Justice for Mambo - the French dog set on fire and left to die

A second online petition has been launched to gather support for "Justice for Mambo", the three-year-old dog set alight by two people in the southern French village of Espira-de-l'Agly in August this year.

Signatures are being gather to demand that the main perpetrator of the crime, a 17-year-old adolescent and therefore a minor before the eyes of the law, be handed down the maximum penalty possible when he stands trial in December.

His accomplice, a 22-year-old woman, has already been sentenced to six months in prison for complicity in an act of brutality and cruelty after she admitted holding down Mambo while the teenager poured gasoline over the three-year-old mongrel and then set him alight.

The reason the two gave for such a senseless crime? Reportedly they were "bored and had nothing better to do."

The story of Mambo is one that has been making the headlines in France for a couple of months now and he has become something of a star in this country.

The plight of the three-year-old mongrel has already mobilised support among the French public - and for just cause.

The act of sheer cruelty left him with third degree burns to 50 per cent of his body and for a while it wasn't certain whether he would survive or have to be destroyed.

The week following the incident over 200 people took to the streets of Espira-de-l'Agly to protest, and an online petition (now closed) was launched with over 13,000 people signing demanding "Justice for Mambo".

Among the signatories were the country's former first lady, Bernadette Chirac, the ex-international football star, actor Alain Delon and animal activist, Brigitte Bardot.

A well-known television and radio presenter, Michel Drucker, volunteered to meet the veterinary bills.

When Mambo was first being treated, the vets were unable to remove the bandages without putting him under anaesthetic.

He has since made slow and painful progress - remarkable given the extent of his burns ) and although he still requires sedation when being handled, as you can see from the accompanying video with a lot of TLC he's well on the road to recovery.



With him throughout has been the woman who found him in the first place, Dany Goizé.

The 59-year-old restaurant owner and volunteer for the SPA has been at the forefront of the Mambo campaign, raising money, answering letters and getting the online petitions up and running.

Goizé and her husband already have another rescue dog, and Mambo can expect a heartfelt welcome in his new home.

"If he wants a kennel, he'll have one," said Goizé

"And if he prefers to sleep in my bed, then that's where he'll sleep."