Animal abuse: Shadow, eleven months, saved by neighbors in Montévrain

It was local residents, alerted by the presence of the animal on the balcony, who gave the alert.

An American Staffordshire Terrier dog, almost a year old, was seized from an apartment in Montévrain last Thursday by the police.

“These people first rang the doorbell to try to get Shadow back, but they didn't want to hear anything and they contacted us,” says Jérôme Cordier, legal manager at the Ani'Meaux association.

The structure filed a complaint for acts of cruelty to a domestic animal at the Chessy police station the same day.

Accompanied by the police, the association recovered the dog from the couple of owners.

A baseball bat and a broken crutch located next to the cage were also seized.

“At that time, continues Jérôme Cordier, Shadow was in a very small cage in the living room.

Presumably, the male lived between the balcony and this cage.

Thin, a hematoma on the head, very long claws… on his body, the animal was in poor condition: “he weighs 15 kilos instead of 25, his left hind leg is broken, he walks on three legs”.

“His whole left hind leg is in pieces”

To make sure the dog has no other injuries, Jérôme Cordier took him to the vet.

"According to the X-rays, he has a broken femur and kneecap, his entire left hind leg is in pieces and he also has a fracture in the head," reports the association.

These blows are so violent that, according to the professional who examined him, they could not have been carried out with bare hands.

"We don't know if the damage to his leg can be repaired, maybe Shadow will have to be amputated", fears Jérôme Cordier who took him in at his home in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre.

Since Thursday, "he hasn't barked once, he's afraid of everything, as soon as you make a sudden move he goes to the other end of the room and goes for a walk, he's glued to me".

Yet classified as a category 1 dog, Shadow is neither identified, nor vaccinated, nor sterilized.

Read also Abuse, acts of cruelty… deputies propose the creation of an Animal Rights Defender

The Meaux prosecutor's office has opened an investigation and the couple will soon be summoned to the Chessy police station.

They incur up to three years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine and even 4 years in prison and a 60,000 euro fine if the aggravating circumstances are accepted.

Since the new law against animal abuse, this is the case if the abuse is carried out in the presence of a minor.

Since the beginning of the year, the association has dealt with five cases of mistreatment in the sector: "it does not stop", indignant Jérôme Cordier.