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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A dog that was adopted less than a year ago was found suffering from severe burns last month.
The mixed black pitbull was originally adopted from the Kansas Humane Society in late 2023.
He came back to the Wichita Animal Shelter in late July with severe burns to his entire backside.
“This shouldn’t happen to any dog. The wounds were about three days old, which means he had been fighting for a while, 72 hours worth of fighting,” said Kansas Humane Society Director of Communications Jordan Bani-Younes.
Bani-Younes says the mixed black pitbull is just under two years old and was given little chance of surviving. He says the dog they called “J-Dog” had a will to live.
“It’s hard for any of us to see any animal that’s suffering through something like that, but when you’ve previously worked with that animal and seen them go home, it just tears your heart apart,” said Bani-Younes.
KHS did not have the funding or proper resources to treat the injuries, so Positive Tails stepped in. The rescue worked to find the dog a space at Always and Furever, a rescue in Spring Hill.
Julie McNamara, the medical coordinator at Always and Furever, says the dog receives daily hydro and laser therapy and is doing better, but the road to recovery is long.
“He is doing great right now, and everything looks good. Tomorrow could be a different story. We are looking into some procedures. There are some wraps that are fish scale wraps,” said McNamara
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The dog now has a new name, Dwight, and a fresh chance at life.
Kelly Frey, the intake coordinator at Always and Furever, says it has been emotional for everyone involved, and they care deeply about him getting back to puppy life.
“You see a lot of abuse in rescue, you see a lot of neglect, and everyone is as gut-wrenching as the next; you do everything you can for each of these animals, so each one of them takes a part of your heart. It’s hard,” said Frey.
The case is now being investigated by the Wichita Police Department. Lieutenant David Neinstedt, who took over oversight of the Wichita Animal Shelter a couple of months ago, says that the person who surrendered the dog is cooperating with the investigation.
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“Incidents can be investigated from anything from felony cruelty charges to misdemeanor cruelty charges, and it just depends on what we find out during the investigation. We’re still in the process of that, and we’re still working on that aspect,” said Neinstedt.
While police search for answers, his rescuers are looking toward the future, with a dog that has been through so much wagging his tail again.
“The forgiveness in his eyes, that he could be so trusting to another human after who knows what happened. That’s pretty amazing,” said McNamara
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