Woman raising funds to help nurse heavily-abused dog back to health

TORONTO – A saddening case of animal abuse may have a happy ending, thanks to the actions of one Texas woman.

San Antonio resident Robyn Slusky said she found the six-year-old boxer in a ditch near a Pilot Gas Station on Interstate-37 this past Saturday.

Slusky said the dog was covered in blood and was missing significant portions of her skin. They would later discover her list of injuries was as gruesome as it was extensive.

Slusky and her friend rushed the dog to a veterinary ER, where she was eventually transferred to South Texas Veterinary Specialists, or STVS.

Once there, doctors had an even grimmer assessment of the dog’s injuries.

“It looks like she was dragged or rolled across a concrete surface,” said Dr. Sarah Israel with STVS. “Hit by car trauma is one of the highest injury type traumas that we see, second only to dog attacks.”

They say she was also found with a pellet lodged in her torso.

Yet despite the seeming severity of her injuries, Israel believes her chances of making a full recovery are surprisingly good.

“She has a strong will to live. She eats every day. She’s a happy dog and she’s very sweet,” Israel said.

Slusky has named the neglected dog Pilot, after the gas station where she was found, and she’s committed to helping the dog pull through.

“I can only imagine how much pain she is in, but all she wants to do is lean on you and be with you despite the fact that humans have been so cruel to her,” said Slusky.

So far, Slusky said Pilot’s treatment has run over $6,500 – so she’s appealing to the public for a little help covering her medical expenses.

As of Thursday afternoon, the site has raised over $7,000 dollars U.S., just shy of the $9,000 dollar fundraising target.

To learn more about Pilot’s story, you can check out Slusky’s page here.