Caitlyn the Dog Who Suffered Grotesque Injuries After Her Snout Was Taped Shut with Electrical Tape is on the Mend

A 15-month-old dog named Caitlyn that was found with her snout taped shut so tightly she needed surgery is doing well and does not require additional procedures, animal society officials said.

Charleston Animal Society officials announced Friday that Caitlyn, a stray dog found in North Charleston, South Carolina in May, does not require additional surgery to her mutilated snout.

In a Facebook post on the society's page, an administrator wrote that a veterinarian concluded that the dog's original incisions are healed.

The dog, a Chocolate Staffie Mix, was found on a doorstep with the electrical tape wrapped tightly around her muzzle, Fox Carolina reports.

The person took the dog to the society and Caitlyn, listed in critical condition, underwent surgery to repair her cheek and lips.

Court documents state that when Caitlyn was taken in, her snout was swollen and her tongue was swollen, bruised, discolored and oozing blood, Fox reports.

Officials said Caitlyn's tongue had no blood flow since it became stuck between her teeth due to the tight tape wrapping.

A vet earlier in the week said that the pooch would need additional surgery to treat a wound underneath her chin, but declared on Friday that it would not be necessary.

William Leonard Dodson, 41, was arrested and charged with animal cruelty on June 4 in the case of the abused dog.

  

His bail was set at $50,000 and he was ordered to surrender a second dog he owned at his residence, police told Fox.

Court documents stated that Dodson bought the dog at the end of May for $20 and told the woman he bought it from that he had taped the dog's snout because she wouldn't stop barking.

Dodson, who laughed about the claim, reportedly also told the woman that he chained the dog in his front yard but the pooch broke free and escaped, Fox reports, citing an affidavit. 

According to society officials, the tape may have been wrapped for between 36 and 48 hours.

For more information on the Charleston Animal Society, you can check out their website, and if you are interested in donating to Toby's Fund, click HERE. 

You can read the timeline stories about Caitlyn here:

$1,000 Reward for Information Leading to theArrest/Conviction of the Person(s) Responsible for Taping a Dog's MuzzleTogether with Electrical Tape

William Leonard Dodson Has Been Arrested in the AnimalCruelty Case of Caitlyn the Dog That Was Found with Electrical Tape TightlyWound Around Her Muzzle

Caitlyn, The Dog Found with Her Muzzle Taped Shut is Makinga Remarkable Recovery

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These Pit Bull Owners Have Something to Say

These pit bull owners have something to say: stop stereotyping us and stop stereotyping our dogs. A new video released by Animal Farm Foundation shows the real truth about pitties and their families — that they're just like any other beloved pet.

The video is part of "The Majority Project," an Animal Farm Foundation campaign showcasing pit bull-loving families who are tired of hearing negative stereotypes about the breed ... and the types of people who have pitties.

To read more on this story, click here: These Pit Bull Owners HaveSomething to Say

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The Smartest Dog in the World

The following is a script of "The Smartest Dog in the World" which aired on October 5, 2014, and was rebroadcast on June 14, 2015. Anderson Cooper is the correspondent. Denise Schrier Cetta, producer.

Human beings have lived with dogs for thousands of years. You'd think that after all that time we'd have discovered all there is to know about them. But, as we first reported last fall, it turns out that until recently scientists didn't pay much attention to dogs. Dolphins have been studied for decades, apes and chimps as well, but dogs, with whom we share our lives, were never thought to be worthy of serious study. As a result, we know very little about what actually goes on inside dogs' brains. Do they really love us, or are dogs just licking us so they can get fed? How much of our language can they understand? Before you answer, we want you to meet Chaser, who's been called "the smartest dog in the world."

Eighty-six-year-old retired psychology professor John Pilley and his border collie Chaser are inseparable.

