CLINTON, Iowa — Editors' Note: The details and images are graphic, and may be disturbing
It's the worst sort of animal cruelty, the details are horrific.
Foster care volunteer Maggie Stafford says, "Looks like there could have been an accelerant involved."
She says all she knew was, "A dog is coming who was intentionally lit on fire."
Meet Wyatt, a 10-month-old Labrador/Pointer mix.
Maggie says she's seen cases like this before, "In the past 16 years I have worked with five dogs that have been deliberately burned."
The severity of his injuries are gruesome, "He has a very large third degree burn down his back."
Wyatt traveled 10 hours from Tennessee to Iowa. K9 Kindness Rescue sprung into action after seeing the trauma he experienced.
A foster parent for 22 years, Maggie says more needs to be done to help our four-legged friends, "When you take in a dog like this, you have to apologize to him for every move you make."
"What we really need to see is that definition of animal torture, that scope really widened."
Chief Deputy Steve Diesch over at the Clinton County Sheriff's Department says, "Animal abuse could be intentionally maiming, disfiguring or destroying an animal."
In Clinton County, animal neglect cases could land you in the pen for 30 days.
"If that's found to be intentional, that could be as serious as an aggravated misdemeanor in the state of Iowa and that could be up to two years in prison," says officer Diesch.
Diesch says animal cruelty cases are never easy, he and his wife, doing their part to give a voice to the voiceless, "We take in a pet and help try and rescue them. We have dogs and cats and birds... It's sad to see people treat animals like that."
As for Wyatt, he's already falling in love with his new mumma.
News 8 reached out to Memphis Animal Services who initially took Wyatt's case, but they were unavailable for comment. Wyatt will be given antibiotics and anti inflammatories to help with his recovery.