Severely Injured Poster Dog, Sweetie, Up for Adoption After Being Dragged for Miles

The town of Richfield, Utah, is seeking a new home for "Sweetie", a boxer that was severely injured after being dragged from the back of a pickup truck.

Someone dropped the near-dead dog off at Mooney's Boxer Rescue shelter and said the dog had fallen out of the back of a pickup while chained to the truck. The dog got dragged several miles before anyone noticed. Nellie Mooney said in a report to KSL Channel 5 News that the exhaust from the truck burned the boxer's face off and the dog had burns half way down her neck. Sweetie is missing an ear, but can still hear, and she is also missing an eyelid. Veterinarians will attempt to save her damaged eye through surgery, but if they are not successful, they will have to take the eye out.

The Mooney shelter owners said Sweetie is recovering with a positive personality, but they have much more work to do that could take several months and a lot of money. Sweetie will be put up for adoption on June 2^nd during the Richfield Animal Expo. In the meantime, shelter owners have set up a special medical fund for Sweetie at any Zion's Bank location. Mooney's Boxer Rescue can be reached at 435-896-6404.

Every year, thousands of animals are injured and dozens more are killed from riding in the back of pickup trucks, according to the pet safety web site www.benderplace.com. Falling, jumping, or being thrown out of open-bed vehicles often injures animals without warning or knowledge that this has occurred. Often times, animals incur ear, nose, or eye injuries from flying debris and insects. In some cases, animals are injured from the heat generated in the bed of the truck.

Even when pets ride inside the vehicle, the temperatures can rapidly rise. On an 85-degree day, with the windows down, the inside of a vehicle will reach 120 degrees. A dog's normal body temperature is around 101.5 - 102.2 degrees. A dog can survive a body temperature of 107 - 108 degrees for a very short period of time without suffering irreparable brain damage or death. The same goes for cats as well.

Benderplace offers these safety tips for allowing your pet to ride in the bed of a truck: