With Permission
Hope’s caregivers had a surprise for her yesterday. They dressed her up in green ear pieces that said, “Kiss Me!” and they looped a green bowtie around her neck. Then came a dress that didn’t fit her. Never mind. Ham that she is, she loved it and posed eagerly for photos.
It doesn’t get better for this dog, a black pit bull-lab mix with soulful eyes. She was discarded, then found near Branhaven Shopping Center, emaciated and near death and brought to the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter about a week and a half ago.
Laura Burban, the shelter director, said Hope had another good day. “A lot of tail wagging and snuggling. Her personality is definitely coming back,” Burban said.
On Wednesday, Hope underwent an endoscopy, a procedure that enabled veterinarians to remove a small stuffed toy from her body. Burban and her staff were delighted because Hope would probably not have survived actual surgery at this time. She is believed to be between 5 and 7 years old.
Burban has been keeping Hope’s legion of newly acquired fans updated on the Dan Cosgrove animal shelter’s Facebook page, which has been exploding with views, shares, and comments. Burban said Hope was one of the worst cases of animal abuse the shelter has seen. An investigation is underway to find the dog’s owner.
Burban said that “people have been asking us three questions consistently.
“The first is how much weight has she gained. The answer is about 9 pounds. Some is water weight. When found she weighed 30 pounds.
“The second question is when will Hope be available for adoption? At this point we are still focusing on Hope’s recovery. Anybody who is interested can fill out an application at branfordanimalshelter.org and they can fax it to us at 203 – 315-3851.
“The third question is, when can we meet Hope? Once Hope is not considered critical any longer than we will post something about setting up a meet and greet. But at this point we are just focused on her recovery. We will certainly keep everyone up to date.”
Burban said the next post is scheduled for Monday unless something pertinent occurs over the weekend.
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