When Kelly found a photo of Rocco on Facebook, she could not wait to get an answer from his owners. But what she didn’t know was that she would call the cops on them right after she got Brewer in her car.
Kelly took a good look at this dog and could not believe her eyes when she found out that there was something seriously wrong with this pit bull!
Kelly Benzel was so excited to pick up the dog she just adopted. After looking at photos of a pit bull mix called Rocco on Facebook, she decided to send a message to the owners.
She had no idea that she would end up talking to the cops later on…
Kelly already had a dog called Brewer, so getting Rocco was like finding a new friend and a new family member. The cute pit bull mix was advertised on a Facebook page by a woman.
But Kelly had no idea what she was in for!
The woman reached out to the owners, who told her that the dog had been in their care for a few months after his original family had to separate from him.
Kelly was sure that she would be Rocco’s new chance at a forever home…
Instead of buying a dog, Kelly thought she would better adopt one so that she could give them a chance at having a family. So she found Rocco, the white pit bull mix, in a Facebook ad.
That person was selling him for $50.
Kelly called the owner, but couldn’t exactly talk to him since the one that posted the ad was the owner’s roommate. Although in the beginning Kelly wasn’t suspicious, she let it slide since she wanted Rocco.
SO she offered to buy him…
The day Kelly went to see Rocco, she fell in love with him. She paid the owners their $50 and took the pooch in her car, ready to start a new life.
But a few minutes after getting into the car, something about Rocco didn’t feel right?
A dog may be acting different with strangers, but this wasn’t Rocco. In the car, this pooch was sweet and happy, but here’s what was actually wrong with him.
There was a foul odor coming from him, something Kelly hadn’t noticed before.
Let’s face it, some dogs have a stronger odor, but Rocco was not just stinky because he wasn’t washed.
It wasn’t something he stepped in either… The smell coming from him was so foul Kelly gagged!
“It seemed to get stronger the longer they were in the car, but it wasn’t your typical “dirty dog” stench,” she said in a later interview after her story ended up in the news.
Here’s what was really wrong with Rocco…
The smell coming from Rocco was so bad that Kelly had no other choice than stop the car and check him out.
As soon as she found the source of the smell, she knew she had to act as fast as possible!
Rocco was not dirty at all. He was wearing a harness and at first sight, nothing looked off.
But as soon as Kelly removed the harness, she saw a terrible injury. She instantly turned the car and headed over to the vet…
Along Rocco’s chest, there was a 6-inches long gash, and 1.5 inches deep. The vets told her that the wound was infected, and that’s why it smelled so bad.
And that’s when she got angry and called the cops!
The vets told Kelly that the harness seemed to hide the wound so that she wouldn’t back down from buying him.
While they reassured her that this good boy was going to get better through antibiotics treatment and care, she had one thing to take care of…
The vet explained that the wound was most likely caused by the harness: “They said the harness was most likely put on the dog several months early and never taken off,” said Kelly with tears in her eyes…
“As the young dog grew, the thick straps dug into his skin and slowly became embedded,” recalled Kelly in the interview.
Furious, she called the woman that sold her the dog.
The roommate that gave Kelly the dog was caught off guard and came up with a solution, trying to bribe her. She said she would pay for Rocco’s medical bills.
But that meant that whoever abused and neglected Rocco, would get away with it. So Kelly called the cops…
Kelly and the police had contacted Rocco’s last owner. He said that he didn’t know the dog had a wound and that he kept the harness on him to keep him from running away and for his safety.
But did the police believe him?
“[…] Both the family she talked to and the dog’s previous owner were charged with mistreatment of animals/causing death,” said Kelly. So, Rocco’s previous owners and the temporary ones, including that roommate, were charged.
But that was only the beginning!
“They were given $1,500 signature bonds and face a maximum sentence of three and a half years in prison,” said Kelly. Later on, the sentence was lowered to 20-days of jail.
Now Kelly was happy, and meanwhile, Rocco’s health was improving… Here’s what she said about him.
“I have never felt this strong of a bond or this much love from any living thing,” she told AnimalKind.
She is thankful that Rocco is a sweet dog that hasn’t changed, although humans have failed him before…
Such a big wound needs time to heal, but Kelly is by his side and Rocco gets the best care and a lot of love from his new family.
After two months passed, the wound was finally clean and ready to be closed up.
All of Kelly’s efforts of changing bandages and cleaning the wound soon paid off…
Next to Kelly and his new family, Rocco’s wound has healed up and he is now enjoying a happy life.
It’s been more than a year since Rocco’s ordeal, and now he bears a scar on his chest.
Rocco is still a happy and loving pup and Kelly knows that if she hadn’t stood up for him, things would have been different for other dogs that may have been temporarily adopted by the irresponsible owners.
Now that they had faced the consequences, they know better than to adopt other dogs…