Owners sought after emaciated dog is found in Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - A sad case of animal neglect has a Springfield shelter looking for help from the public to find the owners of an emaciated dog that was brought in as a stray.

“He’s obviously been lacking meals for some time and not for want of eating. He’s very happy to eat whatever food we’ll give him,” said Renee Robichaud with the Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center.

Staff at TJO are calling him Snow and they said he was brought in as a stray on Tuesday during normal business hours.

“Reportedly found in Indian Orchard…When we called the number that was left by the person that brought him in, it went to a different individual, so we weren’t able to follow up with any additional questions,” Robichaud added.

Robichaud also told us more about Snow’s health.

“So this is definitely a condition he has been subjected to for a period of time and we did put a plea out for any tips that might help identify his owners or caregivers and also help determine if there are other animals from his household that might need assistance,” Robichaud noted.

Robichaud told us they have seen an uptick in dogs coming in like this.

“Since the national housing crisis and also a lot of the financial issues that we’ve been seeing nationwide, we have seen an increase of dogs coming in underweight or skinny, but this is an excessive level of skinny,” Robichaud said.

She also said that, due to the lack of nutrition Snow has received, he is also having trouble walking.

“He came in weighing approximately 40 pounds and he should probably be closer to 60, so he does have a lot of weight to gain. We have him on a feeding plan that will help him to be able to gain the wait slowly,” Robichaud explained.

It is unclear if Snow had an owner or was abandoned, but Robichaud wanted to send a message to the community.

“If you see something, say something. This dog lived in a neighborhood. He was a dog people presumably saw. Someone knew this dog was in this condition long before we did and we’re only able to act on information that we have,” she noted.

If anyone has any information to help identify the owners, you are asked to contact TJO at (413) 781-1484 and you can CLICK HERE if you would like to donate to help with the care of Snow and other animals like him.