Dog chews off own foot to escape chain after 5 years of solitude and suffering

yahoo.com

A dog left chained under a vacant house for five years after her owner was murdered, was forced to chew off her own foot to escape from the tether.

Now, brave Treya has been thrown a lifeline by a St. Louis animal shelter who are raising money to buy her a prosthetic foot.

The white terrier was left isolated and chained under the deck of an abandoned house when her owner was killed, demonstrating an often overlooked consequence of homicide. St. Louis has the second highest murder rate in the US.

Neighbours provided her with hay to keep her warm and enough food for her to survive for half a decade.

Then, earlier this year, the chain became tightly wrapped around Treya's leg. She was in so much pain that she was forced to gnaw through her own flesh and bone to free herself.

The neighbours called Stray Rescue of Saint Louis, an animal shelter and welfare charity established almost 20 years ago, who sent specialist carers to the scene.