A THREE MONTH old lurcher puppy is miraculously recovering after an attack in which his throat was slashed multiple times and he was left for dead on the outskirts of a housing estate in Portlaoise on Friday.
Taylor is said to be doing well after a two hour surgery at the the weekend to repair his trachea and sew his neck back together.
Lorraine McEvoy, manager of the charity Cara Rescue Dogs, who was called to the scene on Friday to recover the dog told TheJournal.ie that he is able to move around and even went out for a short walk yesterday. The young lurcher is also eating by himself with no trouble swallowing and has been taken off his drip which McEvoy said it a great sign.
“He’s doing as well as we could have hoped, it was hard to imagine when we saw his injuries initially that he would pull through so it’s absolutely fantastic,” she said.
“There is an infection right at the center of where his stitches meet and that’s the biggest risk so he’ll be sedated again tomorrow for another surgery to flush out the wound,” she said,
As veterinary staff assessed Taylor’s injuries, McEvoy said it became more clear what exactly happened to the dog.
“A knife was definitely used, most likely a blunt knife which in a way is a good thing because otherwise he may not have survived,” she said. “There were two incisions and then he was cut from side to side and the flesh would have had to be hacked because the knife was blunt.”
“This isn’t something that would have been done in a matter of seconds, it took time, probably fifteen minutes or so and to think of somebody doing that to him when he trusted them is unimaginable.”
McEvoy said that apart from his neck injuries the puppy seemed otherwise unharmed but said it can sometime be hard to tell if a dog has been the victim of long term abuse.
“We’re hopeful he didn’t go through weeks of abuse but he’s not overly skinny, he has no mange and he wasn’t majorly dirty,” she said.
Despite his ordeal, McEvoy said little Taylor is still loving and does not appear traumatised by what happened to him.
“He’s actually the most forgiving little boy, letting the vets do whatever they have to,” she said. “He was a bit nervous yesterday when we were in with him but today he was nearly being cheeky and was giving us licks on the face, being so lovely.”
“We’re being very delicate with him obviously, no sudden movements or loud noises but bless his little heart he doesn’t seem to be mentally scarred by the whole thing.”
McEvoy said the charity has been “inundated” with messages of support from the public and offers to give Taylor a loving home.
“People are so genuinely concerned and heartbroken, I think Taylor has gripped the nation,” she said.
“We will go through a proper process though to rehome him because we want to make sure that wherever he goes he will be loved for the rest of his life but we won’t have a problem finding a home for him at all.”
She said she expects the puppy will be recovered enough to be rehomed in around six weeks when she hopes he can be placed with a family and possibly in a house with other dogs to keep him company.
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