Old wives' tale may have led to horribly neglected dog's condition

ROSWELL, Ga. — A horribly neglected dog was rushed to a Roswell animal clinic this week for emergency care. The dog suffered burns and infections over 90 percent of its body.

It's believed this dog was a stray that someone along the line was likely trying to help, but instead they made the situation much, much worse.

"This pup was suffering," Dr. Marcus Smith with the Chattahoochee Animal Clinic told Channel 2’s Justin Wilfon.

It's believed someone poured burned motor oil over the dog to treat mange, leaving her with infections and burns over 90 percent of her body.

"The skin was fire engine red. This pup didn't want to move at all. Didn't want to raise her head up at all," Smith said.

It's possible someone was simply trying to help the stray dog, but vets said that kind of treatment causes much more harm than good.

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"Old school, wives-tale treatment only causes harm," Smith said.

After someone found the dog in Fannin County, it eventually ended up with the animal rescue group, Angels Among Us, which then rushed it to the clinic in Roswell for emergency care.

"I see so much, but the cases like this, still put the tears in my eyes and you just have to do something immediately," Angels Among Us volunteer Krysta Cannon said.

When she first arrived on Thursday, vets called her prognosis poor, but they're now confident she will survive.

They call her Susette.

“Really just a nervous, scared-to-death kind of pup," Smith said about Susette.

They're sure she'll look much healthier and happier in the days to come.

"She's obviously had a terrible life. We want to change that for her and make her future bright and happy," Cannon told Wilfon.

Many people used to believe that motor oil would kill the mites that cause the mange, and while it might do that, Susette is proof that it is a very bad thing to use on a dog.

Cox Media Group