When a Buffalo, N.Y., veterinary clinic reportedly refused to take in a starving puppy found shivering in its parking lot, a local EMT crew came to the dog's rescue.
Two Rural-Metro paramedics found the pit bull puppy lying in the parking lot of the Anderson Inner City Animal Hospital on Wednesday, WIVB reports.
"It was, like, 32 degrees outside, and she was skin and bones. If we [had gotten there] seconds later, she would probably would have been frozen to death," EMT Norine Hoch told the television station.
But when Hoch and her partner knocked on the vet's door, they were shocked to have it slammed in their faces, WIVB reports. Refusing to wait for the SPCA, which a worker alleged was on its way, the two wrapped the pup in blankets, and a supervisor rushed her to the local SPCA shelter.
This is not the first time the Anderson Inner City Animal Hospital has come under fire for allegedly turning away suffering pets. Visit WIVB for more details regarding a 2009 incident.
As the Examiner notes, the pup, who was named "Metro" by the SPCA, scored just 1 out of 9 for her body score when she came in, but is now doing a little better.
"Over the weekend, we will attempt to remove support systems to find if she is able to thermal regulate and remain hydrated on her own. We are hopeful," SPCA head veterinarian Dr. Helene Chevalier said in a release published on the group's website.
The organization states that officials are looking into what led the puppy to its emaciated state.
In September, The Huffington Post reported on Patrick, another shivering, emaciated pup who was found at the bottom of a New Jersey trash chute in 2011. The dog, who had been wrapped in plastic bag, was discovered moments before being swallowed up by a trash compactor.
The dog was eventually taken in by the Associated Human Societies in New Jersey. Reddit user "dikfeld" posted photos of the dog's amazing transformation over the past year.
To help out a pet in need, visit Petfinder.com or the ASPCA website.