Irwin rescue group captures, gets help for injured stray dog in Connellsville

A rescued dog will rest and recuperate in a new home after months of living on its own and finally being corralled by workers from an Irwin rescue organization.

“It’s took a village to save this dog,” Lisa Duffy, founder of Cross Your Paws, said of the white-furred German Shepherd mix named Snowball by rescuers.

Connellsville residents had seen Snowball around their neighborhood for months. Eventually, they called Cross Your Paws Rescue in Irwin for help.

Snowball’s past is a mystery — none of the neighbors who called Cross Your Paws knew where he came from — but Duffy said the dog was most likely abused.

There’s a deep wound on its neck made from a chain digging into its skin.

Duffy suspects Snowball is a runaway.

“He just broke loose at one point, and he wasn’t going back there,” she said.

Snowball had been eating food a Connellsville woman left out on her porch for him. People working with Cross Your Paws set a trap on the porch.

“They caught him the next day. It was very easy once they put the trap out,” Duffy said.

When rescuers found Snowball on Sunday, his fur was patchy. He was covered in rashes and infested with numerous parasites. They took Snowball to Cheat Lake Animal Hospital in West Virginia.

The community rallied behind Snowball, Duffy said.

“We couldn’t do it without them,” she said.

Cross Your Paws raised more than $1,000 through Facebook to pay for the dog’s care.

The rescue organization asked its Facebook followers to stop calling the animal hospital, which had been inundated with phone calls from about 30 of Snowball’s well-wishers within an hour.

Snowball has returned to Pennsylvania to stay with a foster family, though he’ll have to return to the hospital next week for further treatment.

Duffy expects the young dog to make a full recovery, though it could take months before he is healthy enough to be put up for adoption, she said.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jacob at 724-836-6646, jtierney@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Soolseem.