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<\/p>\nPHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A dog found injured on the side of a road in the Germantown section of Philadelphia is beginning a long recovery after a group of community members and animal rescuers stepped in to help.<\/p>\n
The dog, now named Rocky, was discovered after Germantown resident Xav heard him crying along the roadside.<\/p>\n
“As I got a little closer, I realized it was a dog,” Xav said.<\/p>\n
“It was just yelping, and it was in pain, and I immediately started praying because it was very scary. I took a screenshot and circled the area of a map where I was, and then I put it in the Living in Germantown Facebook,” Xav said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jenifer Smith saw the social media post and responded.<\/p>\n
“Saw that someone had posted 13 minutes prior that there was an injured dog on the side of the road,” Smith said.<\/p>\n
Smith grabbed a blanket and rushed to Rocky’s location. What she found, she said, was “really what I saw beyond horrifying.”<\/p>\n
Despite his condition, Smith noticed signs that the dog was still fighting.<\/p>\n
“Went to pick him up and got near him; his tail just started to wag,” she said.<\/p>\n
Smith brought Rocky to a veterinarian in Germantown.<\/p>\n
“He was knocking on heaven’s door,” said Colleen Bell of GoodBoy Dog Recovery.<\/p>\n
After seeing the social media post, Bell stepped in to help. She picked up Rocky, completed paperwork to assume ownership, filed an animal cruelty report with the Pennsylvania SPCA, and transported him to Pinnacle Veterinary Specialists in Glen Mills.<\/p>\n
“He’s in critical condition. He’s in the ICU at Pinnacle. His body score is the lowest it could possibly be. It’s a 1\/9, which means he has virtually no muscle, no fat left on his body,” Bell said.<\/p>\n
Over the past three days, Rocky has begun recovering through rehydration and refeeding efforts. His rescuers said he is now able to lift his head on his own.<\/p>\n
The dog was given the name Rocky because of what rescuers described as his determination to survive.<\/p>\n
“His eyes were so clear, so I just knew he was going to fight,” Smith said.<\/p>\n
Rocky remains under care at Pinnacle Veterinary Specialists as his recovery continues.<\/p>\n
According to GoodBoy Dog Recovery, his hospital care costs about $2,000 per day, but supporters in the community are helping raise money to cover the expense.<\/p>\n
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