MSPCA Flooded with Donations for Dog Who Bit Off His Own Foot

Something good happened online.

maverick 1

Photo via MSPCA

It’s time to take a victory lap, folks. You did some good this week.

The heartbreaking story of a Massachusetts dog forced to bite off part of his own leg touched thousands after word spread about him on Monday. Now the shelter that helped save his life is being inundated with support.

The MSPCA says it’s received more than $57,000 in donations, and more than a thousand calls and emails, since the story first broke about Maverick, the German Shepherd who is on the road to recovery after a special surgery to repair his badly damaged limb so he could walk on it again. The funds have come “from every state,” according to spokesman Rob Halpin.

When authorities found Maverick on July 12, it was apparent the animal had spent at least one day with a rope tangled around his right hind leg before he bit off part of the limb in an attempt to escape, the MSPCA says. There were also signs of prior leg injuries caused by ropes.

“Clearly he had been entangled by his own leash many times in the past; unfortunately he was unable to free himself this last time,” says Chelsea Weiand, an MSPCA law enforcement officer, in a statement.

“This is one of the most egregious cases of neglect we’ve seen,” says Alyssa Krieger, adoption center manager, also in a statement.

The dog’s owner, Kevin Kennedy of Middleborough, is due for an arraignment in Wareham District Court in August on a charge of animal cruelty.

After a two-hour surgery on Tuesday, Maverick is recovering and will need to spend a few more days in the hospital’s care before he can leave wearing a “protective bootie,” the MSPCA says.

“He will get a second chance for a normal and pain-free life—and if any dog deserves that, it’s Maverick,” says Dr. Mike Pavletic, head of surgery at MSPCA-Angell in Jamaica Plain.

The shelter had sought help paying for the $5,000 surgery, and set up a page on its website to collect donations. The thousands of dollars in surplus will go to helping other animals in its care, Halpin says.

“We must realize that Maverick is one story on one day and that the stream of animals coming in and needing care never ends,” he says. “His legacy will live on in through hundreds of animals whose medical needs will be addressed before they too go to new homes.”

Those interested in adopting Maverick have been asked to show up in person at the facility on South Huntington Avenue to fill out a form. The adoption center is taking applications until July 30.

Interested in adopting another furry friend in need? Stop by or reach out to adoption@mspca.org.

You can add this, by the way to a long list of cases where the MSPCA put the web’s capacity for goodness to use: Finding a home for dozens of wayward goats and a dozen wayward pigs, for example, or crowdfunding a surgery for a homeless kitten born without eyelids.