"His recovery is truly remarkable," Parrish says. "He has so many guardian angels."

Parrish says she will never forget how Lucky looked when she saw him on Dec. 12, two days after the incident.

The extent of his burns, which were all over his face and a little more than 15 percent of his body, shocked her.

The public safety department says the perpetrators of this crime are two youths, one of them an 11-year-old boy who Parrish thought loved her dog.

Parrish was paying a neighbor's son $2 a day to play with Lucky and Max, her two Scottish terriers. Until school started in August, the boy came by often and played with her dogs in her backyard.

"My dogs loved that kid," Parrish says. "Lucky would go crazy when he saw him."

However, officials say that on Dec. 10, the 11-year-old, along with a 14-year-old friend, went into Parrish's backyard when no one was home—not to play with the dogs but to harm them. The boys allegedly poured lighter fuel all over Lucky and set him on fire.

On Dec. 9, Parrish's husband returned home from work to find Max with a cord tied so tightly around his neck that he could hardly breathe. The next day their son called Debbie at work to report that Lucky was missing. Parrish immediately came home to start looking for him.

"While I was out looking for Lucky, [the boy] came running to me and handed me Lucky's collar," Parrish says. "He told me that he found it by the creek. He also said he saw Lucky by the creek."

Although Parrish had told him never to enter their property while they were not home, she said he admitted going into their backyard, but only to play with the dogs. After going to the creek, Parrish was unable to find the dog. However, she says that when she was searching the area, a neighbor said a burning dog had been seen by the creek. Parrish called the police and posted fliers all over the neighborhood.

Meanwhile, man from their neighborhood found Lucky and took the badly burned dog to his home to care for him. When he saw the posters of the missing Lucky, he called the Parrish home but told them that the dog he found didn't resemble the picture on the fliers. Parrish's son discovered soon after that it was indeed Lucky that the neighbor was caring for.

Stephany Tallinger, a veterinary technician at Murphy Avenue Pet Clinic, where Lucky was treated, says she has never seen anything like this before.

"This is one of the most horrible cases I've ever seen," Tallinger says. "He had second- and third-degree burns over more than 15 percent of his body. Whereas he was white before, he was a dark brownish yellow in color and was singed all over."

Lucky's head and genitals were set on fire and he was seriously burned under his right leg and right hip. Tallinger says they had to sedate him and shave his entire body just to conduct an examination. Afterwards, Tallinger reported the incident to the public safety department.

Brian Tidwell, an animal control officer, responded to Tallinger's call. After viewing his burns and injuries, Tidwell says he is astounded that Lucky has made such a remarkable turnaround.

According to Parrish, the officers conducted a thorough investigation, including collecting fingerprints in her backyard, which led them to the 11-year-old and his friend.

"We went in and arrested the two boys for animal cruelty—felony charges," says Capt. Byron Pipkin, special operations officer for the public safety department.

The juveniles, whose names the department would not reveal, are scheduled to face charges in juvenile court this month.

Tallinger says the clinic began Lucky's initial treatment by administering morphine and antibiotics but transferred him to the South Bay Veterinary Specialists (SBVS) emergency clinic. They informed the Parrish family that Lucky's treatment and surgeries could very well run into the thousands of dollars but his recovery was not guaranteed. He could lose his right eye and ear, they said.

"We decided to put Lucky to sleep because his expenses were too high," Parrish says. "My husband went to the clinic to take care of that—I couldn't bear to go."

However, the kindness of friends and strangers has kept Lucky from being euthanized. Several people—known and unknown to the Parrish family—have been contributing to Lucky's fund, all because of Tallinger's efforts, Parrish says.

"Stephany really saved Lucky's life," Parrish says.

Tallinger says contacted television stations and newspapers to spread the word about Lucky. Dr. Hannah Pitstick, Murphy Avenue Pet Clinic's veterinarian, started the charity ball rolling with an initial donation of $500 and "knocking off a chunk of Lucky's bill."

Within minutes of her phone calls, Tallinger received so many positive responses that she immediately called the Parrish home and asked them not to go through with the euthanization.

Parrish says it is heartwarming to see so many people sending money to save Lucky.

"Children have been sending in $20 at a time," Parrish says.

Photograph courtesy of Debbie Parrish Lucky, the dog, before he sustained third degree burns on 15 percent of his body.

His surgeries have been extensive but methodical, says Desiree Segale, a receptionist and surgeon's assistant at the SBVS clinic. After removing the dead tissue, the surgeon implanted skin grafts or created sutures in the burned areas. Because of the damage to the area between his legs, Lucky had to be neutered.

Although Lucky went home on Christmas Eve, he had to be brought back the day after Christmas for more surgery, Segale says. On Jan. 6, Lucky underwent another skin graft surgery and had to stay overnight at the clinic.

"He'll probably have more skin grafts in the future, but he's certainly 100 percent better than when he first came in," Segale says.

Contrary to what was initially feared, Lucky will not lose his right eye and ear, she says. His right eyelid and eyelashes have started to grow back, Segale adds.

The worst may be over for Lucky, but the legal process is only just beginning.

"This is a really heinous crime," says Eric Sakach, director of the West Coast region of the Humane Society, citing Humane Society studies showing that children who commit crimes against animals grow up to be violent.

The Humane Society of the United States conducted a non-scientific study of 1,677 animal abuse cases throughout the country in 2001. It reveals that a large percentage of the intentionally violent acts against pets, farm animals and wildlife were committed by male teens under the age of 18. Overall, teenagers accounted for 20 percent of the intentional acts of cruelty against animals, and of those teens, 95 percent were male.

Parrish says she is still in shock over the terrible crime committed against Lucky.

"I can't believe that someone who [I thought] loved Lucky so much could do something like this," Parrish says.

Although the "Lucky Fund" is overflowing with support, Segale says there might be more financial need in his future.

The South Bay Veterinary Specialists website, www.sbvs.com, has pictures of Lucky and contact information.