City honors dog touring U.S. to raise awareness of animal abuse

    ELK GROVE, California (KOVR) -- The city of Elk Grove honored a humane hero.

Ethan, a 4-year-old Presa Canario, is touring the nation to raise awareness of animal abuse cases. Elk Grove's mayor presented him a special proclamation at the city council meeting Wednesday night.

In 2019, Ethan was found abandoned outside a Kentucky animal shelter — 50 pounds underweight, dehydrated, and near death.

"When the person found him and brought him into the vet area, they thought he was dead," Ethan's owner Jeff Callaway said. "And then he took a breath."

Veterinarians were able to nurse Ethan back to life, and he was adopted by Jeff and Dana Callaway.

"When we come to things like this, it's like he kind of knows his purpose and his mission," Jeff said.

It's a mission that includes meeting with lawmakers to strengthen protections against animal cruelty. Kentucky recently passed Ethan's Law, which increases the penalty for animal abuse to a felony.

"Now that that law has passed, our job now becomes to give a name to all those other cats and dogs that have been abused or tortured or killed, Jeff said.

Ethan's tale is also inspiring people to adopt shelter pets.

"When you see him in person and you see the love he radiates, it's really been amazing," said Penny Forseth-Andrews, an animal advocate.

Ethan's journey has been shared on social media, where he has 44,000 Facebook followers.

"There are so many people that have a personal connection to him that have never met him," Jeff said.

The American Humane Society even named this good boy an "American Hero Dog" in 2022.

"When we come around, people are always happy to see him and they want to talk to him," Jeff said. "They want to pet him, and he seems to enjoy all of it."

Ethan will be taking a walking tour of Elk Grove's historic main street Friday afternoon, and he will be the guest of honor at fundraisers in Folsom and Sheldon later this week.