BRUNSWICK

A veterinarian who treated the black lab allegedly abused by its Brunswick owner said the dog is physically recovering from his wounds, but emotional scars may take a little more time to heal.

Robert LaChance, 29, was summonsed with aggravated cruelty to animals on March 4 in a case that has caused outrage among many people in the Midcoast.

Brunswick police say they received complaints on Feb. 28 that LaChance was abusing his year-old male Labrador mix named Buddy. They allege that LaChance “repeatedly struck, and threw his dog against a wall” during the assault.

Police learned the dog had suffered a fractured leg approximately a week earlier, which had gone untreated. Buddy was taken to Coastal Humane Society for treatment where the leg was amputated.

Dr. Mandie Wehr is the veterinarian and director of shelter operations for Coastal Humane Society. She said Buddy is recovering well from the amputation procedure.

However, she noted: “We are seeing some pretty significant signs of stress and anxiety, so he’s a continue care case for now.”

Police say LaChance has stated he wants the dog back. Wehr said Buddy has been moved to an undisclosed offsite location but is still under the care of CHS.

“We’re very optimistic that we’re going to be able to help him and heal him overall,” she said. “He’s already doing extremely well with removal of the pain of living with a broken bone.”

Wehr was not surprised to see signs of anxiety and stress.

“Our biggest concern is … figuring out and determining the best way to manage it,” she said.

Wehr said Buddy will eventually be privately placed in a new home. The new owner must be someone who is patient and who has lived before with a dog who experiences stress and anxiety. Buddy will also require someone who can spend a lot of time with him.

“We don’t want to put him through the stress of our adoption center where there are lots of other animals and people going through,” Wehr said.

Currently, CHS is not taking applications for Buddy.

This is one of the more significant cases of animal abuse Wehr has seen in nearly five years at CHS.

Wehr is reminding the public to contact authorities, preferably a local animal control officer, if animal abuse or neglect is suspected.

Managing a case such as Buddy’s is expensive, Wehr said. She added that one of the best ways to help abused animals like Buddy is to support CHS in its mission to shelter and rescue animals and save lives.

Wehr said she understands the anger vented on social media over the abuse allegations. But those immersed in the world of animal rescue — who often see the end results of such abuse — refocus their own anger into positive energy in order to care for the animals.

Asked about animal protections against convicted animal abusers, Wehr said: “I really encourage people in the community to pay attention to what is happening at the legislative level.”

One way to do that, she said, is to follow groups like the Maine Federation of Humane Societies on Facebook, which will “go a long way in alerting people how they can make a difference.”

dmoore@timesrecord.com