Pit Bull Set Afire, Recovering in California

July 26, 2005
A pit bull that was apparently set on fire, to the horror of the people who saw the animal in San Francisco's Bayview district on Sunday, is recovering from burns on its belly and legs.

A pit bull that was apparently set on fire, to the horror of the people who saw the animal in San Francisco's Bayview district on Sunday, is recovering from burns on its belly and legs.

The cruelty is ''disgusting; it's awful'' said Deb Campbell, spokeswoman for San Francisco Animal Care and Control. ''If you think about it, it's probably pretty hard to set a dog on fire.''

The animal control officer who brought the female dog in did not smell gasoline or any other flammable material, Campbell said.

The dog is responding well to treatment at Pets Unlimited, a non-profit veterinary hospital and animal shelter, and is expected to recover. The unnamed dog could be released to Animal Care and Control today.

She said the dog, which is about 1 year old, ''seemed healthy and sweet,'' adding that many people have called the agency to express interest in adopting the dog, which had no identification tags.

''Obviously, she's going to have a much better life from now on,'' Campbell said.

A recent spate of attacks on humans by pit bulls, starting with the June 3 death of 12-year-old San Francisco resident Nicholas Faibish, has increased the alarm about the breed. Nicholas' death spurred a state bill that would allow local governments to restrict specific breeds.

''There's been a lot of discussion or arguments about pit bulls,'' Campbell said. ''But we haven't seen anything like this.''

Whoever set the dog on fire could be charged with felony animal cruelty, she added.

Officials said they are investigating a number of leads, but urged anyone with useful information about Sunday's 5 p.m. attack near Harbor and Northbridge roads, to report it to Animal Care and Control at (415) 554-9400.

Witnesses said they saw the burning dog run into the dry grass, sparking a grass fire that was put out by the fire department.

Distributed by the Associated Press

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