Starved Dog Found Near River in SW Oklahoma City; Caretakers Optimistic About Recovery

A starved and previously abandoned dog is recovering after rescuers found him in southwest Oklahoma City.

Wednesday, December 8th 2021, 10:34 pm



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A starved and previously abandoned dog is recovering after rescuers found him in Southwest Oklahoma City. 

The male Shepard dog, which has since been named "Clifford", or "Cliff" for short, was spotted by a passerby near Macarthur Boulevard. 

OKC Animal Welfare Officer Courtney Payne responded and found the dog lying on a bank of the Oklahoma River. 

“I happened to look down, and he’s at the bottom of this cliff-type drop-off at the riverbank and he was super skinny,” Payne said. “At first, I wasn’t sure if he was alive.” 

“He probably wouldn’t have made it a whole lot longer with how thin he was.” 

Veterinarians inspected Cliff and found he had heartworms, deteriorated muscles, but no organ failure. 

Alyssa Southard took Cliff into her care after seeing him on the OKC Animal Welfare website. 

“I’ve seen some very emaciated dogs, but I can’t say quite as bad as him. And it doesn’t help that he’s 8 years old” said Southard, who has been fostering dogs for four years. 

She began feeding Cliff four times daily with supplements and takes him to the vet biweekly. The dog weighed 44 pounds when she first got him, and has gained four pounds in the last week. 

“Some dogs you see and you want to help and you can’t help. This dog, I saw and I knew I had to figure out how I could help him,” Southard said. 

Southard started an online fundraiser to help pay for food and medical costs. To visit the fundraiser, click here. 



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