A young pit bull is dead and another is being treated at a local veterinarian’s office after allegedly suffering from neglect.

Don Winters, who rescues animals for the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society, said he received calls about a dead dog on Lower Woodville Road.

The dog, a small pit bull with protruding ribs, was chained to a tree at a residence on Lower Woodville Road.

The dog probably died of exposure, Winters said.

“It’s probable that dog died from hypothermia,” he said. “These are fragile animals. They need protection.”

With lows hovering around the freezing mark and cold rain, dogs don’t deal well with winter conditions, he said.

Another dog was tied to a stake in the back yard. It had wrapped its chain around the stake so many times that it had trouble moving.

The owner of the dogs allowed Winters to take the dead animal to be inspected to find out the cause of death and for the live animal to be taken to a veterinarian.

Both dogs might have suffered from malnutrition, Winters said, although there was food in the yard. He said he didn’t know if the chains prevented the dogs from reaching the food.

The small pit bull’s death and condition was one of the worst he has seen, he said.

“This right here is just breaking my heart,” he said. “I just don’t understand it.”

The woman who owns the property on which the dogs were found said the dogs belong to her son and his father.

The small dog was alive this morning, she said.

Animal neglect is something Winters said he sees on a regular basis. Just Wednesday, he found a horse with a bridle so tight and left so long, the horse’s head had started to grow around it.

It’s important people provide their animals with food, water and shelter, especially during cold weather, he said.

Nan Garrison, an attorney on the humane society board, said the state laws regarding animal cruelty are kind of uncertain right now.

“The animal cruelty statute was ruled unconstitutional because it was too vague,” Garrison said. “So, right now, we don’t have any teeth. If we charge (the dogs’ owners) under that law, they can say it was declared unconstitutional.”

Another statute states if an animal dies as a result of exposure or lack of food or water, the owners can be prosecuted. That’s the law Garrison said she intends to use.

“If the (test) results substantiate it, we plan to prosecute,” she said.

In recent months, some Missiassippi citizens, including some in Natchez, have been promoting a petition to change the laws.

They want to see all animal abuse classified as a felony.