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Abused dog dies 5 days into recovery at Ohio shelter

Posted at 9:39 PM, May 01, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-01 21:39:04-04

HAMILTON, Ohio — After a hard-fought battle to recover, a two-year-old dog rescued from an abusive owner died Friday at an Ohio shelter.

Lou, a Doberman Pinscher, was removed from his owner’s care in the last week of April. According to the Animal Friends Humane Society Facebook page, Lou’s original name was Lucifer, but they “did not feel that was an appropriate name for this sweetheart.”

The humane society said Lou was transferred to a vet so they could work on treating what they assumed was a staph infection, leaving sores all over the dog’s body.

The infection was later confirmed to be a blastomycosis after the humane society said Lou had “taken a turn for the worse” just days later. He was struggling to breathe and eat, and at some point before being rescued had been so hungry he started eating rocks.

Lou did experience a small recovery, gaining some of the weigh a healthy dog his age and size should have. While a Doberman Pinscher should be about 75 pounds, at his healthiest in the few days he lived at the humane society was about 57 pounds.

The humane society said Lou started losing weight and experienced swelling in his tongue shortly before he lost his fight to survive.

Lou died April 27 after fighting for five days to survive. The humane society shared their devastation in a Facebook post, saying:

“This post is not an easy one, and definitely one we hoped to never have to write. Our sweet Lou fought a hard battle, but ultimately lost the fight…This is so unfair. He deserved so much better than this… We do take comfort in knowing that Lou didn’t die alone, chained up in a backyard, left to fend for himself. We will seek justice for him. We love you, Lou. RIP.”

Lou’s former owner, David Neanover, has been charged with animal cruelty.