MSPCA Law Enforcement and Brookline Animal Control are seeking the public’s help identifying the owner of a roughly three-year-old Golden Retriever-mix who was found emaciated in the area of Newton Street and Clyde Street in Brookline.

The dog—who MSPCA staff are calling “Brooke”—was brought to Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 24, and not a second too soon.

“This dog was in bad shape when she came to us,” explained Mike Keiley, vice president of the MSPCA-Angell’s Animal Protection Division. “On a scale of one to nine, with one being extremely emaciated and nine being obese, she had a body condition score of one.”

“She weighed about 10 pounds, when really she should weigh at least 20,” he elaborated. “We put her on a defined refeeding program, and she’s been stabilizing since.”

MSPCA Law Enforcement and Brookline Animal Control ask that anyone with information on the dog’s owner reach out. Tips may be submitted to Brookline Animal Control via email at animalcontrol@brooklinema.gov, or to MSPCA Law Enforcement online at mspca.org/tip or by phone at (617) 522-6008 or (800) 628-5808.

One-year-old Avatar’s short life has already been an adventure. He was brought to the MSPCA’s Boston Adoption Center as a stray with a leg injury on December 15. Thanks to a microchip, the shelter team was able to track down his owners, who were understandably quite worried about him.

Unfortunately, they were facing their own challenging life circumstances, so they were not in a position to reclaim the sweet cat.

“This is a really unique situation,” said MSPCA-Angell Director of Adoption Centers and Programs, Mike Keiley. “The owners wanted what was best for Avatar, so they made the incredibly hard decision to surrender, and we appreciate that they trust us with the responsibility of rehoming him.”

“Now, we’re focused on getting him the care he needs.”

Avatar suffered a broken hip, likely the result of falling from a significant height or an object falling on him while he was on the streets, and will undergo corrective surgery this week. That surgery and his other care are expected to cost $5,000. The MSPCA asks that anyone able to donate to help offset that cost please do so at mspca.org/avatar.

Avatar’s recovery is expected to take about two weeks, and then he’ll need weeks, possibly months, of physical therapy before he will regain full function of his leg. Interested adopters may fill out an inquiry at mspca.org/bostonadopt.

A young, homeless puppy is recovering after a scary incident that highlights the importance of keeping pets safe this holiday season. Nine-month-old Bob was a seemingly normal dog when he arrived at the MSPCA-Angell on November 15, after he was surrendered by his owner to Boston Animal Control—but something was amiss.

“Bob’s previous owner mentioned that he had some kind of protrusion on his flank, but we couldn’t find anything when he first came to us,” said MSPCA-Angell Director of Adoption Centers and Programs, Mike Keiley. “After a couple weeks, it became clear Bob was in pain, but we weren’t sure why, so we brought him to Angell for imaging.”

The radiology team at Angell found the source of Bob’s pain—a wooden skewer commonly used in food preparation.

“It seems that Bob ate the skewer and it pierced his stomach—something that is usually immediately clear and requires urgent care,” Keiley explained. “But there are rare instances like this one where something small and sharp pierces the stomach wall, but the stomach wall then heals on its own, making the problem much harder to detect.”

Following successful surgery to remove the skewer, Bob has recovered and is now looking for his forever family. Shelter staff say that he’s incredibly sweet and playful. Interested adopters may submit an adoption inquiry at mspca.org/bostonadopt or visit the MSPCA Boston Adoption Center during open hours, Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 3 p.m.

The MSPCA would not be able to help Bob and hundreds of other animals in need without its generous donors! Please consider giving today at mspca.org/donate.