Dog recovering at animal rescue after being found stuck to sidewalk in Florida

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- A dog found glued to the ground in Boca Raton is now recovering at a local animal rescue.

Staff at Tri County Humane Society have named the dog Trooper.

Trooper was brought to the clinic by a Good Samaritan who found him on a sidewalk near Yamato Road.

Vets said Trooper had been lying in his own waste for so long, he had literally been glued to the ground, WPBF reported.

"It took them, they say, about an hour to pick him up off the sidewalk," said Dr. Julia Sheehan, the veterinarian who has been treating Trooper. "He was stuck."

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Sheehan said Trooper was in such bad shape when he was brought in, she thought he was dead.

"He was covered in fecal material, burrs, even maggots," she said. "He had a lot of wounds on his skin, long nails that when we cut them, basically pus came out."

Sheehan said Trooper's hair was so matted, they had to shave almost all of it off.

He also has a heart murmur, ear infections, ulcers in his eyes, and a slipped disc in his back which has left him unable to walk.

Sheehan said it's unknown how Trooper wound up on the sidewalk in such horrible conditions.

She estimates he's about 10 years old and is a Pekingese mix.

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Doctors and nurses have been treating Trooper with medications and daily physical therapy to teach him to stand and walk on his own again.

Sheehan said Trooper has been responding exceptionally well, not just to the treatments but also to all the love and attention.

She believes his prognosis is excellent.

"I think it's good. I think he's a trooper," she said. "That's why we named him that."

To help pay for Trooper's care, go to Tri County Humane Society's website.

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