LOVINGTON — A dog was left for dead in the middle of the street in Lovington last week after being stabbed multiple times.
Around 8 p.m. Tuesday, Lovington Animal Control and Lovington Police were called to Ave. H and 5th Street by a woman who found a dog bleeding.
The woman and bystanders gave police different accounts of what transpired, but according to LAC Supervisor Laura Brock, without an eye-witness there is no way of knowing what actually occured.
“When I arrived I asked the people out there what happened, and when I talked to the officer he said a lady said the dog was crying and ran down the street,” Lovington Animal Control Officer Justina Lopez said. “The officers said they couldn’t find a blood trail so they didn’t know where he (the dog) came from. Another lady said the owners stabbed the dog. I asked the officers what they were told, and they said that’s not what they were told.”
Brock relayed similar information.
“My understanding about what happened to the white dog, is there were about 14 people on scene and nobody knew where the dog came from. They said he came out, and was bleeding and so they called. We (animal control) were called out and we took him to Great Plains Animal Hospital,” Brock said.
A woman in the area told animal control the dog allegedly was stabbed by his owner because he was barking, but Brock says she couldn’t get anyone to confirm whether that statement was true.
“My problem is, is nobody could point out where the owner lives, or where the owner is. If somebody would come forward and say something, then I could do something. At this point, we don’t know know what happened,” Brock said. “The animal control officer who arrived on scene and the police who were on scene all didn’t know what happened. She spoke to the officers and they told her the bystanders claimed they didn’t know where the dog came from.
“There was a lady who was taking care of him, and she is the one who got a hold of Amazing Grace (Amazing Grace Pet Rescue). That is really all we know at this point.”
A Lovington woman posted on Amazing Grace Pet Rescue’s social media page about the situation.
“They say the owners stabbed him because he was barking. He is breathing, help me,” the post stated.
Brandy Abbott-Ellison, owner of AGPR said she contacted the woman and took in the dog. The dog was later named Tofu.
“With Tofu, I told her to get him to me. … she told (animal control) they weren’t going to put him down. She stuffed him in her van and took him. While I’m on the phone with animal control they ended up going to her home and picked up the dog and brought the dog to me,” Ellison said. “He was full of stickers and his smell was horrible. By the time he got to us he was a red dog.
“We found stab wounds in his chest and one place where he was shot with a pellet gun and it snapped his rib in town and a couple of other fractured ribs. He definitely suffered at the hands of a human.”
Ellison said the circumstances around Tofu’s injury are a mystery, but believes Tofu injuries were caused by humans.
“Tofu has no known owner and what people are telling me is he has been running in like a three block radius for several weeks and he’s sweet,” Ellison said. “We think he was abused. We think it was more than just stabbing, it was kicking, shooting, all of it.
“I just can’t understand why someone would do something like this, he’s a sweet dog. It’s not like he was vicious.”
Anyone with information about about this incident should contact LPD at 575-396-2811 or LAC Supervisor Laura Brock at 575-396-9329.