To read more on this story, click here: The Smartest Dog inthe World

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Animals Have Escaped from the Zoo in Georgia’s Capital After Heavy Flooding Destroyed Their Enclosures

Tigers, lions, a hippopotamus and other animals have escaped from the zoo in Georgia's capital after heavy flooding destroyed their enclosures, prompting authorities to warn residents in Tbilisi to stay inside Sunday. At least eight people have been killed in the disaster, including three zoo workers, and 10 are missing.

An escaped hippo was cornered in one of the city's main squares and subdued with a tranquilizer gun, the zoo said. Some other animals also have been seized, but it remained unclear how many are on the loose. Bears and wolves are also among the animals who fled from their enclosures amid the flooding from heavy rains and high winds.

"Most of the escaped animals are believed to have died in the flood last night or were killed by special forces," Mzia Sharashidze, spokeswoman for Tbilisi Zoo, told NBC News. "Not many animals are still on the loose but it is difficult to say how many are still out there."

It wasn't immediately clear if the eight people were killed from the flooding or animal attacks. The zoo said one of the dead was Guliko Chitadze, a zookeeper who lost an arm in an attack by a tiger last month.

Heavy rains and wind hit Tbilisi during the night, turning a normally small stream that runs through the hilly city into a surging river. The flooding also damaged dozens of houses.

City mayor David Narmania told journalists that eight people were known to have died and 10 others were missing.

Helicopters are circling the city and residents have been told to stay indoors except in an emergency. About 1.1 million people live in the former Soviet republic's capital.

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11 Pit Bulls Rescued from Harlem Dog Fighting Den: Owner Arrested

A group of pit bulls will get a fighting chance after cops rescued them from a Harlem owner who was conditioning them to do bloody battle, police said Sunday.

A series of 311 calls reporting the dog-fighting den on W. 112 St. at Manhattan Ave. led investigators to 11 malnourished pooches kept in “terrible conditions” in a cramped basement, cops said.

Authorities executed a search warrant Thursday and also discovered equipment often used in the brutal dog fights, police said.

“I was very happy to get them out,” said Sgt. Maria Sexton, an animal-cruelty liaison officer. “There were tails wagging all over the place.”

Brandon Baez, 41, was nabbed during the sting and hit with a slew of charges including 11 counts of animal cruelty and weapons possession.

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American Veterinary Medical Association: Teach Kids How to Deal with Dogs

Last year, 5,767 postal carriers were bitten by dogs, up from 5,581 in 2013, and the most attacks happened in warm and sunny Los Angeles, Houston and San Diego, said Linda DeCarlo, manager of safety for the U.S. Postal Service. None of the bites caused deaths.

The cities’ weather draws pets and people outside and doors and windows get left open, DeCarlo said. The slight rise in bites also stems from the popularity of online shopping because postal workers must bring packages to front doors instead of street-side mailboxes, DeCarlo said.

But the biggest victims are children and senior citizens, who can be overpowered by dogs. Of the 4.5 million people bitten every year, more than half are kids, said Dr. Jose Arce, an American Veterinary Medical Association board member.

Bites kill about 16 people a year. Besides the postal-worker totals, specific numbers on dog bites are lacking because few people seek treatment. And no one tracks bites by breed.

What Not to Do

• Stare into a dog’s eyes.

• Tease a dog.

• Approach one that’s chained up or injured.

• Touch a dog you don’t know that’s off a leash.

• Run or scream if one charges.

• Play with a dog while it’s eating.

• Touch one while it’s sleeping.

• Get close to one that’s nursing puppies.

• Leave a small child alone with a dog, even if it’s the family pet.

What to Do

• Ask an owner before petting a dog you don’t know.

• Let the dog sniff your closed fist before touching it.

• Freeze if a dog runs toward you.

• Socialize puppies so they are comfortable around people and other animals.

• Use a leash in public.

How Parents Can Help

When the mail arrives, place your pet in a closed room so it can’t go through a window or screen door to possibly attack the carrier. Tell children not to take mail from the carrier in front of the dog because the animal could see it as threatening.

Also, teach children to treat dogs with respect and avoid rough or aggressive play.

