Dog set on fire and left for dead 'in act of revenge'
A man has been accused of stealing a dog and setting it on fire to get back at his ex-girlfriend.
The four-year-old Red Heeler named Dixie was reported missing by her owner Trista Heywood, from Utah, on February 28, according to local publication KSLTV.
Police allege Michael Busico, 40, kidnapped the pet to get back at his former girlfriend, Ms Heywood’s mum.
Dixie was found horrifically injured on March 1 in a field next to a nearby highway.
She was rushed to a local emergency veterinary hospital, where she underwent treatment for second and third-degree burns.
On Monday, Ms Heywood broke the news that despite all of her medical care, the Red Heeler is going to have to be put down.
“This is a very hard thing for me to post and tell everyone but we are going to have to say our goodbyes to our sweet Dixie girl,” she wrote on Facebook.
“The surgeries that she needs to her eyes, ears and abdomen are going to be very hard on her and she may not make it out of them.”
Ms Heywood said the tissue in Dixie’s eyes is so badly burnt that she would more than likely lose her sight and that there was not enough healthy skin to place a graft on her badly burnt belly.
“Our hearts are so broken and we have no words, this is news that we didn’t want to hear,” she said, adding that any money raised through a GoFundMe will be donated to the vet hospital and charities that help abused animals.
“We are more blessed than ever with what everyone has done for her and for us,” Ms Heywood said.
Ex-boyfriend faces torture charge
Busico has since been booked into Tooele County Jail on suspicion of torture of a companion animal, arson, theft and criminal trespass.
“Mr Busico specifically targeted his ex-girlfriend’s daughter’s dog,” the arresting officer said in a report, KSLTV reported.
“From my training and experience, I believe that Mr Busico was targeting the victim’s animal to directly intimidate and threaten her and his ex-girlfriend.”
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