A maintenance man did not expect to find abandoned puppies in the apartment complex he manages. Worse, he could not imagine how someone would shut their mouths with rubber bands.
Soon, two darling rescue puppies, estimated to be at least seven months old, would be ready for adoption. But just a few weeks before, Westley and Debbie might not have made it alive had it not been for the man who discovered their situation and the rescue team that nursed them back to health.
The man found out about the Pit Bull mix siblings while looking into a burst pipe in a Wichita housing complex, where he was the maintenance in charge. He noticed that while the apartment was in bad shape due to the flooding, there was also a nasty stench coming from the corner of the room.
He found the two dogs hidden in a crate. The pups seemed distressed but the man thought it was so odd that they weren't making any noise. Upon closer look, he was horrified to realize that their mouths were muzzled down. Something was wrapped around their faces that also turned their noses red and swollen. It was such a pitiful sight that man did not know what to do.
An Inhuman Treatment
It was a good thing, however, that he knew of a friend who fosters for the Wichita Animal Action League. So, the man called up Sarah Coffman and she arranged for rescuers to retrieve the pups.
Coffman recalled that when they got to the site to rescue the Pit Bull, dog poop and urine filled the crate, as she said. Worse than this, however, was the state of the puppies that could not open their mouths. The rescuers could not figure out if these were wired shut in such an inhuman way.
At the vet clinic, rescuers realized that the puppies had tiny hair bands wrapped around their mouth, so it was easier for the vet to clip these off. Once free from the band, the puppies barked and wailed loudly that it was so heartbreaking to hear. The rescuers tried hard to hold back their tears but it was impossible not to feel for these dogs.
Just In the Nick of Time!
The vet estimated that they puppies had been abandoned in that apartment with their mouths shut for at least 12 to 24 hours. Had the maintenance man not discovered them, they would have suffered worse.
The puppies were saved in the nick of time. Otherwise, they could have had major tissue damage around their mouth or lose their sense of smell, or they could have died while suffering from their predicament.
Pit Bull Siblings in Recovery
Coffman shuddered to think what might have happened if there was no burst pipe to check at that time. She's still thankful that something good came out of a bad situation. Coffman and the rescue team bathed, fed and gave Westley and Debbie medical assistance.
The brother and sister are now adjusting well after their traumatizing experience. They are happily enjoying their time in foster care, as seen in the video posted on the rescuer's Facebook page.
Fortunately, the swelling around their mouths has slowly healed and there are no indications of permanent soft tissue damage. However, as soft tissues take months to heal, the rescuers are giving the puppies some more time to completely recover based on the advice of the veterinarian. In the meantime, however, their viral video on social media has attracted interested would-be pet parents who want to give them a forever home.
https://www.facebook.com/WAALrescue/videos/425977677926810/
It's unclear if the humans who abandoned these pups have ever been accosted or found. Kansas has well-established animal cruelty laws.
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