Princess P is the latest recipient of help from Cutie’s Fund at the Lucas County Dog Warden’s Office. The medium-sized mixed breed dog has a severely embedded collar.

Dog Warden Julie Lyle is considering getting treatment for her at Ohio State University’s college of veterinary medicine because the wound is so deep. It is 3 inches across and 5 inches deep.

“We are consulting with OSU and have sent them photos of the wound,” Ms. Lyle said. “We expect to hear back from them tomorrow on whether they can help her there or will just advise us on her care here in-house.”

Despite the injury, the 52-pound dog is surprisingly good-natured, wagging her tail and wanting to be petted.

She is estimated to be 5 or 6 years old and was picked up running at large on Parkside Boulevard near Dorr Street on Monday.

“She was in such horrible shape, I wasn’t sure if she was even going to make it through the night,” Ms Lyle said. “But even on Monday when she first came in, she was happy and wagging her tail. She’s got the sweetest little face; you can’t not feel for this dog.”

This is the worst embedded collar Ms. Lyle said she has ever seen.

“It is so deep that you can see her trachea,” she said. “It surpasses any wound we’ve ever dealt with here.”

Ms. Lyle is hesitant to guess Princess P’s breed because the dog has so much swelling in her face from her lymph nodes not being able to drain because of the wound.

"She might be a Shar Pei mix or a border collie," she said. “It’s really hard to say.”

The dog warden will be seeking a rescue group to take Princess P once she is in better shape so the dog can continue healing in a home environment.

“It’s going to take a while to heal and there’s going to be an awful lot of scar tissue,” Ms Lyle said.

Cutie’s Fund, a program to help dogs that come into the pound with high-cost medical needs, has raised $46,573 since its November inception. About $18,403 of that has been spent to help more than a dozen dogs, including those suffering from broken legs, a broken jaw, several eye removals, a parvo case, a broken pelvis, and a puppy dying of unknown causes.

The fund has been helping dogs such as its namesake, a Chihuahua brought in during the middle of the night with a dead puppy lodged in her birth canal. The emergency-care bill for Cutie was more than $1,400.

The first $5,000 in public donations was matched by Block Communications Inc., parent company of The Blade. The fund was seeded with a $5,000 donation from John Robinson Block, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Blade, and Allan Block, chairman of BCI.

By contributing to Cutie’s Fund, animal lovers can make tax-deductible gifts to help with emergency and life-saving care and for the hospitalization of sick, injured, or mistreated dogs assisted by the dog warden’s office.

Donations may be made in person or mailed to the Lucas County dog warden, 410 S. Erie St., Toledo, 43604, or online at https://tinyurl.com/​CutiesFund. Checks should be made payable to the Lucas County dog warden with “for Cutie’s Fund” specified on the memo line.

Blade animal welfare reporter Tanya Irwin adopted Cutie from the Lucas County Dog Warden’s Office via the department’s regular adoption process.

Contact Tanya Irwin at: tirwin@theblade.com or 419-724-6066 or @TanyaIrwin.

First Published September 13, 2013, 4:00 a.m.