B&B Pet Stop
and the Friends of Mobile Animal Shelter celebrated Gucci’s 15th Birthday on
Saturday, March 28.
The story of
Gucci is both tragic and heroic. On the night of
Thursday, May 19, 1994, the three month old
Chow-husky mix, was hanged from a tree by his neck,
repeatedly smacked in the face and kicked, and
finally doused with lighter fluid and set on fire.
The puppy somehow managed to escape from his
teenaged assailants and, still ablaze, ran under a
porch. He was rescued by Dr. Doug James.
Dr. Ann Branch
performed the initial evaluation. She took one look
at the puppy with second and third degree burns
covering his face, head, and neck and agreed to
treat him at no charge, on the condition that he
never be returned to the cruel environment from
which he had been rescued. Dr. James thanked the
generous vet and left Gucci in her care for the time
being.
Meanwhile, Dr.
James had made attorney George Hardesty, a dog lover
and defender of animal welfare, aware of the assault
on Gucci. Hardesty was not encouraging, given the
dearth of animal protection laws in the State of
Alabama at that time, but promised to lend as much
support as he could.
Mobile Police
Officer Tommy Menton immediately launched his own
investigation of the crime, as did Ryan Russell, a
private investigator. By the next week, four males
had been identified as being associated with the
attack on Gucci. Less than two weeks later, a
nineteen year old and two sixteen year olds had been
arrested, taken into custody, and charged with
animal cruelty.
In May, 2000,
exactly six years following his abuse, the Alabama
State Legislature passed a bill making intentional
cruelty to domesticated animals a Class C felony,
punishable with a prison term of up to 10 years. The
bill was signed into law by Governor Don Siegleman,
with Gucci looking on, on May 20, 2000.
Little did Doug
James realize when he accepted responsibility for
Gucci’s care that spring night how this unlikeliest
of canine spokesmen would change his life, those of
all who have seen him or heard his story, and most
importantly, the safety of animals living in Alabama
and other states where similar animal protection
laws have been enacted in recent years.
Note: The
information in this story was taken from an article
by Dr. Laurie Green of Mobile on the Alabama
Veterinary Medical Association website.
