JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Unless you're cold as ice, your heart breaks watching Spartacus drag his limp back legs across the floor.
He's paralyzed.
So is little Byrdie, a chiweenie. She drags her little legs around, too.
Mike Merrill is founder of the rescue group, FUR. It stands for Florida Urgent Rescue. They handle severe cases of animal abuse and desperate situations. According to their Year in Review, they rescued 629 animals in 2022, including some dogs from the Kentucky tornado and the war in Ukraine.
But on our First Coast, Merrill says the number of cases of animal abuse is "out of control." He says dogs are being dumped. "It's worse than we've ever seen it."
He says they had 36 cases of severe abuse in all of last year. This year, just in January, they've already had 11.
Spartacus, a dachshund mix, weighs just about 15 pounds. Merrill says, people reported Spartacus "was bothering some goats and so" he was shot.
Merrill says they learned Spartacus laid on the ground in cold weather for about four days before he was rescued.
"They don't deserve this. They're sweet. They're innocent. They're little," Merrill says.
Byrdie, the chiweenie, is also paralyzed. Merrill says they believe she was just thrown out of a car.
Dr. Jay Erne at Veterinary Orthopaedic and Mobility Center in St. Augustine says both dogs will likely never walk again, but they are not in pain.
In fact, he says, "Dogs are resilient. They don't feel sorry for themselves like people do."
Erne says Byrdie and Spartacus can lead -- not just "okay" lives -- but "happy lives."
They are being fitted with so-called carts or doggie wheelchairs.
"You got wheels! You're like a mustang!" Erne said with a chuckle when Byrdie went trotting down the hall for the first time in her cart.
Both dogs and two other abused dogs with FUR need foster homes.
FUR will pay for everything during fostering from the doggie wheelchairs to the medical care to food.
The hope is, of course, the these "special needs" dogs will be adopted down the road.
Merrill says the jump in severe animal cruelty cases is due to what he calls the "Covid backlash." During the pandemic, most spay and neutering services were shut down leading to a lot of extra stray or unwanted dogs now. Plus, he says, people got dogs during the pandemic that they just don't want any longer.
