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Man Abandons Dog In Freezing Cold On Upper West Side

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An aging dog was left abandoned Sunday, tied up to a fence in the freezing cold near an Upper West Side animal hospital.

As CBS 2's Alice Gainer reported, surveillance video captured a man tying the chow chow to a store gate before walking away while making the sign of the cross.

The Riverside Animal Hospital on West 108th Street took the emaciated dog in for treatment.

"He was in terrible condition," said veterinarian Georgia Weber. "He had such severe matting on his coat. It looked like no one had groomed him in forever."

The dog's fur was so matted, Weber said, it took technicians four hours to shave his coat, revealing lesions.

The veterinarians at Riverside believe the dog is about 12 years old and had been with the same owner for a long time.

"Then he was sitting crying in a cage here on Sunday just with me, not knowing where he was, not knowing what had happened to him," Weber said. "What he does know is he's been abandoned."

The pooch is friendly and, judging by his shaved wagging tail Tuesday, he hasn't let what's happened completely break his spirit.

"How could you just tie him up in the freezing cold weather, no less?" said Phillip Raclyn, another veterinarian at Riverside. "And how could you let him get to be in this state?"

Without a microchip or tags, the animal hospital is unable to find the owner.

Because Riverside is not equipped to offer long-term care to animals, the dog will likely be euthanized in about a week if no one adopts him or donates money for his care.

Workers have not been able to bring themselves to give the chow chow a name, fearing they will become too attached.

The animal hospital said two weeks ago another dog was left tied up at a nearby pharmacy and was also brought there.

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