Little victim of home invasion recovering at Cherokee County Animal Hospital
By TIM GULLA Ledger Staff Writer tim@gaffneyledger.com

Michelle Grant holds a little Chihuahua injured during a Wednesday morning home invasion on Providence Road. The dog was likely kicked by the home invaders. It couldn't walk when it was brought to Cherokee County Animal Hospital on Wednesday but it was making progress on Friday, able to stand on very unsteady legs.

No one at Cherokee County Animal Hospital was quite sure what to call their little patient.

They never received her name when she was brought in. That they were dealing with an injured dog, however, was quite clear.

The little Chihuahua belongs to a 32-year-old Providence Road woman who was brutally beaten during a home invasion and robbery early Wednesday morning. She wasn't the only victim.

Dr. J. Blakely Grant said the little Chihuahua was suffering from either inflamed disks in her spine or a spinal cord injury, based on her symptoms. The little dog couldn't stand up when she was first brought into the animal hospital, but was able to stand, albeit with difficulty and splayed legs, on Friday.

"She probably was kicked," Dr. Grant said. He believed the dog would be able to recover.

Police had believed the dog, most likely injured at the hands of the home invaders on Wednesday morning, had suffered a broken leg, but Grant was able to confirm the dog's pencil thin legs were okay. It would take more sophisticated diagnostic equipment similar to that used on human patients, however, to fully diagnose the extent of the dog's back injury.

Calm and gentle when held by Michelle Grant, she said the dog has been fearful of any male that approaches her. "She's sweet with us," she said of the dog's reaction to the females in the office.

While the dog still was recuperating at the animal hospital on Friday, her owner was doing better. Upstate Carolina Medical Center confirmed it had released the woman from its care.

Gaffney police on Friday released still shots from a security camera that showed two of the five home invaders using keys they stole from the woman to gain access to the Corner Stop #2 convenience store at 717 Providence Road. Time stamps on video footage showed the two men were only in the store for about two minutes as they stole cash boxes.

While their faces were covered, the home invader's voices were captured on an audio recording as they talked to one another during the burglary of the convenience store.