Shelter to find home for stabbed pit bull

Finding a new home for Lucky the recovering pit bull takes on a bit of a reality-show aura this week.

The Atlanta Humane Society, whose staff has cared for the animal since she arrived earlier this month with a knife in her head, will take applications from potential adoptive families from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday. Would-be owners must come in person, fill out forms and provide photo identification and proof of address. Folks living in rental housing must be able to show that pets are allowed in their homes.

Atlanta Humane Society public relations manager P.J. Smith (left) and volunteer manager Nadia Maldonado visit with Lucky the pit bull. The shelter will be taking applications for the dog's adoption Monday.

The staff will review the applications to decide who would provide the best home for the dog, then interview the winning candidate and visit his or her home before turning Lucky over.

"She's got so much love to give," said P.J. Smith, the AHS' public relations manager. "We just want to find a family that will love her."

Whoever takes her home will pay an adoption fee, probably in the neighborhood of $85.

Ideally, Lucky should be the only pet in her new home so she gets plenty of attention, Smith said.

"She really has a need for personal contact," she said. "You'd think she would have a fear, but all she wants is to be loved."

The dog arrived the AHS on the morning of Aug. 15 with a knife embedded in her skull. The Fulton County District Attorney's Office is investigating. Veterinarian Paula Murray and the AHS staff were able to remove the knife and say it did not enter the dog's brain. It's possible she'll need follow-up care, though.

Lucky, as the staff has come to call her, took her first unleashed jaunt outside since surgery on Friday afternoon. She sniffed and scampered her way through an enclosed area on the facility's grounds, pausing to answer the call of nature. (For all her celebrity, she's still a dog, after all.)

Given the heat, Smith kept the outing short and made sure the dog drank water afterward.

"We've all fallen in love with her," Smith said. The dog has been spayed and tested for signs of aggression; the staff has found none. During her stroll about the facility Friday the dog encountered volunteers, visitors and several other animals. She was eager to explore everything and lick everyone, but never barked or growled.

The staff will decide by Thursday who Lucky's new family will be, and she likely will leave within a day or two.

"By Friday, she'll be sleeping in someone's big bed. Either that or watching cartoons with someone on Saturday," Smith said. "She's going to be a really good dog for someone."

The AHS is at 981 Howell Mill Road NW.