Dog Tied Up in Cold Chews Off Own Paw

It might help to know at the outset that the dog is doing fine now, because otherwise this is just a brutal story out of Detroit: Authorities say that a 2-year-old dog left chained behind a Walmart in the bitter cold chewed off her own paw in an apparent bid to escape, reports WILX. What's more, even that didn't work, because the dog was found by a store employee still tangled up in the cable. Her one break: A vet says the cable acted as a tourniquet and likely saved the animal's life, reports the Detroit Free Press.

"She's been walking around licking everyone," says the president of 4 Paws 1 Heart. "How she winded up in that situation, we don't know, but she will never have to go through that again." Surveillance video shows that two men brought the dog to Walmart on Sunday, and an employee found the newly christened "Courtney" later that day. Another rescue official suspects that Courtney got tangled in the cable first, then chewed off her paw to try to free herself, reports the Detroit News. A vet amputated the hind leg of the beagle/pit bull mix and removed the bone fragments she had eaten. Police are trying to track down the men who abandoned the dog. (Elsewhere, a dog helped save some abandoned puppies.)