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On Sunday, Kendra Burgoon got a notification that she had been tagged on a Facebook post about an abandoned dog with a collar by the river off Otero Street. She said it’s not uncommon for her to get tagged in posts like this; in the last three months, she has rescued ten dogs.
“People know that if there’s an abandoned or stray dog, I’ll go and find them,” Burgoon said, “So I went and looked, and I found her, and then realized it wasn’t a collar. It was where somebody had had a collar on for too long or too tight, and it embedded in her throat,”
She said the first thing she noticed was the smell; the young female German Shepard had deep and severe lacerations around her neck, and the flesh was rotting with infection. She was surprised that despite the injury, the dog was incredibly friendly and sweet.
“As soon as I got her in my car and I smelled her. I sat there for 20 minutes in my car crying because how could someone hurt her like that? Then dump her in the middle of nowhere to die,” Burgoon said.
First thing on Monday morning, Burgoon took the dog to the vet for surgery; she said she’s been checking in with the vet all day and wasn’t sure if she would be able to bring the dog home yet.
“She just got out of surgery. She has a drainage tube in her neck. She is severely underweight. She only weighed 55 pounds. She should be up to 75,” Burgoon said, “The lady at the vet’s office said that, possibly since she was a pup, she was chained up and left that way.”
Burgoon set up a fundraiser to help pay for the vet bills and has been touched by how many people had stepped up to pitch in.
“If you can’t take care of your animal, post it on Facebook. There are people that are willing to help. You know, even if your dog is in bad shape, just reach out to one of us,” Burgoon said, “We’ll take them, we’ll get them help. We’ll pay that bill, but please don’t dump them.”
She said unlike the city shelter she is willing to take pets without a charge and rehome them. Burgoon said she won’t take animals to the shelter, especially after the recent mass killing of 70 shelter animals. Instead, she uses resources like the Animal Protection Association of Socorro (APAS), who has helped pay for dozens of spays and neuters of abandoned dogs.
As far as her most recent rescue goes, Burgoon has found a lifelong companion; she has named the sweet German shepherd Athena.
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“I’m keeping her; she’ll never want for anything ever again. It’s too hard for me to trust that someone would give her the life I would, Burgoon said “But she’ll never wear another chain again.”
Donations can be made directly to the Ark of Socorro Veterinary Clinic or on the GoFundMe page for Athena.
To contact Burgoon about a pet in need, please email her at: marybethgreen091@gmail.com
