Kids Follow Whimpers In Louisiana Woods And Find A Chained Dog With Horrible Injury
A group of kids playing near their apartment complex in Central Louisiana heard a faint whimper coming from the woods.
Curious, they followed the sound, pushing past trees and brush, until a flash of bright red caught their eyes: a collar.
There, chained to a bamboo tree, was a skinny, terrified brown dog.
It was a heartbreaking sight. The pup had no food or water, a heavy chain dug into his neck, and he was missing one eye.
The kids ran straight to an adult for help.
Animal control couldn’t respond until Monday, and the poor pup couldn’t wait that long. Fortunately, word quickly reached Keri Bullock Toth, a local animal rescuer.
Toth sprang into action right away. She enlisted a friend to scout the dog first, seeing just how he was doing and figuring out the safest way to get him free.
When they approached, the dog didn’t growl or snap. He was unsure, shaky, but gentle. Her friend offered him some food and carefully worked to free the chain.
She had to bend the bamboo back and forth until it snapped, allowing the dog to finally step out of that terrifying trap. Even though he was nervous, he let her guide him safely out of the woods.
That night, despite her rescue being at full capacity and short on funds, Toth brought him in.
The next morning, she reached out to Denise Gutnisky, founder of Mardi Paws, for help with the veterinary care.
Gutnisky later shared in an interview:
“She called me the next day to say, ‘Denise, would y’all be willing to pay that?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.’”
The dog, now named Red Vern, received a full checkup, vaccinations, antibiotics, and stitches for his eye injury.
Through it all, he handled the chaos with courage and calm, letting his sweet personality shine through. Gutnisky said:
“He was nervous. He flinched a lot, like, if you came from the side where the eye was bad … he definitely lost the eye from trauma.”
Today, Red Vern is thriving in a foster home. He loves cuddles so much that it’s nearly impossible to get a photo of him doing anything else. Gutnisky shared:
“He really is a cuddle bug. They can tell by the way he hesitated to walk through a door he probably had been an outside dog all his life.”
Red Vern will stay with his foster family while completing heartworm treatment, and a loving forever home is already waiting for him.
Thanks to a few caring humans, a scared, chained dog in the woods now has warmth, safety, and the chance to feel loved for the first time in his life.
