Three years after her demise, Marion County’s canine ambassador, Molly, is still making headlines, including a marble statue in her honor recently being moved to Ocala’s world-class CF Appleton Museum of Art.
The white mixed-breed dog survived life-threatening wounds in 2014 after being stabbed three times in the head and having her skull fractured with a baseball bat. Her accused attacker, Steven Scott Fleming, served time in state prison on three counts of felony cruelty to animals.
In 2017, Molly became the ambassador for Marion County’s animal abuse registry, known as Molly’s Law. Molly’s Law requires that any offender convicted of an animal abuse crime be placed on the county’s registry. The online database allows citizens, pet sellers and rescue organizations to verify they are not placing an animal with an animal abuser. A handful of other counties in Florida adopted similar legislation…