A grieving pit bull led workers at a local shelter in Kentucky to a dog that had been hanged in the woods not far from their shelter.
Earlier this month, managers at the Floyd County Animal Shelter noticed someone had dumped spoiled meat on a trail behind their business, which volunteers often use to walk dogs at the shelter.
Elexis Craft and Allison Cobern, who manage the facility, reported the trash to the county, Prestonburg, because they didn’t want any of the shelter’s dogs to eat it.
But when they returned to see if the rotten meat had been removed, they found something much worse.
They realized something had been eating parts of the spoiled food and soon found a stray pit bull on the road.
Workers at an animal shelter in eastern Kentucky found a pit bull on a nearby trail leading them to a scary place.
The poor puppy led the shelter workers to his friend, who had been dead for days after being tied tightly to a tree.
The abandoned dog appeared to be nervous and kept trying to guide shelter managers down the path.
‘You could tell something was really bothering him, and he kept barking at us, walking towards us and then running. So Lexi and I said, ‘Well, let’s look around,'” Cobern told the Eastern Kentucky newspaper. WYMT.
The dog immediately led the couple to a nearby ditch, where they found a gruesome sight: another pit bull that appeared to be tied to a tree by the neck with no slack in the rope.
Craft said they had left the dog in a place “where they wanted us to never find him.”
‘As soon as I saw it, I couldn’t stop saying, “Oh my God. Oh my God.” “It didn’t seem real to me to see it hanging there,” he said.
Both women approached the animal, only to realize that it was dead and had apparently been dead for some time.
“We both stood there for a couple of minutes, in complete shock. “Seeing him and the condition he was in was one of the most horrible sights I’ve ever seen in my life,” Craft said.
The dog’s face was “mangled,” Cobern said. ‘Maybe they hit him. We do not know. “There are claw marks on the tree where he did everything he could to be able to breathe and live a little longer,” he said, through tears.
The first dog, whom the shelter named Ludwik, was eventually taken away from his friend, whom the shelter now calls Nakusha.
After alerting the authorities, Elexis and Allison removed the body themselves, because they hated the idea of leaving it there any longer.
The shelter spread the word about what happened on its social media accounts, hoping to gain information about what may have happened and who is responsible for Nakusha’s death.
Craft and Cobern say their post immediately began gaining traction and has generated many donations to help with Ludwik’s vet bills.
An anonymous donor also paid the cost of cremating Nakusha, whose remains will be placed in a small urn that can be attached to Ludwik’s necklace so the couple can remain together.
The pit bull, who has since been named Ludwik and has been adopted, did not leave his friend, who had been in a state of decomposition for several days when the shelter workers arrived at him.
The Floyd County Animal Shelter is seeking justice for the other dog, whom they decided to name Nakusha. They are asking anyone with potentially useful information to call them.
The shelter is still looking for answers about what happened to Nakusha, but Ludwik has reportedly already been adopted into a forever home.
‘We just want to make sure that those animals are taken care of in the future. And that’s all we’re here for, just to try to fight animal abuse in Floyd County, because it’s absolutely horrible,” Craft said.
The organization continues to appeal to the public for any information they may have that could lead them to the individual or individuals responsible for Nakusha’s horrific death and Ludwik’s abandonment.
Over the weekend, the shelter hosted a successful fundraiser in Nakusha’s honor, and some donors also sent money to be used as a reward for the person who leads local authorities to the responsible party.
Craft said, “Even if you’re not sure it helps, it might help.” We will take any information you have.’
