'Fighting Dogs' Found In Upper Darby Making An Amazing Recovery
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS)—Two dogs allegedly used for fighting and found on the brink of death in Upper Darby are recovering with the help from a Pennsylvania non-profit organization.
Police found the dogs last week in the Penn Pines Park in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.
"It's difficult to come up with a name for someone who would do something like this. I called them dirt balls I mean they really are dirt balls," said Superintendent Michael Chitwood, with the Upper Darby Police Department.
Russell Harper, the chief humane officer with Justice Rescue, believes the animals were starved, abused and used for fighting.
Police: Dogs Found 'Neglected, Abused' In Upper Darby Park
"When I picked her up she was as cold as an ice cube. She was on the brink of death right here," he said. "These animals were starved, they got very bad scars from physical abuse, not just the fighting, they were beat. So this is the life they have had for them."
The pups are now named Gracie and Layla and are continuing to make an amazing recovery.
Even though they were used as fighting dogs, authorities say Layla would not leave Gracie's side and was trying to nuzzle her to get up when they were found in the park.
On Tuesday, Harper shared an update on the dogs through a Facebook Live on the Justice Rescue page.
"You can see she's got scars all over her from physical abuse and fighting, but as you can see she's doing wonderful… she's just a super dog" Harper said of Layla.
Harper says when they first started giving them affection they didn't know how to handle it.
"They were actually thinking they were going to get hurt, they would squint their eyes, they would bow their heads thinking they were going to get abused," he said.
And Gracie, who was found nearly dead, is having a slower recovery.
Once fed through a feeding tube, she's now being hand fed and continues to thrive.
"They still have a long way to go… they hold no grudges against what happened to them," said Harper.
No arrests have been made in the case.
More than $6,000 is being offered for information.
Anyone with any information is asked to call police at 610-734-7693, the Justice Rescue, or The Humane Society of the United States - Pennsylvania.
