Dog Nearly Dies of Burns After Being Colored Purple With Hair Dye

A Florida-based animal service team has shared the disturbing story of a dog who suffered life-threatening injuries being dyed purple, to warn pet owners of the dangers of using human hair products on animals.

Pinellas County Animal Services posted the story of Violet, a white Maltese mix, to their Facebook page on Tuesday, alongside several graphic images of the dog's life-threatening burn injuries.

"Express yourself, but please do not use hair dye intended for humans to express your pet's style. Let's all say that together–Do NOT, under any circumstances, use hair color intended for humans on your pets," the post warned. "Chemicals in hair dye are TOXIC causing a wide array of external injury to your pet–possible burns, blindness and because an animal's first instinct is to lick, it can cause poisoning or internal burns. Just don't."

According to the statement, Violet was so badly burnt when she was brought in that staff didn't think she would make it through the night. But to everybody's delight, she survived and is now on the way to recovery.

"Violet's eyes were swollen shut, she was limp and listless, she had obvious burns to her skin–we gave fluids, pain meds and we gently washed as much of the chemical dye off as we could, we bandaged her up," Pinellas County Animal Services said on Facebook.

The PCAS team went on to describe Violet's "arduous" road to recovery which started with the staff having to shave her hair off to measure the damage that was caused.

After discovering that the dog's skin had already begun to slough off, the team started her treatment immediately.

"Pain medication, antibiotics, IV fluids, honey treatments, scab removal, anesthetizing, bandage changes, sleepless nights, worrying, hope, worrying, hope and finally the silver lining," the post said.

Three months after the incident, the PCAS has announced that Violet is now barking, can walk freely around the premise and is on her way to recovery.