Rescue group, vet help rehabilitate intentionally burned dog

Marcus was rescued from Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota

MADISON, Wis. — It is a level of cruelty that is hard to fathom. An animal rescue in Madison has been seeing the results of that cruelty in the form of dogs intentionally burned with kerosene and hot grease.

Last November Animal Rescue and Veterinary Support Services went to the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Northern Minnesota to rescue Marcus, a 10-month-old dog that had been severely burned with hot grease. Marcus also had a dislocated hip.

“It actually takes quite a bit of force. The most common time we see a dislocated hip is with a hit-by-car-type of incident,” said Erin Haroldson, a veterinarian at All Pets Veterinary Clinic.

Haroldson helped to treat Marcus for third-degree burns on a large portion of his body and also performed hip surgery on the dog. Haroldson has since adopted Marcus.

“The minute I met him I knew that he was meant to come home with my family,” Haroldson said.

Within the last few weeks ARVSS rescued another dog, Libby, from the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Libby was badly burned on roughly a quarter of her body.

“They have had kind of a rash of people who have been taking rags, soaking them in kerosene, starting them on fire and then throwing them on dogs backs so that they start on fire, and they get this kick out of watching dogs run that are on fire,” said Susie Reichard, a volunteer with ARVSS and veterinary technician.

Reichard said ARVSS exists specifically to help dogs like Libby and Marcus. They focus their attention on animals that are injured and abused. They provide veterinary care for those animals and then work to find them good forever homes.

They also have been working with an animal rescue organization on the Red Lake Indian Reservation to not only help abused dogs, but also provide education to curb future abuse.