After two major surgeries, two smaller operations and a race against infection, the rat terrier found in southwest Detroit skinned alive and stabbed is on her way to recovery, her doctor said this week.

Patty, a rat terrier estimated to be 4 or5 years old, had 80 percent of the skin on her neck removed and was stabbed at least twice, said Dr. Lindsay Ruland of the Emergency Veterinary Hospital of Ann Arbor. Without medical treatment, Patty almost certainly would have died, Ruland said.

“She was really critical the first couple of days,” she said. “We were really fighting against an infection.”

But now, almost two weeks after being found in southwest Detroit, Patty seems to be in good spirits — often right on the heels of the hospital’s employees and playing with the other patients, Ruland said.

“She runs around and wags her tail and acts like there’s nothing wrong,” Ruland said.

Patty was found near Patton Park on Sept. 12. Skin had been cut very precisely from her head to her shoulders and was hanging on her side. There were at least two stab wounds on her body.

Detroit police turned Patty over to Providing for Paws, a nonprofit group, which brought her to Emergency Veterinary Hospital for emergency surgery.

Providing for Paws, the Michigan Humane Society Cruelty Investigation Department and the Humane Society of the United States are all offering rewards that add up to $8,500 for information on the case. The investigation is ongoing.

Officials did not find a collar or microchip on Patty, but her painted nails — pink, of course — led them to believe she had an owner.

The first few days were a struggle for Patty, Ruland said. In addition to the obvious wounds, her skin had been dragging on the ground and picking up dirt, grass, hair and other nasty objects that could bring infection. The dog was in pain, but infection was a huge threat.

Patty was put on three types of antibiotics — now down to two — and the threat of infection lessened.

However, the issue is now how to heal the wound on her neck. Ruland said a rat terrier’s body doesn’t lend itself to skin grafts so, the area is healing as an open wound.

“We didn’t really have a lot of areas to work with,” she said.

Much like a burn victim, Patty lost a lot of fluid after her injury. Doctors struggled to keep her hydrated.

Ruland said the skin around the initial wound has stabilized and skin stretchers have been put in to help cover the area. The hospital is trying to find a company to sell it tissue expanders to help with the process.

The skin around at least one of Patty’s stab wounds has died, Ruland said. During the next major surgery, expected to come in a day or two, doctors will work on removing the dead skin from that particular area.

Each major operation takes between five and six hours, Ruland said. Patty will have at least one, and maybe two, major operations in the coming weeks to try and close the wound.

Patty will be in the hospital for at least two more weeks. After that, she’ll likely go to a foster owner with a medical background because she will still need care. Patty will likely have to come back to the hospital for as many as eight weeks for follow-up treatment.

“The goal for the next surgeries will be to close more of the skin, make the open wound smaller,” Ruland said. “And then, we’ll try tissue expanders. It’ll be a while.”

Heartbreakingly, it appears this might not be the first time Patty has gone through such a painful process.

Ruland said doctors found a large scar on her left chest that is a previous injury. It’s an older wound, surgically repaired. Doctors don’t know if the same person who is responsible for Patty’s current state is responsible for those injuries as well.

“She definitely endured some kind of abuse prior to this situation,” Ruland said, adding, “All we can say is it looks like she had some previous injuries consistent with a huge laceration.”

Because the case is still an open criminal investigation, Ruland didn’t want to speculate more than that.

But much of the emotional pain Patty must have endured seems to be in the past. She’s the darling of the hospital. She rests on her blanket, her dark eyes protruding a little more than usual because of her stretching skin. Those puppy-dog eyes are her most striking feature — until her injuries come into view. The skin around her pink cast, with its purple hearts, is still scabbing over and healing.

Amanda Wittkopp, a technician at the hospital, rubbed Patty’s belly Tuesday afternoon, enjoying a little bit of respite from the pressure-packed scene a few feet away where a dog with nine puppies inside her lay on a table being prepped for what everyone hoped would be a life-saving surgery.

Patty leaned into Wittkopp, almost sitting directly on her feet while Wittkopp told her how sweet she is.

“We love her,” Wittkopp said.

Patty’s current home is a metallic cage in the northern part of the building, but she usually only stays in the cage when the veterinarians are caring for another animal. Amanda Wyniarsky, another hospital employee, said she’s shy when she first meets a new person, but after a little while she’s playing and running about.

“It amazes us," Ruland said. "We see a lot of abuse cases because we work with a couple of rescues … and it just amazes us how they can trust humans so much still,” Ruland said.

Some of the technicians at the hospital have already volunteered to take her in as foster parents, Ruland said.

However, there is one thing bothering Patty.

“She wishes we would feed her more,” Ruland said.

Emergency Veterinary Hospital of Ann Arbor has been providing updates about Patty on its Facebook page. Follow the hospital here.

Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@mlive.com or you can follow him on Twitter.