Story by Hannah Ball; video by Tim Jagielo
Fenton Twp. — Harvey Dent, the approximately 9-month-old blind puppy whose previous owner burned, tortured and abandoned him, found his “furever” home and a happy ending.
Fenton residents Megan and Jacob Pawloski officially adopted Harvey on Tuesday, July 18, at Adopt-A-Pet, three months after he came to the shelter with severe burns on the left side of his body and face, and a wound on his hip.
Megan, 23, said, “How can you not want to adopt Harvey? I didn’t have the greatest mother, honestly, so I kind of relate to Harvey in a way. He was one of the top for me. I was going to adopt a new dog anyway. It happened to be when he was here.”
Megan and her husband have another dog, Bailey, 2, who they adopted from Adopt-A-Pet two years ago, so Harvey will have someone to play with. Megan is currently training to be a firefighter and hopes to work for the city of Fenton.
Since they brought Harvey home on Tuesday, Megan said he fit in very well with Bailey.
“We took her outside on a lead, him outside on a lead to start with and they met each other and went right in the house,” she said.
Harvey doesn’t have many issues bumping into things.
“If you say ‘stop,’ he’ll stop what he’s doing and pay attention to where he’s at. I’ve also noticed he runs his nose down the wall to see where the wall’s at and then after he does that, he doesn’t really have any problems,” she said.
To prepare her home, they put Styrofoam on the corners of tables and other sharp corners.
“We’ve like baby proofed the house,” she said. “He’s already pretty fine. The first night he was bumping into stuff but now he knows where all the doors are, finds his own food, gets on the bed.”
Megan was one of 37 applicants who wished to adopt Harvey, said Jody Maddock, director of Adopt-A-Pet. Maddock interviewed several candidates and chose Megan and Jacob. HANNAH TEXTED JODY – WE NEED TO KNOW WHY THIS COUPLE WAS CHOSEN OUT OF ALL THE OTHERS. PLEASE LEAVE SOME SPACE, SHOULD NOT BE MORE THAN TWO OR THREE SENTENCES.
“We were seeing a complete new dog once his eyes were removed. He’s out of pain and he has turned into a puppy. So what we have seen for the last three months was a very much more reserved, much more quiet dog and … now he’s got all this extra energy, this extra playfulness. He’s naughty,” Maddock joked.
She said they’ve received a few donations to pay for Harvey’s medical expenses, including a $1,000 donation on July 14, the day the Times broke the story.
Harvey’s previous owner, Predrick Derrell Hurt, 44, of Flint, burned him on April 5 and abandoned him outdoors.
Named “Harvey Dent” by Genesee County Animal Control, based on the Batman character, the mixed-breed puppy sustained severe burns all over his head and the left side of his body.
The GCAC handed Harvey over to Adopt-A-Pet in May, and then the veterinarian technician, Alyssa Pennington, fostered Harvey and tended to his medical needs.
He had burns on his head and on the left side of his body. His eyes were so damaged they had to be removed, along with parts of his ears. When found, Harvey had an open gash on his left hip. Maddock previously said it looked like someone sprayed him with lighter fluid and set him on fire.
Harvey no longer needs pain medication or any future medical attention He is as energetic as any other puppy.
Hurt was charged with animal cruelty. He received two years probation and was ordered to pay for Harvey’s medical bills along with over $2,000 in court fees.
source
