Abused pit bull found in Georgia with genitals tied up

A pit bull mix was found on a Georgia roadside with a zip tie around its genitals and in excruciating pain.

The dog, which has since been called Nelson, had to undergo emergency surgery hours after it was discovered because it was so badly injured. A concerned local resident found the 3-year-old pooch on November 2 about 10 minutes from the Jackson County Animal Control Center on Academy Church Road.

“I can’t come to terms with this … I can’t even imagine how anyone would consider doing this to an animal,” Allison Mayfield, CEO of the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia, told FOX 5.

Mayfield said the zip tie wrapped so tightly around Nelson’s genitals caused the dog so much pain that county officials initially considered euthanasia. But instead the humane society was called, who offered to take him in.

“I literally cried for hours with him on the floor of my office. I could never imagine why anyone would do such a thing to such a sweet boy,” Mayfield said. “We want people to know that animal cruelty is a very real thing and we will fight with everything we have.”

She said they took Nelson to the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine for surgery.

“If you can think of a full abdominal surgery, that’s basically what they did and rerouted his urethra,” she explained.

UGA doctors determined that Nelson was suffering from penile necrosis as a result of strangulation and the entire organ had to be removed to save him. The vets decided to reroute his urethra into his posterior abdomen to allow for normal urinary function.

Now, two weeks after surgery, Nelson is healed and is being cared for by a foster parent through the Humane Society Animal Shelter. Mayfield said humane society hopes he finds a forever home soon.

Nelson will recover for weeks or even months before he can regain full, pain-free function.

The Humane Society also hopes that the person responsible for Nelson’s injuries will be found. Animal control officials said they have no leads at this time.

Mayfield said that through the Season of Rescues initiative, the humane society wants to highlight the need for donations to help animals like Nelson.

“Cruelty to animals does exist, and it exists in a very traumatic and real form that is beyond what some of us can imagine,” she said. “My vision for a humane society is that we never have to say no to an animal like Nelson.”