CINCINNATI — On Friday, Cincinnati Animal CARE took to social media to find the owner of an iguana found in Forest Park; now, the shelter would like to speak with anyone who recognizes this animal, after discovering it may have been abused.
The iguana was found Friday on Northland Boulevard in Forest Park; a resident spotted the reptile in her yard intermittently throughout last week, Cincinnati Animal CARE said.
The shelter posted to social media Friday, asking for help finding the iguana's owner, because Cincinnati Animal CARE does not have the species-specific facilities to care for it long. If it went unclaimed, the iguana would go up for adoption, the shelter said Friday.
Then the shelter team noticed the rescued reptile was exhibiting signs that it was ill or hurt, Cincinnati Animal CARE announced one day later, on Saturday.
"Upon intake, our team recognized signs of illness or injury and it appears he has been shot with a pellet gun," reads the new post from the shelter.
The iguana appears to have been shot at least three times in the torso; the shelter said its medical team also believes, based on his symptoms, that the iguana is suffering from lead poisoning caused by the pellets lodged in his body.
"While currently stable and regaining some color, he is still too weak to undergo surgery for pellet removal," Cincinnati Animal CARE said.
According to Cincinnati Animal CARE, the Hamilton County Dog Wardens are actively investigating the suspected case of animal cruelty.
Anyone with information, or who may have seen anything suspicious, can call Cincinnati Animal CARE at 513.541.7383 or by email at Wecare@cincycare.org.
"Every lead helps," said Cincinnati Animal CARE. "We hope that this iguana continues to stabilize so we can safely perform surgery and begin his path to recovery."
