Injured Dog Tossed Into Canal Rescued By Stranger
MIAMI LAKES (CBS4) -- It is said that a dog is man's best friend but in Miami Lakes, a man has become a dog's best friend after saving her life.
Three-year old year Mia was saved from a horrible death by Carlos Torres. It was around 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 2nd. Torres jumped into a canal, in the area of NW 183rd Street and 57th Avenue in Miami Lakes and rescued the shih-tzu after he said she was thrown in by a group of heartless teenagers.
"I saw the kids running around and when they threw the dog in the canal I just had to stop and rescue the poor animal," Torres told CBS4's Gwen Belton.
Badly injured with a fractured leg, Torres has cared for Mia with the help of Josh Agostine, who volunteers with a local animal rescue organization.
Josh was the first person Carlos called after he saved Mia from drowning.
"The dog was in really bad shape. We tried to give her a shower and once we gave her a shower, we saw there was a wound and she was heavily bleeding," said Agostine.
Mia was rushed to a vet and stabilized.
Agostine said this is an unlikely pairing for his friend Carlos who never used to allow an animal into his home.
"It's shocking I was able to overturn him into being there with animals, doing things with animals," said Agostine. "He risked his own life for an animal."
Friday, nearly a week after the rescue, Mia was scheduled to undergo surgery at the Animal Care and Surgical Hospital in Miami to hopefully repair her badly damaged leg. Dr. Randy Dominguez said it will be a challenge to save the leg.
"That's what I'm going to try to do, I'm going to do my best," said Dr. Dominguez.
Unfortunately, Mia's surgery was postponed until Monday. She has an infection and lost a lot of blood. The vet said she must be stabilized before undergoing surgery.
In addition, the operation will cost $1,500 and that's not including post-operative care.
Dr. Dominguez said if all goes well, Mia should recover in six to eight weeks. The next step is finding her a loving home.
If you'd like to help donate to Mia's cause, just go to the web site, http://furangelsrescue.com.
