Badly burned dog deserves a safe, loving home

“My father is outraged about the burned dog,” said one of my coworkers upon entering the newsroom this morning.
I think we all are. Only a very sick individual wouldn’t be.
You can read the full story I wrote by clicking here, but the basics are this:
Some awful, sick person poured gasoline on the head of a friendly pit bull in Detroit during Halloween weekend and set it on fire.
The owners of the dog thought at first that the burns weren’t so bad and could be dealt with at home. They kept the dog for a week, trying home remedies.
This is something I find disturbing as well, but I think it’s indicative of a difference in approaches to dog ownership. While most of us think of our dogs as family members, there are folks out there who don’t see it that way — folks who are stuck in the old attitude of, “A dog is a dog — keep it outside, feed it scraps and let it be a dog.”
But as the days passed, the dog's burns worsened and worsened. The owners finally called the Michigan Humane Society and gave the dog — her name is Lady, by the way — to them. Whew.
Lady is now in good hands and incredibly, she’s described as a happy-go-lucky girl who loves being scratched under her chin.
While she appears to be doing well, such horrific burns can be complicated to heal. Infections are a huge threat to recovery, as there’s no skin barrier keeping all that bacteria out.
But if she does make a complete recovery, she’ll go up for temperament testing. If does well there, she’ll probably be adopted.
I’ve got my fingers crossed.
All dogs deserve a second chance, but when you hear a story like this, it’s hard to imagine anything else happening.
Who knows what Lady’s life was like at her Detroit home. And then, to have someone pour gasoline on you and light you on fire — it’s hard to imagine the terror she must’ve felt.
Despite it all, she’s giving people a second chance — loving on the MHS staff, enjoying under-the-chin scratches and proving herself to be a friendly, bright dog.
I would be absolutely dismayed to hear she failed some part of a temperament test and was euthanized. That would be a horrible ending to this story.
I want to hear that regardless of her temperament test, she lands herself in a loving home where she spends her days lounging on a sofa and chewing on rawhides. I want to hear that her caring new family members are investing the time to teach her all sorts of stuff about being a good ambassador for pit bulls; to show that resilient and forgiving spirit pit bulls are known for.
Please join me in hoping for a good outcome for a great dog who has endured the worst of humankind’s cruelty. Let’s show her that people can be a lot better than that.
Video from WXYZ


Similar story ends with happiness for another dog
This isn’t the first time The Oakland Press has written about a badly burned dog from Detroit.
In 2007, a barely 4-pound pit bull puppy was set on fire with the rest of her littermates in an abandoned home in Detroit. The lone survivor, she was brought to Oakland Veterinary Referral Services in Bloomfield Hills.
Now named Madison, the little girl is deformed but able to enjoy a good quality of life — running, swimming and living a life full with love from her humans. And she’s in incredibly capable human hands.
Madison was adopted by one of the surgeons at OVRS and, as of my last report, was still a constant fixture in the clinic that saved her life.
I hope that Lady’s outcome is as good as Madison’s.
Read the full story about Madison by clicking here.