Dog Found With Severe Chemical Burns on His Head, Face, and Mouth Finally Gets Help

How could someone do this!? Recently, a German Shepherd was found in Homestead, Florida with severe chemical burns on his head, face, and mouth. Not only that, but his eye was coming out of its socket. Warning: the below photos are graphic. 

Susan Scheinhaus of Pet Orphans Rescue was called immediately and she rushed the dog to an emergency veterinarian. Susan named him Duke and doesn’t believe this was an accident. Duke doesn’t have any injuries that would indicate he accidentally burned himself or that he was hit by a car. Sadly, someone did this to an innocent dog.

Heidi’s Legacy Dog Rescue, a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue and placement of unwanted animals, stepped up to help Duke. He had his first surgery and his condition is worse than originally thought. One eye had to be removed, while the acid had eaten into his skull and mouth.

The veterinarian also had to clean maggots out of Duke’s head during the surgery, as well as remove ticks. He will now have daily wound care. Keeping our fingers crossed for a positive recovery for this sweet boy. 

Heidi’s Legacy Dog Rescue is offering a $500 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for this heinous act. And thanks to a kind donor who wishes to remain anonymous, another $500 have been added to the reward, making the reward now $1,000.

There is no way around it: this is animal abuse. Some incidents of animal cruelty go unreported because of a lack of understanding of what is considered neglect. There are signs to look out for when identifying animal abuse and neglect. It’s good to know the signs in case you ever come across an incident of animal abuse.

It’s important to remember that law enforcement and animal control departments highly advise against citizens taking matters into their own hands. As much as it angers you to see an animal being abused or neglected, you could end up putting yourself in a dangerous situation when confronting an animal abuser or trespassing on someone’s property to rescue an animal.

It can take more than reporting animal abuse to the authorities, so to help in prosecuting the abuser, the best thing you can do is document the details, dates, and times of any incidents and contact animal control immediately.

Anyone with information about Duke can call the Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS. Please SHARE this post, the more people who read Duke’s story, the better chance we have at finding who did this.

If you would like to Donate to Duke’s ongoing medical care, click here.

For more information about Heidi’s Legacy Rescue Network, visit their website.

Image source: Heidi’s Legacy Dog Rescue/Facebook