Good Samaritan and Malden Police save tiny dog’s life

Starving, mistreated Chihuahua was found abandoned, near death on Malden Bike Path

  If a tiny, abandoned and mistreated Chihuahua was discovered even a few hours later, it might not have survived.  Fortunately for “Bailey,” a Good Samaritan from Malden found him – sick and emaciated – huddling in some bushes along the Northern Strand Trail in the area of Dell and Branch Streets in Malden. The local resident careful wrapped the starving dog in a blanket and brought him to the Malden Police Department; MPD Animal Control Officer Kevin Alkins was summoned to the Police Station on Eastern Avenue. The dog was initially treated at an animal hospital in Charlestown and then transferred to the Animal Rescue League (ARL).

  The dog, now called Bailey, was filthy and emaciated, weighing just 2.7 pounds and scoring a two out of nine on the body condition score index, the ARL said. The dog also suffered severe fur loss and his body was covered in scabs. Additionally, the dog tested positive and is being treated for giardia, a parasitic illness that may indicate that the dog was living in unsanitary conditions.

  On Wednesday this week, the ARL of Boston and Malden Police told the story of Bailey’s lifesaving rescue and let the public know they are still investigating the situation. “We want to know who and why someone would leave a sick, starving, tiny dog all alone like that,” Officer Alkins said in a televised regional newscast on Wednesday.

  “We are asking for some help from the public to identify the owner or anyone else who had a role in leaving this defenseless animal out there by itself,” Alkins said. “Bailey would have died if that kind person had not found him and brought him to us for help.”

  Bailey is now receiving ongoing veterinary care, including medicated baths and a refeeding plan to ensure he gains weight slowly and safely, ARL officials said at a news conference.

  Already there have been inquiries about Bailey’s future, but at this time he is not currently available for adoption, and because of his condition, it will take some time for him to get healthy enough to be ready to find a new home, according to ARL officials and Officer Alkins.

  Anyone with information is asked to contact ARL Law Enforcement or Malden Police (781-322-1212). Information may be provided anonymously.