SPCA: German shepherd found abandoned, with muzzle taped

A “friendly” German shepherd dog was found abandoned with its muzzle taped shut with duct tape on a busy road in Lindenhurst Saturday morning, a Suffolk County SPCA official said.

Someone had seen the pooch, believed to be 2 or 3 years old, last night and posted about it on Facebook, and someone called the Suffolk County Police this morning, said Roy Gross, chief of the Suffolk County SPCA, and alerted his group. The dog was found near a business on Montauk Highway and South Sixth Street.

“Just think of how frightened he must have been,” Gross said. “Not only could he not eat or drink, but they also breathe through their mouth. Just think of how horrific an act of animal cruelty it is to do something like that.”

The German shepherd was picked up by the Babylon Animal Shelter and is being examined there for dehydration, but seemed to be in good health, Gross said.

“So many things could have gone wrong. He could have been attacked by some other animal, hit by a car, starved to death,” Gross said. “He wouldn’t have had a way to defend himself.”

The Suffolk County SPCA is offering a $2,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of those responsible. Anyone with information is asked to call the Suffolk County SPCA at 631-382-7722. All calls will be kept confidential.