PORTAGE COUNTY, Ohio — The photos are hard to look at.
"She was cold to the touch, she was fairly unresponsive she couldn't hold her head up really by herself, she couldn't walk, her eyes were shut," said Chalan Lowry, the executive director of the Portage Animal Protective League.
Lowry said someone rushed a heavily malnourished dog to her office earlier this week and after quickly giving her the name Hope, they went to work trying desperately to save her life.
"The first thing we did was get some warm blankets and start to warm her body. She was really cold to the touch, it was obvious that she had a low body temperature and she was also very thin and emaciated, under weight, all that stuff," Lowry said.
While the team at the APL worked on Hope, the vet was on his way. Even after so many people gave it their all, little Hope, who they believe was only about 7 months old, passed away.
"I don't know a hundred percent, but it's likely that whatever went on with her took a long time," Lowry said. "She was probably suffering for quite some time before finally her body gave up."
In addition to the APL investigating and offering a reward for information, Lowry wants to keep Hope's memory alive.
"I just couldn't imagine that she would die in vain and that she would live and die and suffer and then nobody would ever see her face or know her name," she said.
Lowry posted her story and some horrifying pictures of Hope on social media to create awareness. The post generated more than 1,000 comments and shares in just a few days.
"If that good comes out of that that people are more aware or take action for another animal that needs something, then hopefully her life was not wasted," Lowry said.
