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Gucci, the Unlikely
Animal Welfare Activist
celebrates his 16th Birthday at B&B Pet Stop
B&B
Pet Stop and the Friends of Mobile Animal Shelter are
Celebrating Gucci’s 16th Birthday at noon on
Saturday, March 27, 2010.
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.
Come to B&B
Pet Stop on Saturday, March 27th to meet
Gucci and help us celebrate his 16th
birthday. The Friends of the Mobile Animal Shelter will
be serving birthday cake at NOON!
Note: The information in
this story was taken from an article by Dr. Laurie Green
of Mobile on the Alabama Veterinary Medical Association
website.
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