Local entities partner to reunite injured dog with owner

Young County Sheriff’s Department, Graham Police Department, Humane Society of Young County and Burnham Veterinary Hospital are working together to reunite an injured dog with his owner after finding him in the street Monday, March 18.

Early Monday morning around 6:30 a.m., BVH received notice that YCSO had picked up a German shepherd that had been hit by a vehicle on Hwy. 16 near the Allsup’s Convenience Store. The veterinary hospital has kept and cared for the dog since that time, but the owners haven’t come forward to claim him yet.

Anyone with information regarding the owners of the dog can contact the hospital at 940-362-4444.

Kim Baxter, who works at BVH, shared that the dog looks to be a purebred German shepherd who’s at least 6 years old, but possibly older. The staff at the hospital treated the dog for what they believe to be a broken leg due to the accident.

“We’ve given him pain medication just to keep him comfortable,” Baxter said. “We've done a small exam… He's very sweet; he seems to be okay with dogs. We have an office cat and he hasn't been bothered by any of them. He raises his hand, his front paw, so you can scratch his chest.”

Upon completion of the X-rays, it was discovered the dog has a dislocated hip. Staff at BVH attempted to put it back in manually, but it didn’t work and the dog will require surgery, which will involve making a new hip socket.

“(The surgery) is going to (cost) a lot more, so if people want to donate to his surgery and his recovery they are welcome to call us out here and make a donation for him,” Baxter said.

Young County Sheriff Travis Babcock said that YCSO has the quote for what the surgery will cost, and that it will be paid for by donations. The sheriff said community members have already reached out and shown interest in providing funds to help cover the costs.

“We're going ahead and do what we have to do to make the dog better,” Babcock said. “We're going to work on seeing what we can do… but as for right now, we're going ahead with the surgery.”

YCSO paid for the expenses of the X-rays for the dog in the hopes that someone will come forward and claim him soon. He appears to be a well-fed dog as he weighs 105 pounds but has a few other medical issues that BVH believes are non-life threatening.

“He's had hematomas in both ears; one ear is all crinkled up,” Baxter said. “... I don't know if he had fleas in the past, but he's been itching and scratching on his back. I'm not finding any fleas on him, but if we do, then we'll treat him for that and go from there.”