Where Bites Happened

Last year, 74 postal-carrier bites were reported in Los Angeles, followed by Houston with 62 and San Diego with 47, DeCarlo said.

The LA tally rose from 61 bites in 2013, when Houston was No. 1 with 63. San Diego moved up a notch from two years ago, when 53 postal workers were bitten.

The Postal Service didn’t break down the severity of injuries, but 1,540 bites kept employees from work for at least a day after the attack, DeCarlo said.

Insurance Payouts

Bites and other dog-related injuries cost insurers $530 million last year, about a third of their paid claims, the Insurance Information Institute said.

The number of dog-bite claims decreased 4.7 percent from 2013, but the average cost per claim rose by 15 percent because of higher medical costs and settlements. The average claim in 2014 was $32,072, up from $27,862.

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Northwest Native American Tribes' Annual Lamprey Harvest at a Rushing, 40-Foot Waterfall About 15 Miles South of Portland

Oregon City, Oregon - They dove into the cold waters, emerging with writhing, eel-like fish in hand and thrusting them into nets.

Thus began Northwest Native American tribes' annual lamprey harvest at a rushing, 40-foot waterfall about 15 miles south of Portland.

The jawless, gray fish are a traditional food source for tribal members in the Columbia River Basin, which stretches from the Oregon coast to Canada and into Idaho, Montana and Washington. Lampreys grow to about 2 feet long and are prized for their rich, fatty meat.

On Friday, adults, teens and children from the Umatilla and Warm Springs reservations in Oregon and the Yakama reservation in Washington crawled over slippery rocks and waded through icy pools to reach the lampreys' hiding spots. The fish latch onto rocks in Willamette Falls with their round, toothy mouths.

"Our people have always come here, generation after generation," said Bobby Begay, a Warm Springs tribal member who drove more than a 100 miles to the falls from his village of Celilo.

Begay, 46, has attended the harvest for more than 40 years. He is teaching his children and nephews how to navigate the rocks and where to find the biggest catch.

"The same fishing holes my grandfather showed me, his father and grandfather showed him, and I showed my kids," he said.

Lampreys taste best when roasted over an open fire, Begay said. They also can be dried or frozen for later use. The fish harvested this month will be distributed to tribal elders and used for ceremonial purposes, he said.

In previous generations, lampreys were abundant up and down the Columbia River and its tributaries. Biologists have estimated at least a million once were crossing Bonneville Dam on the Columbia east of Portland.

But their numbers have dwindled over the past 30 years because of the dams and toxins such as pesticides. About 20,000 remain, said Brian McIlraith with the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

Willamette Falls is the last place where the fish can be caught by the hundreds.

Tribes have been instrumental in advocating for lamprey restoration, and the government has started paying attention. That's because lampreys also offer an alternate food source for sea lions and other predators that otherwise would be munching on threatened salmon.

Tribes have received funding and run research and recovery projects. They truck lampreys past dams and have pushed for construction of ramps to help the fish navigate the structures.

They're also looking at breeding lampreys in a hatchery, but that's not the preferred method, said tribal elder Donnie Winishut Sr., who observed the harvest to assure safety.

"We would rather see them grow in a natural way," Winishut said. "It's good to see the young people coming to the falls and learning our tradition, and I hope they can continue coming here to catch the fish."

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Thousands of Tuna Crabs Have Invaded the Beaches of San Diego Bay

The thumb-sized crustaceans started washing ashore further up the California coast earlier this year, but turned up this week in San Diego in unusually larger numbers, officials said.

They’ve washed ashore periodically over the years because of any number of natural effects, but research scientist Michael Shane of the Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute in San Diego cited El Nino as the phenomenon that might have pushed the crabs up from their normal habitat far offshore.

The result is certain death and nothing can be done to save the crabs.

“The crabs start to die because the local waters are much cooler,” Shane told ABC News today. “Local animals have begun to eat the crabs and they have been found in the gut contents of sea lions, fish, and birds.”

The remaining carcasses will remain on the shore until they decompose or are swept back into the water.

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