Abused Dogs From Philly Treated In Hunterdon County

LEBANON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - There is a disturbing poster you'll see when you walk into Crown Veterinary Specialists in Lebanon.

The sign reads, "Hey Philadelphia: Stop Abusing Animals." It shows a couple of scorched pit bull puppies.

This past weekend another burned dog was brought in for life-saving treatment. It's the seventh such burn victim from Philadelphia.

The 8-month-old male Pomeranian was scalded with boiling water.

The up and down burn pattern on his back means it likely was not an accidental splash.

Callum was rescued by Animal Alliance of New Jersey.

"I just think that the depravity of people. It's just reaching new levels where inflicting deliberate pain and harm on an animal has somehow become a sport," rescuer Ann Trinkle told WCBS 880's Wayne Cabot.

Just weeks ago, technician Lenore Woodruff and her colleagues saved Hercules, a dog burned over 75 percent of his 6-month-old body.

"He has absolutely changed my life, this dog, because we had the first victim a week before him. That was Chloe and she was also, unfortunately, set on fire, and we had her here," Woodruff told Cabot. "We worked on her for about three hours or so and she did not make it and that was really really hard on all of us and Hercules showed up within a week after that and look at him now."

"I just feel like he's a little ambassador for her," she added.

Hercules no longer wakes up yelping with nightmares.

He's off drip antibiotics and he can walk thanks to skin graft material donated by the medical device firm Integra.

"Were you confident he'd make it?" Cabot asked Woodruff.

"No. No. You know, you want to have hope but you just have to be careful with how much you hope," she said.

"Even with the best care, a little bit of luck is required," replied Cabot. "And this is a lucky guy."

"He's just such a little sweet dog, you know, with everything he's been through, he just loves every single one of us. It's a huge team here and we all have a special attachment to him," she said. "I hate leaving my shift because of him. I always have to give him a kiss before I go."

"These animals do not lose their trust in humans. It's remarkable and it's humbling really because from the minute he arrived here, he had a flutter of a tail wag. He didn't know what happened to him," Trinkle said.

Pet lovers are sending checks, but the expenses outweigh the generosity. If you want to help, contact Crown Vet at http://www.animalalliancenj.org.

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