Meet Rhett!

Rhett was spotted with his friend Scarlett on the side of 288 during morning rush hour traffic.  TONS of people saw them - but no one stopped to help.  The Rottie (Scarlett) was just laying down with the Lab (Rhett) standing over her, licking and nudging her.  We heard from a few people who saw them, that at least one, if not both, of them had been hit by a car.  Unfortunately, BARC was called to the scene to pick them up before any of our volunteers could get there.  They were picked up early morning and we assumed (wrongly!) that they were on their way into BARC immediately for vet care.  So, we called ahead to BARC to inquire on their condition to see if we could get them out of BARC early on medical leave to be seen by a vet, only to be informed that the animal control officer (not a vet) that picked them up felt that they were ok and didn't need to be brought in.  As a result, these two babies sat in the back of a BARC truck (you have all seen them and they are miserable!) until close to 5pm that day.  The next day one of our volunteers went to BARC to see them and couldn't believe what he saw. The Lab was clearly injured, with his mouth swollen and dripping blood (pic attached), and the Rottie had a prominent limp to go with her extreme malnourishment.  Seeing the condition that these dogs were in we asked, really begged, if we could get a medical release on them so that we could get them to our vet for immediate treatment.  After repeated requests by us and by friends of Scout's Honor that work for BARC, we were shockingly told that the vet on duty at BARC determined that they were fine and didn't need to leave - not a vet we would want any of our animals to see!  So, these poor babies who were obviously injured, sat at BARC in a small, dark, wet jail cell for night 2.  We then contacted the Director of BARC who stepped in and helped us get these two out of BARC.  Without his help, these two would still be sitting there and suffering until their stray hold was up - after 5 days.

Rhett is very scared and learning to trust.  He has made huge progress just in the 24 hours we have had him.  He's just scared and unsure of things, but there is not a mean bone in his body.  He seems to really like Scarlett and lets his guard down a little when she is around and he sees her getting attention.  He's just a sensitive boy who needs someone that can be patient with him and teach him that not all people are bad.  He a super handsome boy with amazing eyes.  We are guessing he is about 3 years old.  He would likely do great with another dog and that dog would likely build his confidence.

Upon examination by our vet it was discovered that Rhett (obviously hit by a car) had at least 30 puncture wounds in his mouth with some on his gums. He was in no doubt a lot of pain and was very scared.  He is being treated by our vet and is finally on pain meds.  He is resting comfortably at our vet's office in a quiet area and just trying to decompress and get better.