Malnourished Dog Found Lying On Alabama Road Dies Of Apparent Drug Overdose

A dog died at the vet after it was found lying on the road, apparently suffering from a drug overdose. The incident took place at Pell City, Alabama, last week.

A woman, identified as Malin Barber, along with her father found a German Shepherd dog lying on the road, with pills scattered around it. The dog was extremely thin and had overdosed on an unidentified drug.

Barber said she stayed with the dog until help arrived, adding that it did not seem like the canine was used to people being kind toward it.

A deputy from St. Clair County responded along with an official from Pell City Animal Control Center who rescued the dog and transported him to the center for treatment.

After being examined at the vet, it was found that the dog was suffering from severe health issues. The blood tests showed that it had kidney and liver damage, extremely low glucose levels, and "an almost non-existent" red blood cell count. According to the vet, he also had heartworms and also suffered from a severe case of hookworm infestation.

Unfortunately, the canine died soon after arriving at the center.

"They came to the conclusion that he had severe extensive internal damage from all kinds of hookworms, heartworms, liver, kidney failure, I guess from the drugs, just overdosed," said Barber.

On Wednesday (May 6), Pell City Animal Control Center also posted about the incident on its Facebook page.

“We sent this poor old fellow to the vet today for evaluation and blood work. Unfortunately, he passed away while at the vet. Thank you to those that found him and helped get him to us. While we weren't able to save him, at least we can take comfort in the fact he did not pass alone and his last hours were comfortable and safe with people who cared for him. Thank you again to all,” they mentioned in the post.

It was unclear as to whether the dog was abandoned, kidnapped, or had run away from a house.

Pell City Animal Control Center officials were trying to identify the dog or its owners. Anyone with information was requested to contact the Center at 205-814-1567.