Animal support groups fight for care, justice for ‘Phoenix’

Passion for Paws Memorial Animal Shelter, 4 Little Paws Rescue and other animal support groups in the Nixon area have raised more than $3,800 to provide care for and find the culprit responsible for one of the most horrific animal abuse cases they have seen in recent years.

Patsy Vigil Scherrer, a Nixon City Council member who also is the director of Passion for Paws, said she received a call at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, from Jessica Yantes about a dog that was found on Power Plant Road (10^th Street) near her residence.

“It was in horrible conditon and it looked like it had been set on fire,” Scherrer said. “They asked to bring the dog to Passion for Paws so we could call out for emergency help for her. On receiving the dog, the smell of burnt flesh and fur was all over her.”

Those who have examined the dog say it appeared she was doused with a flammable accelerant and deliberately set on fire and suffered other injuries from trying to escape from the blaze.

Scherrer said an emergency call out was placed on social media threads and within a matter of minutes, she was able to connect with an emergency medical foster from 4 Little Paws out of San Antonio.

The dog, which had been renamed Phoenix out of the hopes she would rise from the ashes of her mistreatment, was taken to Callaghan Road Animal Hospital and spent her first day on pain medication and an IV. She has had to undergo several expensive treatments and procedures, though she did begin to show signs of eating and drinking well enough to be released to her foster’s home. So far, the cost for care has grown to an estimate of between $8,000 to $13,000, depending on what further things must be done to help her recover.

“She will undergo many exams and treatments, but in all, this little girl is a fighter,” Scherrer said.

4 Little Paws has established a fund to cover the cost of Phoenix’s care and has raised nearly $2,300, while Passion for Paws has set up a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the cruelty endured by Phoenix with the total having reached more than $1,500.

The Nixon Police Department is currently in charge of the investigation, with possible animal cruelty charges, a third-degree felony, pending against whoever is determined to have committed the heinous act.

For more information about how to help or how to donate, check out the Facebook pages of Passion for Paws and 4 Little Paws.