This Dog’s Mouth Was Bound Shut, and He Was Abandoned to Starve

On Christmas Eve, a small dog was found abandoned on a Toronto street with his mouth bound shut with an elastic band. The apricot-colored poodle—who is now called Frankie and is thought to be 1 to 2 years old—was clearly distressed and very thin as a result of chronic malnutrition, and the band had cut deeply into the flesh around his muzzle.

Frankie was rushed to emergency veterinary care and surgery is pending to repair tissue damage to his snout. Toronto Animals Services said that he’s “really improving.”

He will continue to recover in a foster home—but police have yet to determine who is responsible for abusing and abandoning him.

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This is a departure from our usual kind of post, but "Frankie" needs your help. Frankie is an apricot poodle, male, 1-2 years old and small, about 7 lbs. He was found at Rouge River Dr. and Jaguar St. by a Good Samaritan on Christmas Eve. He was outside, by himself, with an elastic band around his nose. Frankie was obviously distressed and very thin due to chronic malnutrition. The elastic had caused severe injury to Frankie's nose, nose and to the tissue inside his mouth. The Good Samaritan took Frankie to a Veterinary Emergency Clinic in the area and Toronto Animal Services has taken responsibility for him. He was treated for a few days at the Veterinary Clinic and is now continuing his recovery in a foster home. He will likely require surgery to fix the tissue around his muzzle, but he is otherwise recovering and eating well. Despite the horrible abuse that Frankie has sustained, he presents as a happy, pleasant, trusting dog … heartbreakingly typical of dogs in his situation. Toronto Animal Services is asking anyone with information about this case to call 416-338-7297. Please call if you know anything about Frankie. Our donations fund is used to help dogs like Frankie. If you'd like to donate towards Frankie's care, please visit toronto.ca/helptheanimals.

A post shared by Toronto Animal Services (@toanimalservices) on Jan 5, 2017 at 2:01pm PST

PETA has stepped in to help and is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this crime.

“This terrified little dog was left alone in the cold to die with his mouth bound shut, leaving him unable to eat or drink,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA urges anyone with information about this case to come forward immediately so that whoever abused and abandoned him can be held accountable.”

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Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to call the Toronto Police Service 42 Division Detectives Office at 416-808-4200.