NEW YORK – Reggie, a one-year-old Pit bull mix, and Sylvester, a two-year-old cat, both lived through a nightmare situation in a New York apartment. They were literally prisoners surrounded by all kinds of trash, such as leftover food, trash bags, broken furniture and bike parts. It was a total pigsty – the pair was living amongst their own urine and excrements, reports The Dodo.
The neighbors, who had been aware of the situation for some months, had tried to call animal services without response. The owner is also said to have regularly beaten up the dog. It was only at the time the owner was arrested, at the beginning of December, that Reggie and Sylvester were saved.
Rescue Dogs Rock NYC, which is the well-known organization, organized the pair’s rescue. Stacey Silverstein, the founder, explained to The Dodo:
“You needed a gas mask to go in there — it was so awful.I’ve seen pretty much the worst of the worst. But this was pretty bad”.
Staying in the apartment without any care at all would be impossible, so the neighbors took the pets to the veterinarian. Both of them were emaciated, malnourished and Reggie weighed 33 pounds less than he should have.
Stacey went on to add: “Reggie was put on an IV right away.Sylvester the cat fared much better than Reggie. He’s thin, but he’s much healthier than Reggie”.
Despite their terrible beginning to life, Sylvester and Reggie were adorable and Stacey could not stop praising them. The pup is described as “very nice, very affectionate”, and the kitty is “very social”.
Upon arriving at the hospital, the animals were separated, but could finally see each other again just last week. Stacey admitted:
“I’ve never seen two animals so happy. [Reggie] was licking the cat. He was very happy”.
The duo is now completely free from their hell at last and hopefully, they will be able to find a new, loving family who will never neglect or abuse them as they once were. The association is doing absolutely everything they can to make sure the pair stays together – after all, they are each other’s best friends and have helped each other through traumatic experiences.
