Animal Care Services investigators are asking for your help to identify a starving dog they believe was a military or law enforcement working animal.
Lady is a 4- to 6- year-old Belgian Malinois found a few weeks ago by ACS investigators who were responding to a report of a starving dog.
"They responded, made contact with the person that was home. When questioned, they admitted that there was a dog on the property that needed care," said Joel Skidmore, field operations supervisor with ACS.
The person investigators spoke with surrendered the dog and has not been charged with a crime, but there is an open investigation into animal cruelty.
"When we first saw Lady, she was very lethargic, very depressed-looking, she didn't really want to move around very much," Skidmore said.
To add to the mystery, Lady has a distinct block-lettered tattoo in her right ear reading BHKEDE. They say the tattoo plus her breed lead them to believe she was either a military or law enforcement working dog.
They have checked in databases for working dog numbers and at Lackland AFB, the TSA, and the National Dog Registry's tattoo database, but have had no luck tracking Lady's tattoo. They say information on the tattoo can help them narrow down the breeder and potentially lead to the dog's owner to get to the bottom of who is responsible for the animal's condition.
They also say that they have files that show that Lady had previously been adopted out of ACS. Until they find Lady's owner, ACS says that the dog is not up for adoption.