A man has been arrested for animal cruelty after he allegedly set a dog on fire and burned more than half of its body causing fourth-degree burns.
The incident happened in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 20 at about 8:15 p.m., when the Memphis Police Department got a call about animal cruelty. They were told that a dog named “Queen” had been doused in a flame accelerant and set on fire on purpose, causing the animal to be engulfed in flames, according to a statement posted on social media by the Memphis Police Department.
The dog was taken right away to Bluff City Veterinary Specialists in Memphis, where she started getting treatment for the fourth-degree burns that covered about 60 percent of her body.
“This adorable kid was drenched with petrol and set on fire.” We’ve been putting her wounds back together. This sweet girl was saved by Tails of Hope Dog Rescue,” Bluff City Veterinary Specialists said in a June 23 post on social media.
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Since the terrible accident, the injured dog, now called “Riona,” has been in rehabilitation. During her recovery, Tails of Hope Dog Rescue set up a TikTok account for her called “Justice4Riona,” which has made her a bit of an internet star.
In fact, the very first video posted of Riona on her way to recovery has been watched more than 6.1 million times, and the account has more than 1.3 million likes and almost 100,000 followers. Riona’s TikTok account always gets tens of thousands, and sometimes even hundreds of thousands, of views for each video she posts about her journey to recovery.
Animal Victory started an online petition to “raise awareness about this abhorrent crime to help find the abuser and collect signatures to give to court officials when the abuser is found and arrested.” In less than a week, the petition had nearly 23,000 signatures.
A man was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, for being cruel to animals after he allegedly set a dog on fire on June 20, 2022, and burned more than half of its body with fourth-degree burns.
On July 8, Tails of Hope Dog Rescue said on social media: “Things are being done to not just care for and assist [Riona].” on her long road to recovery, but we are also making sure that her story is spread and shared so that people can learn about not only what happened to her, but also the horrible abuse that happens every day all over the world to these poor animals.”
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Riona is almost recovered. On Tuesday, 43-year-old Quishon Brown, a suspect in the case, was finally arrested.
At about 8:26 p.m. on Monday, someone who had been talking to Brown called the Memphis Police Department.
“Officers were told that the man who burned the dog was talking to someone else and threatening to burn down the house of whoever gave the video to the police and the news,” the Memphis Police Department said.
The MPD said on Tuesday that Tillman Task Force officers arrested Brown and took him to be arrested and accused of severe animal cruelty, arson, and simple assault by the Tillman General Investigation Bureau. He was then taken to jail, where he will wait to be tried.
Riona, on the other hand, is expected to live, and Tails of Hope Dog Rescue will decide what happens to her and where she goes once she gets better.