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Injured Dog Recovering from Fall

A puppy in Northumberland County that was allegedly thrown off a hill at a cemetery near Shamokin continues to improve. Newswatch 16 first reported the story of...

A puppy in Northumberland County that was allegedly thrown off a hill at a cemetery near Shamokin continues to improve.

Newswatch 16 first reported the story of the dog Monday.

The puppy has been named Harper and, according to the veterinarians at Sunbury Animal Hospital, she is healing.

It's been almost one week since Harper was found at the bottom of a hill near Shamokin, allegedly thrown 50 feet. The puppy had severe head injuries, but is visibly doing better.

A few days ago the future looked pretty grim for the puppy. The 12-week- old pit bull was found at the bottom of a 50 foot hill. Vets at the Sunbury Animal Hospital said it looked like the puppy was thrown.

Fast forward a few days and Harper, as she is now being called, has come a long way.

"In the last two days we've gone from pain to reducing her meds. Her brain swelling is down, and she's getting around very well as far as eating and drinking. Today she tried to sit up on her own," said Cheryl Hill, owner of Mostly Mutts, a no-kill shelter in Sunbury that is caring for Harper.

She visits the pup every day at the Sunbury Animal Hospital.

"Yesterday was the first time I could hold her and she fell asleep in my arms. So I thought that was great," Hill said.

The puppy from Northumberland County has caught the attention of people from Shamokin, to Portland, Oregon!

"We have people from the East to the West coast that are contacting us. There are people doing a fundraiser for harper in Los Angeles," said Hill.

Some students at Shamokin Area High School saw Harper's story on Newswatch 16 and decided they wanted to help raise money for the puppy's care.

"We're going to have baked goods and a couple other organizations are chipping in," said Morgan Stankiewicz, a senior at SAHS.

Cheerleaders from Shamokin Area High School are donating the proceeds from the bake sale to Harper's medical care.

"I feel really bad for her. I don't know why anyone would do that to a puppy, but I feel good that we're doing a fundraiser for her," said Jaylyn Madera, a junior at SAHS.

"It makes me feel good because I feel horrible that someone threw it over a bank," said Sammie Spishock, a sophmore at SAHS.

"This is really nice because this is a surprise. We weren't expecting them to do a bake sale and ask people for goods to turn over to us," said Hill.

Coal Township police are trying to figure out who threw the puppy down the hill. Police would not say if there are any suspects, but they did say they hope to wrap up the case by next week.

Harper's vet said she has come a long way since last Saturday when Hill brought her to the animal hospital. When Newswatch 16 met the puppy on Monday she couldn't move her legs.

"It's been great for her because we come in and say, 'You don't know how many people really love you out there,'" Hill added.

Mostly Mutts is accepting donations on its website to help cover medical expenses for Harper.

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