Dog Rescued from Life on a Chain

Imagine if your entire living space consisted of a circle defined by the length of a chain. That’s how Farley spent nearly all his life. He was exposed to all kinds of weather and was susceptible to attack by wild animals or free-roaming dogs, a common sight in the rural part of Virginia in which he lived. In fact, he was savagely attacked by an animal, possibly a dog. Unable to escape his attacker due to the chain, he suffered a gruesome tear to his neck.

Farley Is Rescued

Initially, Farley was brought to a rural southwest Virginia shelter as an injured stray. He was treated at county expense, and when his owners were located, Farley went home. A couple weeks later, a neighbor noticed Farley was not receiving any follow-up treatment and was back on a chain despite his serious, unhealed neck wound. This is when Farley’s sad history became known: from the age of eight weeks, he’d spent nearly all his life chained outside. Animal Control then seized Farley, and his owners were charged and found guilty of animal neglect and cruelty. Farley spent several weeks in a veterinary hospital being treated for his wounds before a local rescue reached out to the SPCA of Northern Virginia to see if we could take him into our care upon his release from hospital.

Farley Starts Training for a New Life

After a couple more weeks in the hospital, Farley came to SPCA NOVA. From the beginning, we saw that Farley had special requirements if he was to be successful in a home. This young pup is good with people, but he has never learned how to play with other dogs. Now that his neck wounds are healed, he’s walking well on a harness and leash. He loves going on walks and he’s shown that he enjoys water. Meeting new dogs, however, is a challenge for him. We have been working on this but he will need a family to continue to work with him if he is going to be around other dogs.

Farley Will Be Available for Adoption Soon

Farley loves getting one-on-one attention. Due to his history, he will never be a dog that can go to a dog park, but he would love a fenced backyard to run and play in. If you’d like to have a single dog to cuddle and have no cats in your home, Farley would be a perfect buddy for you. Let’s show Farley that he can end every day on a cushy bed and not at the end of a chain. Once Farley has made a little more progress, he’ll be posted for adoption. In the meantime if you’d like to learn more about him please send an email to dog_committee@spcanova.org.