The dog, Lola, is on the road to recovery.
Bill Gray spent a large part of the last week of February in a Plant City strawberry field.
But he wasn’t hunting down the perfect berry. Instead, he was trying to catch a very scared dog — one who looked like she’d been hit by a car.
Gray is the founder of Second Chance Boxer Rescue and Second Chance Friends.
“We get all the crazies or special cases, like the ones that have to wear diapers,” Gray said.
Naturally, Gray was intrigued when he saw a picture of a boxer in a strawberry field on Lost and Found Pets of Hillsborough County. Everyone who saw the dog claimed that she wouldn’t let people get within 20 yards of her.
Gray couldn’t catch her in field by Cork and Booth roads either. On Feb. 29, he called Hillsborough County Pet
Rescue Center, who came out and darted the dog.
Since then, the “strawberry field dog” — now lovingly called Lola — has been spayed, found to be heartworm negative and is living at Gray’s home. Lola is missing three vertebrae from her back and has to wear doggy diapers. Doctors believe she was born with the medical issues and that they didn’t stem for neglect.
As recovery continues, it’s possible that Lola could be re-homed to a family who would be able to take care of her special needs.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com
