Pit bull stolen, abused, abandoned — now has to be euthanized [View all]

[KamaAina]

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Pit-bull-stolen-abused-abandoned-now-has-to-6271307.php

A pit bull who had been stolen from his owner and then beaten and burned with cigarettes before being abandoned under a freeway in San Francisco last week had to be euthanized over the weekend when his organs began failing, officials said.

Maximilian, as shelter staffers called him, was found around 6 a.m. Thursday near the corner of Division Street and South Van Ness, said Deb Campbell, a spokeswoman for San Francisco Animal Care and Control. In a coincidence, workers at the shelter, after getting in contact with the dog’s owner, learned that his real name was Maxx.

The dog, who was less than a year old, was found suffering from cigarette and other types of burns, broken and missing teeth, trauma to the head and body, and injuries to his legs and paws, including missing pads and nails. Still, Campbell said, he was in relatively good spirits when he got to the shelter, wagging his tail and even rolling over for a belly rub.

“He’s a friendly guy, which makes this kind of abuse all the more heartbreaking,” said Virginia Donohue, executive director of Animal Care and Control.