Puppy found tied to tree in SC, tongue cut out, police said

Police in the City of York are trying to find out who severely abused and cut the tongue out of an 18-month-old puppy.

According to police records, officers were called to the area of Madison Street and Lowry Row at about 9:40 on Nov. 19.

Bayleigh Allen said she called 911 when she and her boyfriend saw a group of people fighting. When they flashed their headlights at the group, she said, the people took off running.

When police arrived, she said they approached the area and found a dog tied to a tree.

“It was cold and shivering. It was really sad,” Allen said. “I wanted to just hug him.”

Police called animal control, and it was later determined that the dog’s tongue had been cut out.

The dog was taken to Noah’s Arks Rescue in Ridgeland, S.C. The dog, Briggs, is in a 24-hour ICU, has undergone several sedated procedures and is only eating from a feeding tube, according to the nonprofit’s website.

“It makes me want to throw up; it’s just sickening,” Allen said.

Police said they found a previous owner of the 18-month-old pitbull/lab mix, but they do not know who owned the dog at the time of the abuse. According to the report, they determined the dog was likely involved in fighting based on his injuries.

The Noah’s Ark Rescue published updates about Briggs’ condition on its website.

The updates attracted the attention of dog owner Kerry Nelka, who lives in Maryland.

“It’s by far one of the worst cases I’ve ever seen. It’s horrific,” Nelka told WBTV by phone. “I would really love to see justice for this dog, because this didn’t have to happen.”

This story was originally published December 6, 2017 at 6:15 AM with the headline "Puppy found tied to tree in SC, tongue cut out, police said."