Dog found muzzled, legs duct-taped at north Phoenix church

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Police are investigating a case of animal cruelty after a dog was found with its muzzle and front legs duct-taped at a church in north Phoenix.

Officers were called to an area near 37th Avenue and Sweetwater shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday. They found the dog soon after, but it’s unclear if it was found inside or outside the church. Police say the dog is alive, but don’t know if she’s a stray or has an owner.

Phoenix police contacted the Arizona Humane Society, which sent one of its Cruelty Investigators to the scene. A spokesperson says the two-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog mix was in distress and taken to the Humane Society’s Second Chance Animal Trauma Hospital for immediate care. She was dehydrated and had an elevated temperature.

The dog’s prognosis is “guarded” at the moment, the Arizona Humane Society says. They added that this is just one of more than 6,600 cruelty calls AHS investigators respond to each year.

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