“Worst case of intentional starvation,” dog nursed back to health after found in Roxbury

BOSTON (WWLP) – “This is the worst case of starvation I’ve ever seen in a dog and I’m stunned that he survived,” said an MSPCA veterinarian after “Jobee” was found living in a Roxbury home last month.

Jobee and another dog, named Remy were found living in a Roxbury home on July 4th when officers were called to the home on an unrelated matter. Shortly after officers left, the homeowner allegedly abandoned Jobee near a dumpster.

Jobee, a three-year-old pit bull mix, and Remy were brought to the MSPCA by Boston Animal Control. Jobee only weighed nearly 25 pounds, about half his healthy body weight. The veterinary team gave him IV fluids to re-nourish his tissues and organs and started slowly eating solid foods after two weeks.

“This is the worst case of starvation I’ve ever seen in a dog and I’m stunned that he survived,” said Dr. Kiko Bracker of Angell’s Emergency & Critical Care Service. “He had no food in his stomach or digestive tract, which had all but shut down. And we needed to be very, very careful in nursing him back to health.” 

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MSPCA-Angell Director of Adoption Centers and Programs Mike Keiley is overseeing Jobee’s follow-up care and echoed Dr. Bracker’s comments.  “In my nearly three decades in animal welfare I’ve never seen a dog so starved who was still alive.  In fact, we’ve seen deceased dogs who had more body fat than Jobee.  He was days—if not hours—away from death, so it’s nothing short of a miracle that he is still with us,” he said.

Keiley said that Jobee’s will to survive likely saw him through. “We’ve seen in previous cases that dogs this neglected essentially give up and do not recover—but it was clear from the first minute in our care that Jobee wanted to live.  He inspired us all and captured every heart along the way.”

Due to the likelihood of extreme starvation, his open wounds have healed however his tail had to be partially amputated due to necrosis. Since July 19th Jobee has continued his treatment at the MSPCA’s Boston Adoption Center, he still needs time to recover before he is ready to find his forever home.

“We will take our time to ensure he’s returned to a state of good health, and then we will begin the process of evaluating qualified adopters,” said Keiley.

Remy also survived and is in the care of MSPCA and is not available for adoption at this time.

The homeowner, Lakeida Burris, was first charged with animal cruelty in May of 2022 after a previous dog that she owned had to be euthanized due to neglect. She was arrested Wednesday and arraigned in Roxbury District Court.