Archive for November 1st, 2012
Java, now Olivia, improving after surgery
The starving stray dog rescuers initially dubbed Java, because of the coffee can around her neck, has been renamed Olivia, and she’s recovering from her surgery Monday.
Authorities estimate she spent a month with the can encasing her neck and cutting into her ears. She apparently gave birth to a litter during that time, though it’s not likely any pups survived, based on the emaciated condition Olivia was found in.
But she’s been making steady improvement since having surgery Monday. “She’s really doing remarkably well,” a board member with Animal Allies of Texas told the Dallas Morning News.
According to Animal Allies, Dallas Animal Control is not investigating whether the dog was abused because there is no evidence the can was intentionally placed on her head.
Olivia — believed to be a one-to-two-year-old shepherd mix – was found by a citizen Sunday near Dowdy Ferry Road and Interstate 20, said to be a common dog dumping ground.
Vets expect Olivia, who still needs to be treated for heartworm and spayed, to spend another week at Metro Paws Animal Hospital. After that, she will be fostered by one of the veterinary technicians.
It could be up to four months before she is put up for adoption.
Contributions to Olivia’s care can be made through the Animal Allies website or by calling Metro Paws at 214-887-1400.
(Photos: Animal Allies)
Posted by jwoestendiek November 1st, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: abandoned, animal allies, animal control, animals, can, coffee, coffee can, contributions, dallas, dog, dogs, donations, found, java, litter, metro paws animal hospital, neck, olivia, pets, puppies, rescue, rescued, starving, stray, surgery, texas
Comments: 4
Nearly 100 dogs shot in the last two years by police officers in metro Atlanta area
Channel 2 Action News took a look at how often police officers in the Atlanta metropolitan area shot dogs in the course of their duties, and counted nearly 100 cases in the past two years.
Individual department records show sthat, since 2010, dogs were shot 25 times in Atlanta, 32 times in DeKalb county, 19 times in Gwinnett County, 10 times in Clayton County and eight times in Cobb County, including the most recent shooting this past September.
In that case, Cobb County officers responding to an alarm call shot and killed Luke, a chocolate lab when he ran out of the home barking.
In that case — in fact, in each of the more than 100 cases — the officer or officers were cleared of any wrongdoing.
“There isn’t an officer out there I know that wants to shoot a dog, any animal!” said Kliff Grimes a national representative for the International Brotherhood of Police Officers. Officers often only have a “split-second” to make the decision to fire their guns, he added.
Channel 2 found only one metro area department, Cobb County, that requires officers to have specific training on how to respond to dogs, and that just started this year.
“With training there would be some accountability,” said Elizabeth Cullifer, whose dog Basil was shot two years ago. “There is no accountability in the situation with us. It was like he felt threatened, he shot your dog. That’s it,” she said.
Cullifer had left the fmaily’s 45-pound dog outside when marshals arrived to serve papers in a civil lawsuit. Cullifer heard gunshots and found Basil dead. The papers were for someone who had not lived there in eight years.
Posted by jwoestendiek November 1st, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, area, atlanta, clayton, cobb, counties, county, dekalb, dog, dogs, fulton, gwinnett, law enforcement, metro, metropolitian, officers, pets, police, shootings, shot
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Dog finds illegal immigrants amid coffins
Three Eritrean nationals hid in a truck full of coffins in an attempt to enter the UK illegally.
But they didn’t fool Mitzy.
The sniffer dog, one of many working for the British Border Force, located the three stowaways inside the truck at the Dunkirk port in northern France, BBC reported.
The coffins were aboard a Bulgarian-registered vehicle and were bound for a funeral home in west London.
The stowaways were handed over to French border police.
Posted by jwoestendiek November 1st, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, British Border Force, coffins, dog, dogs, europe, illegal, immigrants, k9, Mitzy, pets, smuggling, sniffer, sniffing, truck, uk
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Basset hound dies after being doused with lighter fluid, set on fire, in Ventura County
Sheriff’s officials say a bassett hound found severely burned in a ravine in Ventura County had been doused with lighter fluid and set on fire.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department was asking for the public’s help Tuesday in finding whoever was responsible. The dog — who was three years old and named Buddy — died from his injuries.
“We are sad it occurred, and we are trying to get past it right now,” James Delgado, Buddy’s owner, told the Ventura County Star.
A neighbor in the 1000 block of Mesa drive in the unincorporated area of Camarillo Heights saw the fire early Saturday and contacted the fire department. Arson investigators collected evidence from the scene and interviewed the dog’s owner.
“The torture that poor animal suffered — it makes you sick,” said Jolene Hoffman, shelter director of the Ventura County Humane Society in Ojai. “The cruelty that goes on — it still completely blows you away no matter how much you see or how much you witness.”
The Ventura Crime Stoppers (800-222-8477) will pay up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Callers may remain anonymous, and calls are not recorded.
Posted by jwoestendiek November 1st, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animal cruelty, basset hound, buddy, california, cruelty to animals, doused, fire, investigation, lighter fluid, reward, set, sheriff's department, ventura county
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