Port Huron woman charged with animal cruelty after puppy found with severe injuries

Pit bull mix found wandering in St. Clair County

Jennifer Visga is charged with animal cruelty in connection with a puppy that was found with serious injuries in St. Clair County on Aug. 15, 2017. (WDIV)

KIMBALL TOWNSHIP, Mich. – A 31-year-old Port Huron woman was charged with animal cruelty after a mutilated puppy was found wandering Kimball Township with severe injuries.

Amari was found Aug. 15 severely injured after coming out of a wooded area near Wadhams and Dove roads in St. Clair County.

The Port Huron Police Department arrested Jennifer Visga in connection with the case. She was arraigned on one count of animal cruelty and failing to provide care. The charge is a 93-day misdemeanor.

Visga was released on a personal recognizance bond.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11

Amari's injuries are severe

Amari was found in Kimball Township, and a group called A Rejoyceful Animal Rescue took her to a critical pet care facility.

The 6-month-old pitbull mix was named Amari because it means miracle, and that's what she is, experts said.

She's covered in bandages after undergoing surgery Monday for multiple severe wounds.

"Amari has two pretty severe wounds: One on the side of her neck here that you can't really see and one on top of her head," said Jaimi Quesada, of Oakland Veterinary Referral Services.

Amari was found stumbling out of a wooded area by two good Samaritans. She was picked up by animal rescue and taken to Oakland Veterinary Referral Services for critical care.

"When she went to the ER hospital, they realized that her wounds were so severe she needed to come to OVRS for additional diagnostics and a workup," Quesada said.

Puppy on road to recovery

Amari is doing better, but she faces a long road to recovery. The biggest question is what happened to the puppy and why.

"If anyone has seen this puppy, saw anyone hurting her or saw her lost out there, any tips would be helpful, because it's the most helpful when we don't know what they've been through and they can't tell us," Quesada said.

The animal rescue created a crowdfunding website. You can visit it here.

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Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.