Concerned neighbors reached out to 7 Action News about a dog in Warren living outside in deplorable conditions.
Folks we spoke with say they called animal control several times with no results, until we got involved.
Animal control removed the dog after we called the mayor.
Neighbors didn't want to talk on camera but they tell us the dog was on a short chain in the back, left alone for days without water and food.
We talked with the owner who is out of state right now and says her dog is in an outdoor dog and despite the accusations, he is well cared for.
Neighbors tell us the dog is constantly chained up in this corner and that sometimes the owner leaves town for days, for as long as two weeks, leaving the dog without food or water.
A neighbor contacted Nicole Gianino, who is a dog groomer and animal lover.
"You can't leave an animal like that. It's just not right."
Several flies surround the dog, biting his ears, leaving him with bloody marks.
"Horrible condition," Gianino said. "They left black water. His chain that he's on is not long enough for him to reach the dog house that has a hole in the roof. There was no food, no water, nothing just left outside to rot."
She and several neighbors have been feeding the dog and giving him fresh water.
"Super friendly, as soon as I walked up to him, his tail was wiggling so hard it was smacking his ribs."
Nicole says the dog isn't just hungry for food, he's hungry for attention.
"He cared more about meeting and greeting with me and playing with me than eating out of the food bowl."
She says she's called animal control for about a month about this dog but hadn't heard back.
"We just get the voicemail. They've not once ever answered the phone."
So we called the city and animal control arrived shortly after the call.
Warren Police Sgt. Robert Priest said, "We feel like the dog needs to be removed, so we will remove the dog."
We talked with the owner of the dog, Jessica, on the phone.
She confirmed that she is out of state right not but says a family member comes and checks on the dog, even though neighbors say they haven't seen anyone besides other neighbors and volunteers doing that.
"My dog is not starving. My dog is not skin and bones. My dog is well fed and well taken care of. Just because you see flies biting his ears don't mean somebody abandoned the dog or the dog is not taken care of," Jessica explained.
We asked her when was the last time the dog saw a vet and that's when she hung up the phone.
She added, "Y'all just trying to get a story to make y'all (expletive) look good."
Neighbors are thankful the dog is at animal control.
"Thank goodness for you because you got a hold of the mayor and the mayor got a hold of animal control and we had more officers here than I've ever seen, the fastest response I've ever seen and they actually took the dog," Nicole said.
So far, no charges have been filed.
