'Egregious': Senior dog dies after found buried alive in Detroit

Mark Hicks
The Detroit News

Detroit Pit Crew Dog Rescue founder Theresa Sumpter on Friday night raced to save a dog found in heartbreaking shape.

City animal control officers reached out to her group after responding to retrieve “Ghost,” whose owners allegedly buried him alive in a southwest Detroit neighborhood because of his health issues.

Within a day, despite emergency veterinary care, the pit bull-mix had to be euthanized. Now, Sumpter hopes authorities pursue criminal charges against the owners.

“This is a very egregious crime against this poor dog,” she told The Detroit News on Monday. “I don’t care what the dog was suffering from. That’s animal abuse.”

Detroit Animal Control has an agreement with Sumpter’s group about rescuing some dogs taken in, she said. The officers told her a resident called them around 5:30 p.m. Friday after hearing a dog “crying” nearby, Sumpter said.

The resident rushed out then “saw the dog’s nose sticking out of the ground,” she said, prompting the woman to unearth the pet.

Animal control officers initially thought Ghost, who could barely move, suffered from a gunshot wound. They eventually found the owners, who told them the pet had been ill, Sumpter said.

“If your dog is sick, don’t put your dog in a hole," Sumpter said. "That’s outrageous and disgusting.”

The officers alerted Sumpter and brought Ghost to her at APAWS Veterinary Hospital in Eastpointe, with which she is affiliated. His cold, lethargic state and an open wound prompted her to rush him to Advanced Animal Emergency in Clinton Township.

Ghost was rushed to emergency veterinary care but had to be euthanized Saturday.

Staff there determined Ghost was about 10 years old, anemic, suffering from a spinal issue, muscular atrophy and an untreated pressure sore, Sumpter said. “All that pointed to the dog not being able to walk for quite a while.”

The team worked to stabilize Ghost overnight, “but ultimately on Saturday, one of the head vets told us the dog was not able to regulate his body temperature” and his condition declined, Sumpter said. “We exhausted every effort to try to save him but in the end, we had to have him humanely euthanized."

Ghost’s case sparked attention through the Detroit Pit Crew Facebook page, where supporters rushed to raise more than $2,000 for his treatment.

That covered most of his single-night stay, but Sumpter hopes to seek restitution if the owners are charged. “How coldhearted could you be?” she said. "It’s sad to think that a dog who probably adored his owner beyond belief, that was his last memory."

Detroit police Cpl. Dan Donakowski confirmed the department took the initial report after city animal control picked up the dog. He said the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office was involved in the investigation.

A representative for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said Monday it had not yet have information to release on the case.