KEWANEE, Ill. — As a part of News 8's Hometown Tour, we bring you the story of Thor, a dog, who used to live in Kewanee and now lives a much happier life with his owners.
Back in 2017, when Thor was just 9 weeks old, police said 17-year-old Damien Ingram cut Thor's neck five times, put him in a Walmart bag and left him in a hole. Thor was then found and taken to the Kewanee Veterinary Clinic.
Thor survived this trauma, and veterinarians said it was a miracle.
"He acted like nothing was ever wrong with him," Thor's owner Jami Lee said. "He never had any complications, healed up great."
The entire community of Kewanee rallied behind Thor, raising $7,000 for his vet bills. Thor went on "Thor's Thank You Tour", going around the community and meeting those who donated to his cause. The leftover money went into a fund to help other abused and neglected animals.
Since then, Thor and his family have up and moved to Colorado Springs to live their best life.
"Somehow, this little guy made it through all of that," Lee said. "He ended up over by Fairview Apartments and the kids over there, found him and took him to the vet clinic I worked for, and I just fell in love with them instantly."
Lee said he's doing very well and is best friends with her other dogs Jethro and Buster as well as her boyfriend, Tyler. Thor is also a big fan of going to work with Lee.
"This guy usually is "go, go, go," all the energy, so we typically play in the morning and then we'll go to work or whatever, so he hangs out during the day," Lee said.
Thor's name represents his strength through all of the trauma he has endured.
Watch more Kewanee stories on News 8's YouTube channel