Great Dane Chews off Chewed Foot of to Survive.Donations Needed. Couple Charged.

GREENWOOD, SC -- Noah's Ark Rescue responded to an email about a starving 6-year-old dog ate his foot off to survive. The owners, Jessica James, 32 and 38-year-old Skylar Craft have been charged with ill treatment of an animal. 

Posted on Noah's Ark Rescue Face Book:

6 y/o Great Dane Starved / ATE Foot to Survive. In ICU. Please, Help Us, Help Him by DONATING.

To Donate for Luke

Noah's Ark Face Book

I hope everyone had a very special Thanksgiving surrounded by Friends and Family. Thanksgiving through New Years is a terrible time for our four-legged Family Members. Please, remember to check on your neighbors and friends to make they have food, clothing and a warm home during this time of year. Pride keeps people from reaching out for help. Be the best Friend possible by being there for others.

Sadly, Holidays do not prevent Evil from inflicting pain and suffering on Man's Best Friend. The phone did not stop ringing from Wednesday until this morning. Shelters were closing over the Holidays, and any animal that was injured and not saved was euthanized. We took in eight critical abuse cases over the Holiday, so they were not euthanized. They are each in ICU fighting to survive the horrible abuse they have endured.

On Wednesday, I got a desperate e-mail to help a six-year-old Great Dane that was starved almost to death. He was reported by someone that saw the dog and was horrified enough to report the neglect. Animal Control came out to a home where several dogs lived outside. Two were fine but Luke, the Great Dane had been so starved that he had eaten his foot off to survive. It appeared he had been this way for almost two weeks.

The man was picked up and put in JAIL that had Luke, and a plea went out for help. The day I do not step up to save a dog that chewed his foot off to survive is the day I need not call myself a Rescue any longer. We immediately put someone on the road. By the time the Transporter had arrived at ICU, he had three critical care cases we had picked up along the way.

Luke is in horrible shape. He is starved and had substantial blood loss we are assuming based on how anemic he is. He could not stand at all when he was initially picked up but has regained a little bit of strength since being in ICU. Our biggest concern is him developing Re-Feeding Syndrome. We were hoping he would be out of danger by now but unfortunately, he is not, and it is a growing concern each day that his values get out of balance. He is getting lots of tiny meals throughout the day to prevent this, but so far his body has not responded as we had hoped.

Luke is so Critical that we cannot even make plans to remove his leg. We were hoping we could have a prosthetic made, but he is missing a critical part of the leg that would enable that to work comfortably for him. Luke only weights 70 pounds and should be close to 140 pounds. We also do not have a clue about his personality because he is so sick. So far, he has been very sweet.

The bills are mounting, and Amex is calling, DONATE as much as you can as often as you can for every animal we send around. We are desperate for funds to keep each animal in ICU until we can get them moved. Thanks for being our Guardian Angel and support system. The next six weeks are going to be non-stop Abuse Cases.

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Update December 4, 2018

LUKE is Back in ICU and is Critical.

To Donate For Luke

I apologize for the late update, but Luke took a turn for the worse this morning, and we had to postpone surgery on his limb. The respiratory infection we had been treating him for came back with a vengeance, and we decided he could not undergo anesthesia under these conditions.

Luke had two good days, and then his body could no longer keep the infections he had from taking over. His upper airway became compromised from the continued flow of nasal discharge. In addition to that, the infection in his leg grew more extensive and more purulent. We brought in a Team of Specialists to take over his Medical to make sure we were treating his infections with the appropriate antibiotics.

Luke's leg continued to deteriorate into tonight. If it was just his leg that was an issue, we could deal with that, but he has airway obstruction, and he is showing signs of Re-Feeding Syndrome. His specialists have decided we needed to treat his GI system to stop the diarrhea he has been having. He has not lost weight, but the essential values are that he has not gained any.

I cannot emphasize how important it is for Luke to take in nutrients that his body can assimilate. He was so starved that his body has lost the ability to process food properly. We have new cultures pending for the upper respiratory infection and the infection on his mangled limb. He must have several different aggressive infections growing other than the ones we have already identified.

I do not anticipate his Surgical Team doing Surgery tomorrow. I am not comfortable where he is medically, and neither are his Critical Care Specialists. I wish I had good news and could say his surgery went beautifully. Sadly, we will have to wait several more days before that will happen.

I am not one for spreading False-Hope. I am factual and honest in every aspect of a dog's medical condition. My heart and gut tell me Luke is still in Danger of losing his Life. I believe it is a Miracle he is alive today. I Believe in MIRACLES all the time and am going to do everything possible to save Luke. He is a strong-minded dog that chewed off his leg to survive. He was a Fighter and a Survivor when no one cared about him. He knows we Love and Adore him and are doing everything possible to give him what he needs to Survive.

I Believe in Miracles, and I Believe in Luke. I also Believe in the incredible Veterinary Physicians that are putting every piece of information they can gather to save his Life. Please, remember, No News does not mean Bad News. If something happens to Luke, I will let you know immediately. We don't hold information when we have it. Please, Pray for our beautiful boy and for the Physicians that are looking after him. Everyone needs your Prayers tonight.

*Editor's note: A criminal charge is an accusation, by law, a person accused of a crime is innocent until proven in a court of law.