‘Most Scarred Dog’ From Fighting Ring Still in Shelter 2 Years After Rescue

A dogfighting survivor is looking for a loving new home after being rescued and nurtured back to good health.

Bull-terrier mix Kimmy, four, survived a horrendous ordeal as part of a dog-fighting ring when she was two and she is now ready to look for a forever home.

The Humane Society of West Michigan’s (HSWM) director of development and marketing, Amy Stockero, told Newsweek that when she arrived, still aged two, she had sustained injuries “consistent with fighting other dogs and neglect.”

Stockero said vets told her: “To start, the wear on the dog’s teeth is consistent with trauma or the chewing of items that are harder than the enamel which coats the teeth, bone, stone, metal.

“The lower lip has evidence of a previous laceration which was not appropriately repaired. Although the wound is healed, the abnormal conformation of the tissues suggests that this laceration wasn’t sutured but left to heal by the second intention. The extensive scarring over the dog’s face, legs, ears, and chest is consistent with fighting. The dog’s unkempt, dirty condition, untreated skin maladies, and thin body condition indicate neglect.”

Kimmy came to the HSWM as other shelters in the area didn’t have the resources to take on a dog with such a difficult background.

Stockero told Newsweek that Kimmy was “the most scarred case that we have ever seen” at the shelter.

Explaining Kimmy’s initial behavior, Stockero said: “She was lunging, fearful, and overwhelmed. Our staff tried relocating her to different kennels to help her stimulation decrease, but nothing was improving her stress. It was then that her foster stepped in and took her home.”

Fortunately, Kimmy thrived with the help of her foster carer and started to embrace a happy environment denied to her during the early years of her life.

Stockero continued: “Within days he noticed a difference, she was relaxed, breathing slower, and instead of hiding under the coffee table as she initially did, she was venturing into new spaces. Now that she has been in this foster home for almost two years she has learned how to truly open up.

“She loves playing fetch, she sleeps in bed with her foster, she even occasionally steals a snack off the table. She will let neighborhood kids come pet her and she loves meeting people. She thrives in simple things ‘playing outside, love, snuggles, food, and naps’ is what her foster has said.”

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), millions of companion animals enter U.S. shelters every year.

The ASPCA estimated that approximately 3.1 million are dogs and an estimated 3.2 million are cats.

It added: “We estimate that the number of dogs and cats entering U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 7.2 million in 2011. The biggest decline was in dogs (from 3.9 million to 3.1 million).”

The ASPCA continued: “Approximately 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted each year (2 million dogs and 2.1 million cats).”

Stockero told Newsweek an ideal home for Kimmy would be a secure place where she can feel safe.

She added: “Her ideal home would have a fenced-in yard that she can run around and feel safe in, she would do great with one person or a few people as long as they love her and want to take her outside and walk her.

“She is happy being around one or a lot of people as long as she is part of the pack and is included.”