BETHEL — The Bethel Animal Hospital announced Monday that it is accepting applications to adopt Blue, the 6-month-old puppy found in Newry two weeks ago with its muzzle bound and severely damaged.

Veterinary technician Kathy Farren said Blue had surgery on his muzzle Oct. 5 to remove the dead tissue from the wound. For the past week, the pit bull mix has been a “happy and healthy dog,” and is showing “a lot of improvement,” she said.

“I don’t think there’s going to be any long-term issues with him, or his muzzle,” Farren said. “There’s a chance that the hair on one side of his muzzle won’t grow back, but other than that, it looks like he’s going to make a full recovery.”

On Monday morning, the Bethel Animal Hospital posted on its Facebook page that several dozen people had offered to adopt Blue. The hospital wrote it would allow people to begin applying to adopt Blue, but were putting guidelines in place before selecting a new owner.

Farren said that they were sorting through applications that “meet the criteria until we find the perfect match.”

“We want to make sure that something like this never happens to Blue again, so we’re going to have a multi-step application process,” she added.

The hospital wrote on its Facebook page that applications must be requested by message on its Facebook page, or in person. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, Oct. 21, by the end of the day.

The hospital also wrote that prospective homes should be “close enough to the Bethel Animal Hospital so that continued follow-up care can be maintained,” and that homes should not include children under the age of 10.

“Preference will be given to applicants with a fenced-in yard on a property owned by the applicant,” the hospital wrote. “Blue will need a person or family with a very active lifestyle.”

Farren said those who meet the qualifications will be interviewed at the hospital and will receive a home visit to make sure that “Blue gets along with any animals that are already located there, and that it will be a good fit for him.”

“There are a lot of steps, but it’s important to make sure that Blue gets the best possible care,” Farren said.

Although the Bethel Animal Hospital has dealt with finding homes for injured animals in the past, Farren said it has “never seen anything to this extent.”

“Several years ago, I was involved in rescuing 48 cats from a home,” she said. “This was before social media was the big thing. Back then, I was interviewed by a news station, and we were able to get all 48 cats adopted. With Blue, and with social media as big as it is now, we had people calling in and donating money within an hour of Blue’s status being posted online. It really is incredible. There was one cruel person out there that did this, and countless kind people.”

Newry Animal Control Officer Sue Milligan said she found the dog outside at Sunday River and its muzzle was not bound.

Police are continuing to look for Blue’s owner to determine how the dog ended up being abandoned in Newry. Anyone with information is asked to call 357-6796.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net