Jade, a 5-year-old female Rottweiler, gives a kiss to Dr. Inayatullah H. Kathio. Dr. Kathio saved Jade's life by performing charity emergency surgery on the dog after her left hind leg was severed when hit by a train.
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Veterinary technician Marie Bejeski watches over Jade, a 5-year-old female rottweiler, at the Luzerne County SPCA in Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday. Jade had her left hind leg severed after being hit by a train near Route 191 in Paradise Township the day before Thanksgiving. |
A dog nearly killed by a freight train has not been claimed by its owners after special efforts to save its life.
Jade, a black Rottweiler about 5 years old, is recuperating at the Luzerne County SPCA in Wilkes-Barre after a bloody ordeal the day before Thanksgiving.
The dog was running loose as a Delaware-Lackawanna freight train came by near Route 191 in Paradise Township. The engineer saw Jade and blew the horn. The dog ran away from the train but stayed on the railroad tracks.
The engineer pulled the emergency brake as the train overtook the dog. Two railroad workers got out and found Jade under the train's second car. Its rear left leg was severed.
Two state troopers from the Swiftwater barracks and two wildlife conservation officers came to help.
Trooper Michael J. Todaro and the conservation officers used a tarp as a makeshift stretcher and pulled the dog out from under the train.
They carried it about 300 yards through the woods and loaded it into a patrol car.
The troopers contacted Monroe County vets but none would treat the dog, which did not have a collar or identification.
Trooper Robert Yeager took it to the Pittston Animal Hospital, where Dr. Inayatullah H. Kathio agreed to provide charity care.
"They know I help injured animals that have nobody to help them," Kathio said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Kathio performed emergency surgery on the dog.
"She was in shock. She had lost most of her blood. A major blood vessel was severed, the bone was crushed and flesh was missing," he said.
Jade survived and is now walking. Kathio expects her to do just fine on three legs, but she needs a new home.
He called Jade the friendliest Rottweiler he's ever seen.
"She'll lick you to death," he said.
The dog's owners have been identified but have not responded to calls, said Cindy Starke of the SPCA.
"The owners need to be doing something with this dog," she said. "They're not very responsive. Dr. Kathio was good enough to save the dog's life."
Starke expects the dog to be available for adoption after "some legal wrangling."
"She seems to be very pleasant and easy to get along with despite the fact that she just lost a leg," said Starke.
If Jade finds a new home, Kathio said he will perform a second operation needed on the area where the leg was amputated.
Anyone interested in adopting or helping Jade can call the Luzerne County SPCA at 570 825-4111. |
