Hearing in the case of Victory, the noseless dog, scheduled for Valentine’s Day
After a Valentine’s Day hearing, a Texas judge will decide who should have custody of Victory, a bearded collie who is missing her nose.
Victory was found last month wandering in Hutto, Texas, outside of Austin. Her fur was heavily matted. She’d sustained puncture wounds. And her nose appeared to have been cut off.
Since then, an owner has stepped forward, saying Victory (not her original name) had run off a month earlier, and that the loss of her nose was the result of an autoimmune illness she was being treated for.
After she was found, the 4-year-old dog was treated by a local veterinarian, then placed in a foster home by Austin Pets Alive, which began a fundraising campaign and raised $2,000 for the dog to undergo skin graft surgery on her nose last week.
The surgery was canceled after a man called saying he owned her and wanted her back, said Laura Stromberg Hoke, a spokeswoman for Austin Pets Alive.
A judge will hear the matter Thursday, deciding whether the dog should be returned to her owner or remain with Austin Pets Alive, according to the Austin American-Statesman. No charges have been filed in the case, but police say they “wanted a judge to hear the information they had gathered during the investigation.”
Hutto animal control officers found the dog Jan. 9, and initially suspected she’d been the victim of abuse. The owners of the dog — who authorities refused to name — said she had run away around New Year’s, according to Hutto Police Chief Peter Scheets.
Police say they are still investigating whether the dog lost her nose due to medical neglect or abuse. Veterinary records show that the dog was last treated for lupus nine months ago but had no follow-up treatment, the police chief said.
One type of lupus that occurs in dogs can cause redness, scabs and ulcerations on a dog’s nose.
Scheets said there is also a possibility that the dog was injured after she escaped from her home and before she was discovered by police.
The hearing is open to the public and will be at 4 p.m. Thursday (Feb 14) in Hutto Municipal Court, 401 W. Front St.
You can find an update on this story here.
(Photo: Austin Pets Alive)
Posted by jwoestendiek February 13th, 2013 under Muttsblog.
Tags: abuse, animal cruelty, animals, austin, austin pets alive, bearded collie, courts, custody, cut off, disease, dog with no nose, dogs, foster, found, hutto, investigation, lupus, missing, no nose, nose, noseless, owner, pets, texas, victory
Comments
Comment from KateH
Time February 16, 2013 at 1:46 pm
Hey, ‘Doc’ yours is the only comment on here. Calm down, dude.
Comment from KariP
Time April 18, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Seriously. I live in Austin and APA! is a great organization that isn’t trying to separate owners form pets – they have a whole program that looks to prevent owners from resorting to shelter surrender and a lot of the volunteers work with the homeless pet owners in Austin. Also, regardless of whether abuse or neglect occurred when an animal comes to a shelter with the extent of injury that this dog did an investigation would seem to be due. Furthermore, even if Lupus is a disease that has little to no hope of treatment wouldn’t a responsible owner still at least schedule a follow-up appointment or at least a consultation to discuss other options? Just to point out another little thing wrong with your rant. THe article clearly states that Austin Pets Alive, the “animal rights cult” raised the money for a skin graft to repair the damage not to treat. Somehow, I doubt the Dr. in your name comes with a degree.
Comment from Dr.Hail
Time February 15, 2013 at 9:49 pm
An autoimmune disease has no treatment protocal. Its clear the animal rights cult groups have no idea what happend to the dog but they are great at lying to get money. You can look on the internet and you will see many pictures of missing noses due to lupus.
Look out because these groups are intent on ending pet ownership by taking your pets. This dog should be returned as it has been running loose for a long time and in no way can you blame the owner for lupus as it goes its own route and there are no treatments for lupus. You people should be ashamed of yourself and if you make up a treatment protocal don’t expect it to work. People who suffer from lupus eventually die. Give him back his dog and quit trying to persecute people for animal abuse when there is none. Unless you are going to arrest God.
“Lupus” is a general term for an autoimmune disease characterized by the formation of antibodies against the body’s own tissues. There are two distinct forms of lupus in dogs, each of which have different symptoms and consequences. They are discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). DLE, sometimes referred to as “collie nose” or “nasal solar dermatitis,” is one of the most common immune-mediated skin diseases in dogs and almost always is limited
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Symptoms of Lupus in Dogs
Lupus is an autoimmune disease which occurs rarely in dogs, although it probably is under-diagnosed. The symptoms of lupus vary widely and often are missed until the disease has reached an advanced stage. Two types of lupus occur in domestic dogs – discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The clinical signs associated with each form of the disease differ and may be influenced by genetic, pharmacologic, environmental and infectious factors.Discoid (cutaneous) lupus Exposure to U-V light (e.g. sunlight) can exacerbate or even precipitate this condition.
This dog could have been in remission during the time the owner was caring for him, but the stress of running loose and being attacked by other animals can cause it to flare up. So blaming the owner is ridiculous. Dogs with DLE often go into remission and normally do not require chronic immunosuppressive therapy. Moreover, dogs with DLE usually seem to feel fine, even though the condition can be disfiguring and distasteful to their owners.
Unfortunately, given the unpredictable and progressively debilitating course of SLE, the prognosis for dogs with this form of lupus is guarded to poor. But animal rights cults want you to spend all your money for treatments that will not change the course of the disease.