Clarissa Kell | Daily Press Little Chevy, a Jack Russell terrier mix, wears a Christmas sweater in front of the Christmas tree inside the Delta Animal Shelter. Chevy is back at the shelter and is medically cleared for adoption.

ESCANABA — The small dog that rallied a community to donate above and beyond to cover the medical expenses due to injuries from neglect is ready for adoption just in time for the holidays.

Little Chevy, a Jack Russell terrier mix, is back at the Delta Animal Shelter from her foster home and is medically cleared for adoption. Since her return to the shelter on Dec. 10, Chevy is spayed, up to date on all vaccines and went through a behavioral assessment.

“We are now hopeful to find her a perfect forever home,” said Susan Gartland, Delta Animal Shelter director. “She loves to be cuddled and is a complete lap dog.”

She said Chevy’s fractures are all healed, but is permanently blind in one eye from her injuries. She explained Chevy doesn’t seem too bothered with the change of vision.

Gartland also explained due to her injuries, Chevy lost many of her teeth so her main food source is soft food. Gartland said Chevy has no problem with food and rather enjoys it.

Chevy was found in August by Escanaba Public Safety officers. She had suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, broken jaw, fractured eye socket, loss of vision in one eye, broken teeth and many deep lacerations all over her body, but mostly on her head. The injuries were caused by another dog, however, Chevy had suffered for 10 days without medical treatment before Escanaba Public Safety found her.

The owner, Mark Thomas Blake, 52, of Escanaba, was arraigned on Oct. 3 and had a pre-trial on Nov. 20 where he pleaded guilty to animals abandoning and cruelty to one animal. He will be sentenced in Delta County District Court on Jan. 15.

In the state of Michigan, it is required by law to provide adequate care to animals. In the law, adequate care is defined as the provision of sufficient food, water, shelter, sanitary conditions, exercise and veterinary medical attention in order to maintain an animal in a state of good health.

According to the police report, Blake didn’t think Chevy’s injuries were bad.

Since Chevy was brought to the shelter, she had a total of three surgeries. To help with the dog’s medical expenses, community members had donated $7,730 to the Delta Animal Shelter back in November.

Despite what Chevy went through, Gartland said Chevy has built trust back up and is very affectionate. She explained how the wonderful foster family, Tim and Rebecca Worth and Linda Little, and the volunteers at the shelter have really helped Chevy through her worst days.

“Visually she will always have the scars of the trauma, but it seems mentally she’s recovered quite well,” Gartland said.

She also said she wants this case to be a reminder to Delta County that cases like Chevy’s does happen here and everyone needs to be the eyes and ears for the animals.

“Just to remind people, there is no animal control in Delta County, which makes it especially important for people to report any suspected abuse or neglect of animals,” she said. “They can do so by calling Central Dispatch at 786-5911 to report it and to also notify their local animal shelter.”

Gartland said she is 100 percent confident the shelter will find Chevy a home soon.

“She deserves it,” Gartland said. “Just in time for Christmas.”