August 26, 2005
Valdosta - It's a painful process this puppy endures every day. "He gets bathed everyday, his wounds are cleaned, and its extremely painful," said Michelle Shultz, Animal Care Specialist.
But Monty still wags his tail, and takes it in stride. "He shivers a lot when I put him in the tub, be he doesn't try to pull away and he's never growled at me," said Michelle.
It's been three weeks since Monty was covered with lighter fluid and set on fire by three juveniles. Animal control workers say its the worst case of animal cruelty they've ever seen. "I thought it was terrible, I really hope they prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent they can," said Sgt. Bill Shultz.
Even though the fire nearly killed him, Monty hasn't shied away from people. He never comes across a stranger, and shows affection to everyone he meets. "He's very happy go lucky, a good-natured puppy, I don't know why anybody would've done something like this," said Bill.
Monty will stay at the animal shelter for about two more months, then he'll be up for adoption. Workers here say they won't have a problem finding him a safe and loving home. "We get calls almost every day about people wanting to adopt him," said Bill.
And although he'll always carry scars from this tragedy, they hope his wounds will teach others an important lesson. "I would love to see him go to a home where he can be used for pet therapy, maybe with burn victims, or he could go into schools and teach children about compassion," said Michelle.
Compassion those three juveniles failed to show this defenseless puppy. Now they're facing charges of animal cruelty, and obstruction of an officer.
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