Sep 6, 20222 min
HENRY COUNTY, VA – On November 4 of last year, a dog who has been named Mercy Jean was brought into the Franklin County Humane Society.
She had been a stray for over a week at the intersection of Cresthill Drive and Riverside Drive in Bassett.
“When she came into our care, she was emaciated. Her face appeared to be burned. It was later found out that something caustic had been thrown into her face most likely. It had burned her eyes, face, skin, and her tongue,” Franklin County Humane Society Executive Director Anita Scott told BTW21 News.
According to the humane society, Mercy Jean’s nails were painted hot pink and it was discovered that she had been a victim of sexual abuse.
“We took her to our full-service vet and they did an x-ray. She was found to be septic at the time and after the x-ray, it was decided that she needed to go to emergency surgery,” Scott explained.
Officials say they’ve been processing the evidence collected since the dog came into the facility.
Mercy Jean has since been adopted, but authorities continue to look for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the abuse.
“There's definitely a threat in your neighborhood if you live in that area or wherever this person has moved to. It's a threat to your children, your neighbors, your pets. It's just really important for us to get justice for Mercy Jean and we can locate this person and find out what happened,” Scott said.
Anyone having information pertaining to this incident is asked to contact the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at 276-638-8751 or the Crimestoppers Program at 276-632-7463. The Crimestoppers Program offers rewards up to $2,500.00 for information related to crime. The nature of the crime and the substance of the information determine the amount of reward paid.
You may also call the humane society at 540-489-3491.