ohmidog!

What is it about police agencies and the press in, shall we say, non-urban areas, that prevents them from seeing dog abuse when it seems to be staring them in the face?

The Muskegon Chronicle reports that deputies are “not sure abuse was involved” in injuries suffered by a dog found Monday afternoon … HANGING FROM A HOOK ON A TREE.

Pardon my caps. This reminds me of our recent report about a pit bull in Missouri who was dragged behind a car, tied to a pole and set on fire before being found dead, in a case the local TV station called “alleged animal abuse.”

In the new case,  a young male Sheltie-Pomeranian mix is expected to recover from the injury left by the large hook that protruded from the roof of his mouth.

Muskegon County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mike Herremans said the incident is being investigated and that while abuse has not been ruled out, it also is possible the dog was victimized by an illegal coyote trap.

Rescuers, however,  told WOOD TV-8 the animal was abused, and a local veterinarian who treated the dog concurred.

(It’s also interesting to note how, while the police and reporter call the male dog an “it,” the veterinarian refers to him as a he. Is there a connection, you think, between people who call a dog, even when the gender is known, an “it,” and how seriously they take animal abuse?)

Herremans said deputies are seeking the dog’s owner, who lives across the street from the wooded spot where the animal was found. He theorized it was possible the dog got caught in “some type of coyote trap.”

However, an official at Pound Buddies, a non-profit group that operates the county animal shelter, told WOOD TV-8 that the hook was too high for the small dog to reach by himself.

Residents in the neighborhood said the dog was normally kept tied up.