KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |Dog Fights For Life After Being Dragged Behind Pick-Up Truck

Dog Fights For Life After Being Dragged Behind Pick-Up Truck

Her name is Nellie, which is short for 'tough as nails.' It's an appropriate name given all she's been through. 

Last week, as Jan Brasher and her husband were working outside of her father's Grand Slaine home, they noticed a black pick-up truck flying around the corner, dragging something behind it. 

"I asked my husband, 'Is that a goat or a dog or what was it?' He said, 'I think it was a dog,' says Jan. 

Jan says they yelled at the driver to stop the truck. When he did, they say the driver and a passenger untied Nellie, drug her to the roadside and left her lying there in a pool of her own blood.

"It just made me sick. There was so much blood, and she was just looking at us," says Jan.

Jan turned to her neighbor, Brenda Oldfield for help. Brenda's a long-time dog breeder and animal rescuer who knew Nellie needed immediate care. Not only did she have severe skin wounds, her toenails were ripped out, the pads of her paws worn to the bone, and her knee was so badly injured she'll need surgery.

"Her disposition and her temperment, even in the face of all that pain, was so wonderful that you know, she just wrenched at your heart. You just knew she needed a chance," says Brenda.

Dr. Clifton Bradshaw is caring for Nellie. He says she isn't out of the woods yet. Her wounds could become infected and blood clotting is a possiblity. Her road to recovery will be a long and costly one, but Brenda says she wants to show Nellie not all humans are like the one's who left her on the roadside that night.

Donations in excess of $350 have been given at Grand Saline Businesses to help pay for Nellie's care.

Lindsay Wilcox/Reporting: lwilcox@kltv.com