Prognosis Grim for Dog Found in Wash

As animal control officers increased patrols of Compton Creek for evidence of dogs being dropped from its bridges, a neurologist said Wednesday that the prognosis is bleak for the paralyzed Labrador mix found there Monday night.

And adding to the public’s angst over the disturbing possibility that dogs might be thrown for sport, another veterinarian said four gun pellets were found via X-ray in the pooch they’ve nicknamed Hope.

“The pellets are from an older wound,” said Bob Ballenger, spokesman for the county Department of Animal Care and Control, “but the feeling is that this dog has probably had a pretty rough life.”

Whether the dog was dropped from a bridge, however, remained a mystery. It had not been ruled out, but investigators had found neither a witness nor evidence of it.

Marcia Mayeda, director of county animal control, said she has doubts about a televised comment by one of her officers that the dropping of dogs off bridges might be a gang initiation rite.

“I don’t know what [he] was saying; he may be speculating,” Mayeda said. “It’s not OK with me for people to be speaking off the cuff here about things they aren’t sure of, because it gets the public very excited.”

To assuage the increasingly charged atmosphere in the media and the neighborhood around the creek, Mayeda expanded patrols of that part of Compton “to have a presence, let people know we are watching, and to flag one of our vehicles down in the field.

“We’re very concerned about the concerns about this, and certainly we won’t tolerate this if it’s happening,” she said.

At the vortex of the story is Hope, the black mutt rescued Monday night from a concrete storm drain in Compton. She has suffered a broken back that leaves her unable to move her hind legs, said Dr. Stephen Hanson, the neurosurgeon who examined her Wednesday. Hanson put the odds of her walking again after surgery at 10%. “I’d have to say that her prognosis is unfortunately poor,” Hanson said.

That, he added, would come only after surgery and months of intense care. Normally, a stray dog with such injuries would be put to sleep, he said. But a group called Noah’s Bark has offered to arrange adoption of the pooch, as well as its long-term care.

Meanwhile, the investigation continued into reports that several dogs have been thrown off bridges over Compton Creek, a concrete wash that diagonally bisects the city. As of late Wednesday, no eyewitnesses to what would be a felony crime had been located.

Hanson and another doctor who examined Hope said her fracture at mid-spine is consistent with an injury from either being struck by a car or a long fall, and there is no way to tell how she was hurt.

A second dog, nicknamed Scout, had been found Tuesday morning by a team of 10 animal control officers who walked the length of Compton Creek. Alarmed by reports of seven dogs being dropped from creek bridges in 24 hours, the officers searched but found only the aforementioned two dogs and carcasses of a long-dead dog and cat.