Can you adopt this torture survivor?

Foster mom Jane Simon poses with sweet brown Sugar. All photos of Sugar are courtesy of Kim Rodgers, Bark Pet Photography.

I don't usually write stories about particular animals needing homes, but that's not because they aren't newsworthy.

It's just that there are millions upon millions of them. So many that it becomes impossible to sift through and pick which ones to write about. There are practical matters of geography, too. The readership for this blog is scattered throughout America and Canada, and a local adopter is preferable if long-distance logistics are to be avoided.

Instead, I encourage people to get acquainted with their local shelters and rescue groups, and adopt animals out from there. Pets with so much love to give are being discarded as trash every day, and they are available in every size, shape, age and breed, complete with dramatic survival stories.

But once in a while, someone comes at me with eyes that I just can't refuse.

Sugar is one such dog.

The four-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier was tortured at the hands of people. She survived violence that would test the mettle of even the strongest human beings. Despite that, she made it through intact. And miraculously, so did her love and trust of people.

Sugar's rescue began when a man brought her into a Los Angeles-area shelter at the end of a rope. Rescuer Jane Simon was at the North Central Care Center on Lacy Street picking up a feral cat for a relocation program she managed, and that's when she spotted Sugar.

"She was so pathetic, and in such horrible shape, that I just burst into tears upon seeing her," Jane recalls.

Sugar was emaciated and near death. Pieces of her ears had been chopped off with scissors. She was scalded so badly with acid burns that her shoulder bone was exposed. Multiple back-alley C-sections left her suffering with internal infections.

"They more or less ripped the puppies out of her," says Jane, who took Sugar home and patiently nursed her back to health. "Despite all this, she is as sweet as can be. It took her only a couple of days to trust me, and ever since she has been the greatest dog."

But Sugar's story doesn't have its happily-ever-after ending yet. Jane is moving to Colorado to attend grad school, and large pockets of that state have a breed ban on against pit bulls in a discriminatory act of canine racism. In Denver, hundreds of well-behaved dogs lost their lives. They were hauled from their homes by authorities and euthanized.

Sugar hasn't been cat-tested, but like other types of dogs such as Huskies, Jack Russells, and Rottweilers, pits are known for having a high small-prey drive, so a home with cats isn't recommended. She's not aggressive with other dogs, but does get frightened and a bit snappy with them sometimes. Sugar loves people of all ages, but a home without small children is preferable. That's because she loves to nibble their toes.








DO YOU HAVE ROOM IN YOUR HEART AND HOME FOR SUGAR?

If you're interested in finding out more about Sugar, please get in touch with her foster mom. Jane Simon can be reached by phone at (323) 447-3462, or email her at ladyjanea@gmail.com. You can meet Sugar most Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. at Petco on 200 S. LaBrea in Los Angeles. That's near 3rd, next to Ralphs. She's on display as part of the Tails of the City adoption fair.