SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - A little dog is recovering from serious injuries after she was apparently attacked by another animal near Lake Hodges. Kindin may not have survived if News 8's Craig McKee and his wife hadn't stepped in.
"She's bright, alert, active, she's showing a good appetite, her body temperature remains normal," Edward Maher, Jr. of Animal Urgent Care said.
It's a far cry from the near-lifeless body my wife and I carried off the trails of Lake Hodges, as Kinbin bled from open wounds.
"They were multiple small punctures, so we anticipate that they weren't from a large dog, or a coyote for that matter," Maher said.
The San Diego County Department of Animal Services met us at the end of the trails and rushed her to Animal Urgent Care in Escondido.
"She was hypothermic, unresponsive and recumbent. She was in a state of shock," Maher said.
And while urgent care staff began the process to bring Kindin back to life, cleaning her wounds and placing drain tubes in to prevent infection, animal services used the microchip implanted to track down the owner.
"Everything came together in a perfect manner on this case," David Johnson of County Department of Animal Services said.
Or so it seemed. Animal services says the registered owner in Coronado claims they gave the dog to a sister in Escondido, but don't have any way to contact her.
"This is one of the situations where they just don't have any other information for us. I'd like to say it doesn't happen very often but it does," Johnson said.
As of right now Kindin remains in holding status, meaning the owner of the dog has until next Wednesday, November 16th to come forward and claim her, as well as pay for the medical expenses. If that doesn't happen, she will be put up for adoption the following Saturday.
Kindin will leave the urgent care facility on Saturday and will be taken to the Carlsbad Animal Services facility.
Adoption application paperwork can be submitted now through the 19th of November.