Riona was cruelly set on fire — after a year of recovery, she’s finally going to her new home

It’s truly unbelievable how cruel some people can be to dogs. A sweet pup named Riona suffered as much as anybody after being brutally set on fire by her owner last year.

But almost exactly a year after that horrific incident, Riona is finally going to her new home.

Last June, residents in Nutbush, Tennessee witnessed a shocking site as Riona, a pitbull mix, ran down the street engulfed in flames. The smell of gas made it clear that she had been intentionally set on fire.

“All you could smell was gas,” Mallory Mclemore of Bluff City Veterinary Specialists told Memphis Commercial Appeal.

“She was burnt and covered in diesel fuel… It confirmed she was set on fire via witness statements,” Ginger Natoli, founder of the Tails of Hope Dog Rescue, told Newsweek. “We have obtained ring cam footage from a neighbor that also shows her running in a ball of flames.”

Riona’s ear was burnt off, but thankfully her left eye was saved after emergency medical response. She was taken in by Tails of Hope Dog Rescue, and received medical treatments at Bluff City Veterinary Specialists. She was given twice daily full body wraps to protect her skin.

In a reminder of how the work of animal rescues is never done, Tails of Hope said that right after Riona left for her new home, they took in another rescue dog who had been a burn victim. “There is always another in need,” they wrote. Now we get to be part of yet another story.”