SOUTHWEST RANCHES, Fla. — A one-year-old American bulldog was recently suffering under a bush after suffering dog bites -- covered in painful mange.
Two-month-old puppies with massive open wounds on their backs, infested with hundreds of maggots were under a dumpster.
A one-year-old pitbull used for breeding was near train tracks with her uterus outside her body. There is a pet population crisis in South Florida. Tens of thousands of homeless dogs and hundreds of cats are on the streets.
“We have to do this day in and day out and see all these bad situations, and it’s hard,” said Cindy Mucciaccio, of I Heart Animal Rescue. “It hurts ... We don’t get a salary doing this. We do it all for the love of the animals. There’s no money for that because there’s always another emergency.”
Mucciaccio teamed up with Dr. Sarah Gangadin, of the Deer Run Animal Hospital, who gives the nonprofit organization a discounted rate.
“The maggots can obviously destroy tissue, and the wound gets worse and worse because it gets infected,” Gangadin said.
The two women have helped Zeus and Xena, and Teddy Bear, a victim of organized dog fights and had redness, scabs, hair loss, and was underweight.
They also helped the resilient Dixie found in Deerfield Beach.
“When you couldn’t help fast enough, that dog was just dumped. Yep, not even 20 hours,” Mucciaccio said.
Gangadin suspected she was used as a breeding dog.
“I suspect that whoever dumped her probably dumped her because they couldn’t afford to deal with her complications,” Gangadin said.
Many unwanted pets need surgery. Most recently, one had a torn ACL and MPL on the right leg, and an MPL on the left leg.
“For rescues, obviously, I try to give a healthy discount, to try to save even more than we can, to do what we can for these poor guys,” said Dr. Robert Fernand, a veterinarian surgeon.
Once the animals are healthy, Mucciaccio‘s faces another challenge: Finding them a home. She has 10 large dogs in Southwest Ranches in need of homes for years.
“As far as the Ranch, we can’t bring any in, if we can’t get any out, and they are just sitting there for years, and we don’t have a spot, we don’t have a corner to put one in,” Mucciaccio said.
To help support their efforts, visit the sites for the I Heart Animal Rescue and the Deer Run Animal Clinic.
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