OH: Sick, starving dog checks in at the hospital
By RICHARD PAYERCHIN , Sandusky Bureau Chief 01/23/2004


SANDUSKY -- A starving and ill dog found the right place at the right time when he wandered into Firelands Regional Medical Center early Sunday.

After getting food, a blood transfusion and surgery, the red Doberman pinscher, dubbed ''E.R.'' by hospital staff, is recovering, said the people who cared for him this week.

The dog, a male about a year and a half old, showed up Sunday morning inside the hospital, where staff kept him warm in an unused laboratory room before notifying police. He was malnourished and could barely walk, according to a report from the Sandusky police officer who took him to the Erie County Dog Pound.

''I really think he was just trying to find some shelter,'' said nurse Michelle Sweat, 25, who bailed the dog out of the county pound on Tuesday. ''I have no idea how it actually got through the doors. Smart dog, nevertheless.''

The dog began eating small amounts on Sunday, and, despite his ill health, he was docile, said Erie County Dog Warden Barb Knapp.

She said she wanted to keep the dog because she would consider filing cruelty charges if its owner came forward.

However, Sweat, an intensive care nurse who also owns a boxer named Bizkit, began researching a new home for the dog on Monday.

Using the Internet, she found a Web site for Northcoast Doberman Rescue, run by Judi Pirozzoli in Ashtabula.

''I just couldn't leave him in that situation, I couldn't leave him in the pound,'' Sweat said. ''I know he's probably had more love in the last two days than he has in a while, and that makes me feel better.''

Supplying him with a dog license, new bowl, blanket, collar and supplies, Sweat and her husband, David, met Pirozzoli on Tuesday to give the dog to the rescue service.

The dog weighed about 44 pounds, but a normal weight would be about 85 pounds, Pirozzoli said. His caregivers said the dog's condition was shocking.

''He was undernourished, malnourished beyond belief,'' said Pirozzoli, who has been rehabilitating Doberman pinschers for seven years. ''He was by far the worst I've ever seen. I've seen hundreds of dogs malnourished, but nothing like this.''

Her husband, Ricco Pirozzoli, agreed. Their family has nine dogs, including three other Dobermans, on their 65-acre property.

''He's the worst I've seen for a neglect case, skin and bone,'' Ricco Pirozzoli said. ''For him to make it without collapsing and dying ... he should have been gone.''

The dog had blood transfusions from donated greyhound blood and had surgery to remove a mass weighing 2.2 pounds growing on a kidney, Judi Pirozzoli said. He is in care of a veterinarian until Monday, she said.

His rescuers could only speculate on the circumstances that led to his abandonment. With a kidney tumor, the dog may have urinated excessively, leading its owner to kick it out, Judi Pirozzoli said.

''He's got a very thick coat,'' Judi Pirozzoli said. ''He's probably been out all winter. How he survived, I have no idea.''

After the Dobermans are rehabilitated, they are adopted by families, Pirozzoli said. E.R. could be adopted if someone wanted, but her family usually keeps dogs with lingering medical problems, she said.

That new home would be ideal, Sweat said.

''I wouldn't be surprised if Judi keeps the dog,'' Sweat said. ''She'll love him to pieces. That's fine because I'll be a very good aunt to him.''

©The Morning Journal 2004
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?...8&PAG=461&rfi=9