A little over two months after she was found suffering from severe burns on the side of a Norwood highway, Annie and some of her caretakers with the Animal Rescue League met with the media to provide an update on her lengthy recovery.
Annie, a juvenile mixed-breed, was brought to the Norwood Police Station in August after she was found along Route 1 suffering from second degree burns on her head, neck, shoulders, front limbs and abdomen. Although she had a leash and collar, she did not have any tags and microchips.
According to Doctor Hannah Donnelly, the medical team had doubts they should even treat Annie because of her pain.
“When Annie arrived it was pretty clear she had a tough path ahead of her. Her care involved a lot of pain control,” said Donnelly. “It was very difficult for us in the beginning. We actually had to contact our friends over at Tufts Walpole and they were able to provide her with 24 hour intravenous opioid medication to control that pain.”
Annie was suffering from infections and had to be sedated routinely in order to remove layers of dead skin.
Despite the lengthy and extreme measures taken, Annie has made a ‘resilient’ recovery. Although she was and continues to be wary of strangers, Annie started to come out of her shell after two to four weeks and is now completely off all her medications.
“She’s doing real dog things in her foster home like playing with toys and playing with people and figuring out life again,” said Donnelly.
Large swaths of scar tissue could still be seen tracing harsh lines through the dogs’ brown coat. Although Donnelly doubts that Annie will ever fully regain her fur coat, she has grown back more hair than she originally expected.
Officials from the Animal Rescue League stated that there is no timetable for when Annie may be put up for adoption due to the ongoing investigation into her mistreatment.
Officials stated that they are still actively searching for leads and are asking anyone with information regarding the case to contact ARL’s Law Enforcement Department at 617-426-9170 x110 or email cruelty@arlboston.org.
Despite the mystery around her circumstances, Donelly believes one thing is clear.
“She’s such a sweet, sweet dog. That was evident even when she was in so much pain.”
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