By Adam Walser
PENSACOLA - A dog is rescued after he was discovered buried alive behind an Escambia County home Sunday.
The Bull Mastiff-mix had no more bark left Monday as he laid in a kennel at the Escambia County Animal Shelter.
On Sunday, witnesses say he used every ounce of strength to howl for help for several hours while the earth constricted around him.
The sandy soil scraped his skin off like sandpaper with each howl. His eyes were blinded by dirt and only his nose and mouth poked through.
"This, in my mind, is on its face, a felony animal cruelty case," said Escambia County Animal Control Director Bruce Rova.
Becky Cissna and her neighbors say the nightmare began Saturday in the backyard of a neighbor's home on West Jackson Street.
"He was just yelping. There's a new puppy back here, keeps yelping to get in. So they thought that's what it was," said Cissna.
After hearing the howling for more than 12 hours, a neighbor finally figured out that it was coming from the other side of a fence. So he climbed on top of a wood pile and peered over. There he saw a hole with the dog's muzzle poking through
"They dug a deep hole and somehow put the dog in it. Whether the dog was unconscious when they put it in, who knows?" said Cissna.
The hole was more than three feet deep.
The dog was surrounded by three other dogs.
"He saw his nose sticking out of the ground yelping," said Cissna.
"Our emergency duty officer cried through the digging. It was quite an emotional situation for her," said Rova.
"She just freaked out. She was digging and digging with her hands, but the people that were there were just standing there and they were like 'It's not my dog,'" said Cissna.
Meanwhile, neighbors jumped the fence and used shovels to helped free the dog. It wasn't the first time many had encountered him. "They walk it up and down the street all the time," said Rachael Cissna.
Fox Ten News tried to talk to the residents, but nobody came to the door.
The case is now under investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.
"To me, it's unimaginable that somebody could be so cruel, that they would do something like this," said Rova.
So far, no one has been charged in the case, but inverstigation is continuing.
The dog is already showing signs of improvement.
http://www.fox10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5940816
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If you have seen the movie "Turner and Hooch" then you have seen a Bull Mastiff (sort of).
Oh geesh I would be in jail if they were my neighbors..
