Dog left with severe injuries after being dragged by a truck in Charlotte County

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla.- A dog was dragged by a truck and left on the side of Kings Highway near the DeSoto and Charlotte County line.

It’s the second similar case in a matter of days. The first happened in Clewiston. That dog had to be put down.

Now in Charlotte County, this dog is bandaged and bruised. A witness tells WINK News she was horrified to see the whole thing happen.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing this. I can’t believe this is happening. Please don’t let me see this dog die. I mean, the first thing that made me realize it was an actual animal was the blood splatter on the road,” said Jennifer Schebel, who witnessed the incident.

Schebel was driving down Kings Highway when a white truck cut her off. She tells WINK News that she saw something dangling from the passenger side.

“I tried to get closer to see what it was and that’s when I started seeing blood on the road and I kind of flipped out and I rolled down my window and was yelling out my window. I was blaring the horn to try to get their attention. They didn’t slow down, they sped up,” said Shebel.

She says she saw and black and white Shih Tzu being dragged down the street. She says after being dragged for about a quarter of a mile, the dog’s collar fell off and she was able to stop and help.

“The injuries that the dog suffered as a result of being dragged by the vehicle were very severe. There was open marks and rash marks on the dog. There was exposed bone,” said Lt. Brian Jones, Charlotte County Animal Control.

Lt. Jones says whether this was on purpose or an accident, the driver has a lot of explaining to do.

“The dog was obviously found under some suspect circumstances. The dog’s very lucky to be alive,” said Jones.

Animal Control tells WINK News the female Shih Tzu is stable now but has a long road to recovery.