An upstate New York woman has been charged with felony animal cruelty after a helpless dog was found abandoned in an apartment — leaving it so skinny it was “days from death,” according to officials.
The poor pit bull mix, Rhett, was “extremely emaciated” and dehydrated when found in an apartment in Kirkland, just outside Utica, on May 16, according to the Oneida County Sheriff’s Office.
Rhett was too weak to stand, and heartbreaking photos showed his ribs and spine sticking through his thin layer of flea-ridden fur.
“To see pictures of him is startling … but to see him in real life is absolutely shocking,” Kindred Spirits Greyhound Adoption, the rescue organization that is helping him get back to health, said in a fundraiser.
“No one knows how long he’d been there but we were told he was probably days from death.”
Lindsay Meelan, 36, of Clark Mills, was arrested Wednesday and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals — a felony — as well as misdemeanor animal cruelty.
She was released and is due to appear in Kirkland court on June 17.
Rhett has since had an emergency blood transfusion and been treated for starvation, anemia and fleas, WKTV reported.
He was finally strong enough to stand on his own about a week after being found.
“This dog with the sweet personality won over everyone he met and we just couldn’t let him die,” said the rescue group that has already raised nearly the $6,000 it “cost to save him.”
“He is by no means totally out of the woods yet but has been moved to a foster home where he is receiving much love and great care and continues to slowly improve,” the group wrote.
