"She looks great:" Tragic story of Beatrice the dog has a very happy ending

MILWAUKEE -- The tragic case of a dog severely burned alive came to a satisfying conclusion on Tuesday, September 15th.

Beatrice returned to the Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals -- where her recovery began. But there's nothing wrong with her now.

"She acts, eats, does everything normally. Plays just as she did before it happened," said Karen Burns, Beatrice's owner.

Christopher Hanson

"It" happened about a year and a half ago. Beatrice was found wandering near Potawatomi Hotel & Casino after 22-year-old Christopher Hanson stole her from her home -- and set her on fire.

"90 percent of her body was burned and she was in horrible shape. We never thought she was going to survive," said Dr. Marla Lichtenberger, critical care specialist and the owner of the Milwaukee Emergency Center for Animals.

Hanson was sentenced to one-and-a-half years behind bars for his crime -- all thanks to his neighbor, Nicole Freda, who turned him in.

On Tuesday, Dr. Lichtenberger presented Freda a $2,000 check -- the reward from Animal Fairy Charities for a conviction in the case.

"And irregardless of this, I would have done what needed to be done," said Freda. "I'm a huge advocate of animals."

Freda says she was shocked by the pictures on the news of a tortured Beatrice back in March 2014.



Doctors gained worldwide attention for performing a groundbreaking surgery on Beatrice -- grafting pig skin onto her burns to help her heal.

"So all this area, we placed several pieces of the pig skin and then this promoted the skin to slowly healing back in to place," said Dr. Lichtenberger.

"The pig skin actually eventually peeled off as the skin grew in. So this is her skin, but the pig skin acted as a natural dressing," said Burns.

"I'm glad she's doing well. I'm glad she's healed. She looks great," said Freda.

Beatrice