Puppy Burned With Acid After 'Potty Accident' Has Leg and Tail Amputated

A puppy narrowly escaped death in Detroit after being doused in acid, with her injuries so severe that she underwent amputations.

On July 30, the 12-week-old puppy named Amira was surrendered to the Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society covered in chemical burns from the acid. A doctor at the society reached out to Woodhaven Animal Hospital, where he also works, and Dr. Lucretia Greear for help. She has over 20 years of experience with stem-cell therapies and had no hesitation in helping Amira.

Greear told Newsweek that Amira had been burned after she had a potty accident in her crate.

Greear said the doctors weren't able to start surgeries right away, as they had to stabilize Amira before treatments. This included between 40 and 50 baths to help remove the dead tissue. Amira's condition was dire.

"You could smell a chemical odor every time you bathed her," said Greear. "We almost needed to see the worst of it before we could start with our treatment plan."

This process took a couple of weeks. Amira lost part of her ear and the front of her nose. Her toes were falling off. The hospital ended up amputating her tail as it was rotting off.

Last Tuesday, the doctors decided to amputate her leg as well. The acid ate right through her muscle, tissue and bone. The infection became so great that there was no choice but to amputate.

Treatment Plan

There was no hesitation in helping Amira, pulling out all the stops to treat her through a special skin-grafting process. Greear teamed up with veterinary biotech company Hilltop Bio, which provided the animal hospital with amniotic skin derived from horse placenta, a first for the clinic.

Greear used the amniotic membrane product on Amira's cleaned-up skin during surgery in August. That, mixed with the hyperbaric chamber treatments, was the plan of action to help Amira generate new skin and tissue, and heal.

Amira has since been able to grow her hair back, Greear said, but she is very much still in the healing process. The more Amira felt better, the more trusting she became. She is a very happy pup, considering the horrific experience she went through.

"A month from now, a couple of months from now, it will look like nothing has happened," said Greear. "Her story will just be just a story."

Greear added that she is hopeful this membrane treatment is a step in the right direction for the medical field. As horrible as Amira's story is, the silver lining is her life was saved, and this medical treatment could one day be used to help other animals or even human patients.

Dr. Patricia Odette, president of the Animal Resource Funding Foundation, immediately stepped in when she heard about Amira's case. The foundation has paid, and will continue to pay, for Amira's surgeries. Odette estimated that cost to be $15,000.

"We've had other burn dogs, but not as bad as Amira," Odette told Newsweek. "They were fire dogs caught in fires. I've never seen an intentional burn."

Amira still has a ways to go before her helpers can start thinking of getting her adopted. The team is taking her case a day at a time. She has stitches and is still receiving hyperbaric chamber treatments.

Luckily, the staff have gotten Amira out of the hospital to different fosters. She's getting to run outside, roll in the grass, and be a normal dog. The hope is she has only one or two more surgeries left.

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