not knowing what was going on," Noble told Fox 26. the two dogs' bodies wrapped in trash bags, along with a number of dead chickens.At first, I thought it was just him by himself, then I realized there are two other dogs there. It's horrible. It's heartbreaking. I mean, who does that?"
The dog that survived the horrific attack had been beaten so hard, one of his eyes had partially popped out of its socket."It took somebody really mad to do what they did to those dogs—they literally beat them to death—and display it for everyone to see it," Hilton told Fox 26.
Tom Heller, one of the founders of dog rescue charity This is Houston, rushed the surviving dog to an animal hospital in Houston for treatment."They think he will make it," Heller said. "They took his eye out last night and they took X-rays today, and did find some fractures in his skull. So, we're going to take him to a specialist to see what we can do there."
According to the charity, which has named the dog Joey, the eye injury, facial fracture, hemorrhaging and swelling are all consistent with being beaten in the head.Beaten so hard his eye popped out. Dumped in a ditch along with trash bags filled with deceased dogs and chickens. Left to suffer in excruciating pain; so painful he couldn't even move or seek help. This is the world we live in," the charity wrote in a Facebook post.
"For whatever reason Joey's abusers left him to suffer, we are thankful that life was spared, although he had to suffer. And we are thankful he was found in time."
The charity said the fact that Joey was left alongside dead chickens suggests he might have been involved with their deaths, and was perhaps punished by someone for killing them."It's frightening knowing the human who did this is full of so much rage and they're still walking this Earth freely. It's frightening knowing so many more dogs will face the same fate," the charity wrote in another post on Wednesday.
"Because Joey and his two friends aren't the only dogs who will end up where they're not supposed to be. Dogs are shot, purposely hit by cars and poisoned almost every single day out in Cleveland."According to the charity, Joey has a lot of healing to do and is "very scared," but still appears to be accepting of love.
"We met him today and our hearts just broke at the sight of him," the charity's post read. "His story is sad, but seeing him in person is a different kind of heartbreak. Once he was done shaking from being so scared, he finally laid down and would lay his head in our palms and just soak up gentle human touch for as long as we'd let him."
"And that speaks for how forgiving dogs are. We truly can learn a thing or two from dogs. We got you, Joey. Now and forever.""We don't know if he was already blind, or if it's a result of the abuse," he said. "We are hopeful that he will regain sight in that eye. It's going to take a lot of work to get him happy and healthy again."
Heller added that a police investigation was underway and the charity believes it knows who is responsible.
We "are working with law enforcement to find them and bring them to justice. We also believe the perpetrator has hurt women as well," he said.We deal with [animal] abuse and neglect all the time. It's very common in this area and we fight very hard to change the mindset of people regarding animals. They should be family members who are loved and cherished. Though we see cases of neglect and abuse quite often, Joey's case is by far one of the most extreme. This was pure evil."
