Here is another article that I found. It tells a bit more then the previous one.

Supporting Sugar Abuse causes pain that surgery can't fix
By ALAINA FAHY
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
[email protected]


Sugar, a 6-year-old Rottweiler, is fighting for her life after being dumped off at Fairfield Area Humane Society last week. After being beaten by what veterinarians think was a baseball bat, her jaw is broken and has since fused shut, making it impossible for her to open her mouth. Her surgery is estimated at $2,500. Bill Huffman, a humane officer, has been her primary care giver. E-G photo by Jessica Crossfield

LANCASTER - The worst case of animal abuse Breanne Lambert's ever seen was waiting for her when she got to the Fairfield Area Humane Society about two weeks ago.

Lambert got to work before the shelter opened. The parking lot was empty except for an abandoned rottweiler. The only clue to help the shelter find out where the dog came from was a red collar with the dog's name - Sugar Rae.

Sugar, as the shelter's employees started calling the dog, was abused by a bat or repetitive kicking.
The dog's jaw was broken by the abuse. It's not possible the dog could have been hit by a car because of the angle the jaw was hit, Lambert said. The teeth on the right side of Sugar's mouth were knocked out of alignment, so her tongue will permanently protrude out of her mouth.

The surgery that could save Sugar's life usually costs about $2,500. The shelter would rather spend the money it can't really afford to save Sugar's life rather than put her to sleep, Lambert said. A veterinarian will break her jaw so she can eat more and won't starve to death.

Lambert, director of the shelter, enjoys the part of her job that includes finding animals safe, happy homes. The part of trying to nurse sick, abused or sometimes dying animals back to health is heartbreaking.

"I just can't imagine what she lived through," Lambert said.

The bone supporting Sugar's eye socket was shattered and left to grow back on its own, which caused her right eye to drop lower than the left.

The damage from the dog's eye socket shattering probably took about two or three months, Lambert said. It would have caused excruciating pain because there was never any medical treatment, which is obvious by how the bones around the dog's eye grew back.

It's hard for Lambert to understand how anyone could do this to a pet or any animal.

She thinks Sugar was an indoor pet because her coat was clean and shiny when she was dropped off, unlike an outdoor animal whose coat would be matted or dirty.

The dog also knows how to sit and stay. Someone even took the time to house train her.

"It would have been more humane to put that dog down," Lambert said. "It shocks me the most that they wouldn't even spend the $70 to have her put down."

Abusing someone or something else is a sign that someone is in desperate need of psychological care, said Stephanie Miller, counselor for Charis Counseling and Psychological Services in Lancaster.

"It can start with animals and then to humans or vice verse, or both at the same time," Miller said.

Anger and domestic violence go hand in hand, she said. There is usually another issue or emotion that is underlying the anger. Looking deeper at what is behind the anger is important for preventing violent behaviors in some people.

Sugar can't eat regular food like the other shelter animals that are healthy. Employees at the shelter have to buy a special, liquid food for her. She can slurp it up with her tongue to get it through the small hole where her teeth were knocked sideways.

It was one of the only ways to feed Sugar that worked, said Bill Huffman, Fairfield County humane officer. Employees tried a turkey baster and a feeding tube, but more food got on them than in Sugar's mouth.

The form of her ribs can be seen through her black fur. What once could have been a healthy family dog is starving to death, Lambert said. The dog has gained about a pound since she was dumped at the humane society, but her frame still makes it obvious she's malnourished.

The shelter is searching for a veterinarian to perform a surgery on Sugar so the dog can open her mouth enough to eat more wet food. Otherwise, Lambert is afraid the dog will starve to death.

"You know she's hungry because whenever there's an empty cat food can thrown in the garbage, she starts sniffing at it," Lambert said.

The surgery won't solve all of the problems the abuse caused Sugar, but it will help save her life, Lambert said.

"She'll never be a beauty queen, but that's OK with us," she said. "The dog's too sweet to give up on."
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