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More than 60 people have signed up to adopt a puppy that had been set on fire and left for dead in Greenfield Park in August, but the dog must first recuperate before being released for adoption.

Animal cruelty investigators as yet have no leads in the case, which was unusual in the fact that the puppy survived despite being abandoned in the park for an estimated two weeks before a passerby found her.

“Most of them don’t survive. This is a very lucky puppy,” said animal control supervisor Leighanne Garrard. “We see a lot of really, really bad cruelty cases.”

The story of the 10-week-old pit bull-shepherd pup, whom caretakers at the Guilford County Animal Shelter have since named Susie and given her own Twitter page, was searing enough to capture the attention of the public.

It also attracted enough donations to cover the extensive vet care and medicine the dog needed: Her ears were burned off, and she had a fractured jaw and broken teeth.

The puppy is expected to be under a vet’s care for another month, after which the shelter will do home visits for those still interested in adoption, said Marsha Williams, the shelter’s executive director.

The adoption then will be decided by drawing a lottery, an unusual action for the normally overloaded shelter.

As dramatic as Susie’s case was, the statistics on animal cruelty are more so. Animal control gets one to two cases of abuse or neglect per day, and Williams said her workers care for at least one or two dogs or cats per week that are victims of out-and-out abuse.

That is where sadness turns to outrage.

“This takes a complete lack of compassion, respect, just general human decency. How does someone do that to an animal, and just think that it’s funny and leave it for dead?” Williams said Tuesday. “What are they going to do next when they get tired of doing it to dogs? Move on to people? To children? There needs to be justice for these animals.”

At animal control, Garrard said there are, so far, few clues as to who injured Susie because of the lack of witnesses and the lapse of time between when the puppy was dumped and when she was rescued.

The shelter and animal welfare advocates were this week exploring the possibility of posting a reward. Anyone with information is asked to call animal control dispatch at 641-5990. Calls are anonymous.

Meanwhile, according to Susie’s Twitter page (twitter.com/susie_GCAS), which had 33 followers early Wednesday, she had her first bark Monday since being found three weeks ago.

Contact Lorraine Ahearn at 373-7334 or lorraine.ahearn@news-record.com