Dog found beaten, kicked and burned
Philadelphia, PA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007
County: Philadelphia
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A dog that had been beaten and then burned in late August is getting some star treatment at the SPCA in Hunting Park. The scars may still be visible, but Etana is making great strides on the road to recovery. Her chances of survival had looked grim.
"When I saw her the first day, I thought I might have to amputate the leg. But the way she's responded is fabulous," said Dr. Rayindra Murarka.
Jen Utley, wife of the Phillies' second basemen and volunteer at the Pennsylvania SPCA, said she immediately wanted to help.
"I was here when she was in the depths of hell, and it was really just overwhelming for me," she said.
Utley donated not only her time, but is also funding the medical care to help nurse Etana, a boxer-mix, back to health.
"Etana is obviously such a success story," she said.
Chase agrees.
"She does look great. I saw some pictures of her when she first came in," he said.
The Utleys spoke to the media about Etana's case in hopes of raising awareness about the problem of dog fighting in the Philadelphia area.
"You never want to harm an animal, and I think that people that do should be seriously punished," said Chase.
Chase said Etana's story has even spread all the way to the Phillies locker room.
"I have actually gotten a lot of feedback from my teammates, coaches, the Phillies organization. Everybody thinks it's a great thing. She's a sweet dog, but again this unfortunately happens to a lot of other animals as well," he said.
The Utleys also had these words for the attackers.
"Anybody that can do that to a thirty-five pound dog is a coward is definitely a coward in my book," said Chase.
Case UpdatesEtana, the beaten and burned dog that narrowly escaped death in August after a case of animal abuse was adopted after months of rehabilitation sponsored by a Philadelphia sports star and his wife. The female dog left the Philadelphia SPCA over the weekend with her new family, more than two months after she was rushed to the shelter with bruises, lacerations and burns.
Authorities said the dog was kicked, punched and set on fire in the West Philadelphia section of the city.
The boxer mix was nursed back to health by the SPCA staff, along with Phillies second baseman Chase Utley and his wife, Jennifer.
Jennifer was volunteering at the shelter and helping other animals when Etana arrived at the shelter with life-threatening injuries.
The Utleys paid for all of Etana's medical bills. | Source: MSNBC - Nov 12, 2007
Update posted on Nov 13, 2007 - 2:12AM |
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