Dog burned in Dec. fire close to making full recovery

CLERMONT -Four months ago, the staff members at Clermont Veterinary Clinic were not sure Kali would live, since the Labrador retriever had been burned over more than 50-percent of her body.

But, after five surgeries and lots of TLC, the 4-year-old dog has made a miraculous recovery, according to her primary caregiver Kimberly Hayes.

"There's just two little areas on her body that still take a daily scrubbing and medication to generate new tissue," said Hayes. "She's just in good spirits, doing really well."

Kali received the extensive burns when she was trapped in a shed that caught fire the night of December 30, 2012. She barked loud enough to alert her owner, who was able to pull Kali from the burning outbuilding and call firefighters in time to keep the fire from spreading to his house. (See link to Kali's story below.)

Unfortunately, Kali's owner was an older gentleman on a fixed income, and he didn't have the resources for her veterinary care. So, Kali was turned over to the Clermont Veterinary Clinic, where vet techs "adopted" her and began raising money for her medical care.

Hayes said after initial treatment at the Clermont facility, Kali required the expertise of officials at the University of Georgia's vet school.

"When we took her to UGA, [the doctors] were just amazed at her spirit and how she even made it through all those days with us here at the clinic," said Hayes.

She said Kali's wounds required constant deep cleaning, a process that was painful and took close to an hour and a half each time, but Hayes said the dog never displayed any aggression.

"She never tried to bite any of the technicians here," said Hayes. "She was always willing to let the doctors here and at UGA touch her...she knew we were trying to help her."

Hayes pointed out that the dog likely would not have survived with public support, so the staff at the Clermont clinic has planned an event Sunday, April 28 to thank Kali's supporters. (See link below to Kali's Fund on Facebook for details.)

The clinic has reserved a pavilion at Laurel Park from 1 to 4 p.m. so that supporters, and their pets, of course, can stop by and visit with Kali.

"It's just our way and Kali's way of saying 'thank you,'" said Hayes. "It's a way for us to just kind of close her story because she's making such wonderful progress."