How f**king sick can some people get?

[77Rumours77]

Magnum, the mixed-breed puppy found burned and tied with wire in a north Wichita recycling bin, died Friday night.

Veterinarian Gary Breault and his wife, Julie, had taken the puppy to a specialty clinic in Overland Park on Friday morning so he could get round-the-clock care.

"At some point they tried to revive him and couldn't," said Gerri Scherff, a receptionist at Heartland Animal Hospital in Wichita, which had been caring for Magnum. "They did all they could."

Magnum's death will not be in vain if it helps to get stricter laws passed against cruelty to animals, animal welfare supporters say.

Kansas is one of only nine states in which cruelty to animals is a misdemeanor. In the other 41 states, the crime is a felony.

The 10- to 12-week-old puppy was found Aug. 1 in a recycling bin at 4100 Arkansas. He had a broken leg and chemical burns over much of his body. His front legs had been wired together, and wire had been wrapped around his head and neck, with one paw stuck in his mouth.

Veterinarians considered euthanizing the puppy, but when they removed the wire, he stood up and wagged his tail, said Julie Breault, practice manager at the hospital. Then he licked her hand, and she asked the veterinarians to give him a chance.

"I hope I made the right decision, talking the doctor into letting me save him," Breault said Wednesday.

The veterinarians had given the puppy a 50 percent chance of survival. Magnum would have faced months of recovery and could have lost 80 percent of the skin on his body, Breault said.

Rewards totaling more than $10,500 have been offered for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of the person who injured the puppy.

Money has also been collected to help pay for the puppy's care, and that "will go to a rescue organization for a good cause, in his name," Scherff said.

Scherff said the veterinarians and staff at the hospital wanted everyone to know how much they appreciated the community's support and donations.

Magnum's story and that of a newborn puppy found in a pile of trash in a downtown apartment building sparked an outpouring of support and outrage from people in the Wichita area.

The Kansas Humane Society received hundreds of calls from people wanting to know how they could help, said spokeswoman Jennifer Campbell.

People can help by getting stricter laws passed against cruelty to animals, she said.

Radio station 105.3-FM The Buzz has started a campaign to help pass "Scruffy's Law," which would make extreme cruelty to animals a felony.

Scruffy was a Yorkshire terrier that was tortured and killed by four Kansas City men in 1997.

On the station's Web site, www.1053thebuzz.com, a form letter is posted that people can copy and e-mail to their state senators and representatives, whose e-mail addresses are also listed on the site.

Magnum's sad story has finally drawn attention to the need for stricter animal cruelty laws, said Ellen Querner, director of Pals Animal Rescue.

"He did not die in vain. Because of him, now Scruffy's Law has a very good possibility of passing next session."