After dog chewed off his own leg to get free, owner charged

The Orange County man whose German shepherd chewed off his own leg after being tied up outside for a week has been charged with animal abuse and faces up to one year in jail if convicted, prosecutors said.

Samer Samir Ibrahim, 23, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday at a Westminster courthouse on misdemeanor counts of animal abuse and improperly caring for his animal, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Between Nov. 2 and Nov. 8, 2014, the 11-month-old Rocky was tethered in the backyard of Ibrahim’s home, where the dog was poorly fed and beset by fleas. State law allows tethering a dog for up to three hours within a 24-hour period.

During that week, the dog’s leg became tangled in the tether, cutting off blood flow, prosecutors said. Rocky chewed off about 4 to 5 inches of his leg to get free.

Rather than take the dog to a veterinarian for the severe injury, Ibrahim swabbed the dog’s leg with antiseptic wipes and wrapped it with a sock, prosecutors said. Ibrahim later took the dog to the O.C. Animal Care shelter, whose staff reported Rocky’s condition to the Westminster Police.

Veterinarians who work with Coastal German Shepherd Rescue examined Rocky’s foot and found ligature marks and “festering wounds,” the organization said in November. Racked by infection, Rocky’s leg was amputated.

Prosecutors said Rocky’s recovery has been successful. A San Diego couple with experience fostering injured animals later adopted the pup.

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