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Man Who Came To Bindi's Aid Gives The Dog A Home

Photo from Hillsborough County Animal Services

Bindi was found last week in eastern Hillsborough County with part of a leg missing.

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TBO.com

Published: August 5, 2008

TAMPA - The good Samaritan who offered to pay for the surgery of a dog that may have been attacked by an alligator last week will adopt the dog this afternoon.

Bob Reina, who paid for the surgery, "has reportedly fallen in love with this gentle spirit," according to a news release from Hillsborough County Animal Services.

When Bindi, a German shepherd mix, was found Wednesday near phosphate mines in a remote area of eastern Hillsborough County, she was missing part of a leg and her jaw was broken.

Animal control Officer Roger Parker said Bindi was lying with her eyes closed. The dog's front left leg was partially gone, and about eight inches of bone was protruding from the wound, he said.

Parker thought the dog was dead. He muttered, "Poor baby." At the sound of his voice, Bindi got up and limped toward him.

Instead of waiting for a transport to a veterinarian, Parker took her himself.

She was dubbed Bindi after the daughter of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin.

Reina, 42, who volunteers for Hillsborough County Animal Services, offered to cover Bindi's medical bills.

It is "not out of the question" that Bindi may have been attacked by an alligator, said Animal Services spokeswoman Marti Ryan. "It is highly possible, considering the type of water that the dog was found near."

Ryan said another possibility is that the dog's leg got caught in an animal trap.

The 40-pound German shepherd mix underwent surgery Thursday afternoon.

She will be microchipped by staff veterinarians before arriving home today to meet her new siblings: a cat named Chance and a dog named Sport, according to Animal Services.

Information from Tribune archives was used in this report.

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