Dog Found With Chain Embedded In Its Neck

A man who found a dog with a chain embedded in its neck wants to adopt him. It took an hour of surgery to remove the chain from around Nigel's neck and veterinarians wonder how someone could have abused the dog. WSOC-TV Nigel's Care

Nigel's still very much a friendly dog, despite what happened to him. The stray dog showed up in Larry Rollins' Waxhaw yard with a metal collar completely embedded in the skin around his neck.

"It's hard to believe it was injured like that," said Rollins.

He and his children stopped by Matthews Animal Clinic on Monday, Feb. 21, to check on Nigel. Veterinarians have been mending Nigel's wounds.

"It didn't make a lot of sense. The dog is so good natured and yet someone had treated it like that. So that didn't make a lot of sense," said Rollins.

Veterinarians said the dog had out grown the collar and they wonder why the owner didn't get help. The skin grew around it and became infected. VIDEO: Nigel Recovering From Neck Surgery

Dr. Ann Meadows said it took an hour of surgery to remove it.

"That's something that takes months to happen. So this dog had been tied up with a chain. I don't know what other care he did or didn't have. It's definitely easy to say that chain had been in there for several months," she said.

The Union County Humane Society took pictures before the surgery. They brought the young dog to Mathews Animal Clinic and will pay for his treatment.

After Nigel recovers, he will be up for adoption. But Rollins and his family hope to bring him home.

"I don't see how anybody could do that to dogs anyway, but people do crazy things," he said.

Nigel will be neutered on Tuesday so he can be adopted. Then he'll go to the Union County Humane Society, where he will go to a foster family to be monitored.

After that, applications will be taken at the Union County Humane Society at (704) 283-9126 to adopt him. The family who found him is interested.