Rescue looks for owner of dog found badly injured on road

(WJBK) - Little Roadie is on the road to recovery - and it will be a long one.

"It is completely unfortunate," said Taylor Kerrigan. "And the hardest part is, we don't know what happened."

Kerrigan from a Rejoyceful Animal Rescue received word about Roadie Monday. A good Samaritan in Genesee County reached out to them after finding the months-old Shih Tzu on the side of a road.

He suspected the dog had been hit by a car but when the rescue took Roadie to Oakland Veterinary Referral Services, they got a better idea about what happened to him. 

"Based on his injuries, the placement of his wounds and the way that wound is deep into his muscle," Kerrigan said. "We believe that it was almost like a bird's claw that grabbed onto him and picked him up and ended up dropping him which resulted in the head trauma."

The rescue believes Roadie has an owner and is hoping he or she will come forward.  If not, they will put the Shih Tzu up for adoption after it recovers from its injuries.

In the meantime, they say Roadie's wounds should serve as a reminder to people with small pets don't leave them outside unsupervised.

Bigger animals like coyotes, foxes or, as suspected in this case, a hawk, could prey on them.

"It's hard and unfortunately it's something we deal with every day," Kerrigan said. "Roadie is just one of many dogs we're caring for at this hospital. We have four other animals that are going through medical, severe medical."

If you believe roadie is in fact your dog or if you just want to help cover his $5,000 vet bill, CLICK HERE.