dog names after food

assault. simmons can be released on 50- thousand dollars bail. she has until the end of may to file her appeal. also tonight --- it's a story that has struck a nerve with our viewers. who left a little dog to die in the parking lot of an animal hospital? and did the

clinic turn its back on the sick puppy? the dog is barely hanging on tonight. we're following up on this story to get you some answers. news 4's rich newberg is here with new details...rich. the dog fighting for its life

tonight is being called "metro," because it was rescued by a rural metro ambulance crew and their supervisors. the focus of this case is not the animal hospital...where the dog was left...but rather on the owner...whose dog was practically starved to death.

the six month old female pit bull puppy now called metro, is still not out of the woods. ((dr. helen chevaliererie county spca veterinarian: she's eating, which is good, but she's still in a critical "window." we still can't be sure.))

her life was saved wednesday, by a startled rural metro crew which happened to see the emaciated puppy abandoned in the parking lot of an east side animal clinic that had been closed for the day. ((norine hochrural metro: all of a sudden she started saying:

"oh my god, oh my god!" we looked and there was a baby puppy just laying in the driveway.)) only the custodian was inside anderson's inner city animal hospital. he had just received calls that an animal was being abandoned. clement gordon

immediately called the spca as the ambulance crew sought help for the puppy. ((clement gordoncustodian: rural metro is out here banging on the door, so i'm trying to talk to them while i'm talking to the spca. i told them there is

no doctor here, and i was just doing janitorial work.)) metro was taken to the spca by ambulance company personnel, who wrapped the puppy in a blanket, sheets, and hot packs. now, as the puppy is constantly being monitored, the spca is trying to track down its owner.

((rich: are there likely to be charges here based on the condition of the animal? barbara carrerie county spca executive director: yeah, there's no question that cruelty is involved here. i think we can reasonably say that this is a case of starvation... ))

barbara carr tells me her investigators are following some leads. she will let us know if a suspect is named. dr. hector anderson and his hospital have been receiving nasty calls and even threats.