A female pit bull that was doused with gasoline and set afire in Baltimore on Wednesday is reported to be badly burned but stable at a Pennsylvania veterinary hospital.
"She's actually holding her own right now. Her blood pressure is good, and she's on pain meds," said Holly Helfer, a veterinary technician at Swan Harbor Animal Hospital in Federal Hill, where the animal was originally treated. The staff there was getting regular updates from the Pennsylvania facility, which Helfer said asked not to be identified.
A Baltimore police officer rescued the dog after he noticed smoke about noon Wednesday in the 1600 block of Presbury St., according to police. He took action after realizing the dog was engulfed in fire. The officer used a sweater to put out the flames.
The pit bull suffered burns on 95 percent of her body and was taken to Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, where officials called it "one of the most severe cases of animal cruelty" they had ever seen.
"No animal deserves this type of treatment," said Jennifer Mead-Brause, executive director at BARCS.
The dog, nicknamed Phoenix by shelter staff, was then taken to Swan Harbor, BARCS officials said Thursday. The shelter said money from its Franky Fund, created for homeless animals in need of medical care, helped to cover the initial cost of the dog's treatment.
Late Wednesday, the dog was transported to the Pennsylvania hospital by an animal rescue group that agreed to cover all her expenses, Helfer said. She did not know the group's name.
"The surgeon there is going to assess her wounds," she said. "This is months and months and months [of recovery] if it's treatable. Her whole body is entirely burned."
The biggest worries are infection and fluid loss, she said. "These guys can dehydrate pretty quickly. They can go into kidney failure. That's what we worry about."
If, in the next few days, veterinarians see the dog is developing a systemic infection, or if her kidney function begins to deteriorate, "that's when they would stop" treatments and euthanize her.
For now, Helfer said, "she has not gotten any worse."
Police have no suspects and are continuing to investigate. BARCS is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone found responsible. Call 410-396-4698 and ask for the animal enforcement officer supervisor at the city's Bureau of Animal Control.
Baltimore Sun reporter Frank D. Roylance contributed to this article.
