CAPE CORAL - A Golden Retriever and his owner both apparently withering away for months, while neighbors stood by helplessly.
Now, more than half a year later, neighbors and friends have decided to take action.
Many have found it hard to blame the owner for his dog’s condition since his life has been struck with a string of tragedies.
We should warn you the images of his dog in our report may be disturbing.
Photos of this dog are hard to look at. A 9 year old Golden Retriever clinging to life, help arriving just in time.
A neighbor named Darrell Ramsden remembers, "I came out and looked and there are four cop cars and I don't know what's going on."
Ramsden can't believe his neighbor let his dog get this bad. He says, "Oh, someone needs help badly, not just the dog. I mean big time."
Two weeks ago someone sent officers several photos of the dog.
That's when Lee County Domestic Animal Services and Cape Coral police arrived at the owner’s home and tracked him down. His name is Angelo Bambo.
Bambo's dog is named Renji and was nearly dead but Bambo told officers Renji was in perfect condition, aside from some hair loss and a skin condition,
The next day officers inspected the dog again.
They found Renji extremely underweight with his hips, ribs, spine all clearly visible.
They noticed a skin condition with major hair loss and his toe nails were grossly long and curled.
Bambo told officers he tried to trim them but the clipper broke.
A report shows Bambo seemed to have no concern with the dog's weight loss.
Officers issued Bambo a citation for animal cruelty but we found there's more to this story.
Our sources tell us Bambo also wasn't eating and struggled to take care of himself.
Bambo said he had no money until recently getting a job.
His parents apparently died 3 years ago, leaving him not only Renji but a house which we're told is now in foreclosure,
Ramsden reacted, "Sounds like he needs help."
And neighbors have stepped in to help.
Since people heard about Bambo's situation, they helped to clean the garbage out of his house. They're paying for his lawn maintenance as well. But as far as Bambo himself, he's apparently not ready to answer the door or talk to anybody yet.
When we knocked on Bambo’s door we heard a dog barking inside.
We then found out that dog is Renji, who remains at home with Bambo since Good Samaritans have helped him to care for the dog. .
Ramsden told us, "If I can help him I will too, at least for the time being, yes. Just to see what's going on."
Many plan to keep a close eye on what goes on in the days to come.
Neighbors footed the bill for Renji's vet and in the past week he gained 5 pounds.
Officers with Lee County Animal Services have withdrawn the citation for animal cruelty.
