This story was written by Laura Hartle of Bark and Company, and posted to barkpost.com. If you wish to see the original.

Bark.com is a great website for dog lovers. They have decided to start giving dogs that very much deserve one, a “Best Day Ever.” Of course we at Life with Dogs think that this is a great idea. All dogs deserve a BDE, but here’s the story of Susie. Her former owner put her through such abuse, then finally set her on fire, and left her for dead. Now with human mom Donna, Susie’s life is much, much better.

It’s no secret that we at Bark & Co think dogs are the greatest and deserve to be celebrated, but when we came across the incredible story of Susie and her mom, Donna, we knew we had another mission. We wanted to create an opportunity for deserving dogs to have a day where their dreams come true. Thus, Dog’s Best Day was born!

As a puppy, Susie suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of her first owner. Meanwhile, her future mom, Donna, went through her own struggle. But fate brought the two together, and Susie and Donna helped each other heal. Since they found one another, they’ve gone on to do great things: from winning harsher sentencing of convicted animal abusers (Susie’s Law), to Susie’s work as a canine therapy dog for other burn victims, to educating the public through their nonprofit, Susie’s Hope.

With help from our pup-ruvin’ pals, we were able to treat Susie and her mom to a truly special day in New York City: