Thanks to support from friends like you, Bennie was rescued, healed and now has his forever home—complete with a dog sister.
Thanks to generous donors, our trained staff is able to provide medical care, love and second chances to pets who come to the Animal Rescue League of Iowa in desperate need of help—like Bennie.
Bennie already had suffered so much by the time he was rescued. Responding to a call of a dog in distress, ARL Animal Control officers and Des Moines police found him at a residence with his muzzle swollen four times the normal size. His kennel was covered in feces and his water bowl was full of blood.
When Bennie's owner was asked to step away, Bennie ran over to one of the officers and leaned his entire body weight on the officer's leg, seeking protection. The owner had allegedly wrapped an electrical cord around Bennie's muzzle and urinated on him.
Bennie was rushed to the ARL, where our Emergency Care Team began administering pain medication, antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications. They also gave him a bath to make him comfortable. They found that even after all he'd been through he was extremely sweet and loved attention.
Bennie was under the close watch of our medical team and care staff for weeks. His swelling didn't decrease for over a week after he was rescued, and it took a full month for it to go down completely.
Thanks to the care of our medical team, the damage to his mouth and gums eventually healed, but the scars and fur loss around his muzzle—where the ligature was tied—will probably never go away. Thanks to an investigation by ARL Animal Control, the owner, a juvenile offender, faces charges.
Bennie's second chance was not possible without YOUR support.
After a month of healing, Bennie was finally ready to be neutered and find his forever family. We're happy to report that he found his perfect match! His mom adores him, and he and his new dog sister hit it off right away, wrestling and playing together from the moment they met.
While his muzzle was once so swollen he could barely eat, now Bennie always has a big smile. Thanks to you, he is finally living the live he has always deserved.
And he is loving it.
To learn more about the many ways you can help vulnerable pets—like Bennie—in our community, contact Lora Rogers at legacy@arl-iowa.org or (515) 473-9119.