The whole world was horrified when reports of an abused dog having her muzzle duct-taped shut went viral in 2015.Caitlyn, a Pit Bull mix, was rescued after escaping her home in Charleston, North Carolina. Her owner had bound her muzzle shut so tightly that the tape was cutting off circulation to her face and tongue.

Veterinarians were afraid that she wouldn’t make it, so severe were her injuries. But miraculously, she survived and went on to become People Magazine’s ‘Survivor of the Year’ – as well as the star of a charity calendar.The lucky pooch posed with local firefighters, who make the calendar every year to raise funds for the Charleston Animal Society, the group who saved and fostered her.https://www.facebook.com/FirefightersRescuingAnimals/photos/a.105556089634182.1073741828.105440982979026/532288336960953/?type=3&theaterWhile the firefighters themselves are very good looking, the clear star of the show is the adorable Caitlyn, as her co-star, Dustin Ford, said in an interview with ABC news:

She’s a beautiful dog that has survived so much and it’s been all through the Charleston Animal Society and the Tobey’s Fund that has obviously cared for and supported her the whole way […] She’s a superstar […] She’s a wonderful dog, I got to spend some time with her to kind of get used to her, and she had to get used to me but we bonded in our dressing room and stuff like that. It was fantastic and she did a great job.

Caitlyn’s abuser, William Leonard Dodson, received a sentence of 5 years in prison on March 24 this year, the maximum sentence for animal cruelty charges in South Carolina. He pleaded guilty last August, explaining that he acted so cruelly because his dog ‘wouldn’t shut up’. Luckily for Caitlyn, she survived with only scarring and a slight distrust of men.https://www.facebook.com/CharlestonAnimalSociety/photos/a.81553811368.96364.81551561368/10154510249726369/?type=3&theaterAlthough the 2017 edition of the calendar (complete with Caitlyn’s ‘pawtograph’) has long sold out, you can pre-order the 2018 one here and help raise money for animals like Caitlyn! You can also donate to the Charleston Animal Society by clicking here.Quotes have been edited for clarity.

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