Animal rescuers fight to save skinned dog found in southwest Detroit - The Detroit News

Patty, a small bull terrier found stabbed and skinned near a southwest Detroit park Thursday, looks like she’s going to make it.

But veterinarians were able to save only a small portion of the large swath of skin ripped from the back of her neck to her ear.

“Her prognosis is good, but we’ll have to wait and see if some of the skin that was reattached will stay alive,” said Dr. Amanda Houk of the Ann Arbor Veterinary Hospital.

Houk said the dog will remain at the veterinary hospital for at least a couple more days.

Patty’s injuries did not appear to be accidental, Houk said.

“This was a very abnormal presentation,” she said.

“It was not like the dogs we see who were hit by cars or in dog fights. It appears that somebody intentionally did this, but without knowing, we can’t say for sure.”

Elisandra Figueroa, an animal rights activist who operates Providing for Paws in southwest Detroit, where she’s lived for 44 years, said the organization is printing fliers to distribute across the city.

“We want to find out who did this,” said Figueroa, the organization’s volunteer vice president. “Somebody intentionally did this. They stabbed her in the side of her chest and skinned her from the back of her neck to her ear. This was no dog fight.”

Providing for Paws provides food, spay and neuter assistance, vaccines and other services for financially stressed families who own pets.

Figueroa said the Detroit Police Department notified the organization after a resident saw Patty walking near her house, across the street from Patton Park.

Detroit Police did not respond to messages Friday.

“One of our volunteers called me in tears when she saw the dog,” said Figueroa. The group’s president, Joanne Dixon, “drove the dog all the way to Ann Arbor because that was the only 24-hour veterinary hospital we could find.”

Houk said the hospital’s main concern now is controlling pain and long-term wound management.

“A dog can survive without its fur, but we’re concerned about infection,” she said.

“If the dog were out in the wild after this happened, she could have gotten sick from bacteria getting inside the blood,” she said.

Rescuers have set up a fundraiser on YouCaring.com, where over $17,000 had been raised by Friday afternoon.

Donations can be made at www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/poor-dog-that-was-skinned/87565.

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