Investigators, Journalists, Lawyers in the Pennsylvania Area?

[PLFXpert 0]

I would have done the exact same thing.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[McDuck 0]

Me too. And if what she claims the law enforcement officers were saying to her turns out to be true, I wouldn't be surprised if those folks are towing a much more professional line in the future...well, I can hope.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[PLFXpert 0]

If the owner's don't care to press charges then...

Why is there a need for all the drama?

I'm not even going to oppose or support the anit-chain thing Grimes has going on. I put Cruz on a 20 ft rotable soft-chain sometimes for about 20 minutes (no more than once/day) mostly so he'll poo. He likes to walk in circles for five minutes sometimes before he'll poo so it's just easier to put him out for 20 minutes on his own. Or if we're out washing the car or bike or whatever, we'll put him out there with us; mostly b/c he's still a puppy. Lately he's been very good and staying w/in range and not running into the street or running off (he was previously abused before we adopted him from Animal Care & Control), so we've been working at "trusting" him. Even when he runs off, though, he comes back w/in 10 minutes, tail wagging and wanting to see us--Anywho...regardless of the "chain theory" I think the arrest is nuts!

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[McDuck 0]

I think they're stating they won't press charges if she returns the dog, but she's refusing. With the kind of treatment the dog was getting from the owners, I'd be hesitant to return him also.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[PLFXpert 0]

I'm not sure what to make of that w/out further information. (I'm also going back to re-read the article I linked to, b/c apparently it is a longer version of a shorter article I read in the actual magazine.)

I always give people the benefit of the doubt b/c you just never know...

Edit: OK..this article is MUCH longer than the one I read published in the magazine. The published version had nothing to say about the owners...

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[PLFXpert 0]

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I'd be hesitant to return him also.

Me, too!

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[Lindercles 0]

Something doesn't seem right here. The dog obviously had medical conditions that result in long term neglect, not just something that pops up after a weekend of being gone. But he is also 19 years old (according to the owners), much older than one would expect a severely mistreated dog to survive. Something doesn't add up.

[PLFXpert 0]

I agree...

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not just something that pops up after a weekend of being gone.

I edited. The published article omitted much of the info in the online version.

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Something doesn't add up.

I agree. Unfortunately that will be another case, I suppose--one with far less severe penalties than stealing.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[Andy9o8 0]

This is bullshit - cruelty to animals is a crime, and neglecting an animal to death is unlawful cruelty. She was preventing the continued commission of a crime. The wrong person has been charged with a crime. I would represent her for free, if the commute (1,000 miles ) was more reasonable.

If the DA is stupid enough to continue this prosecution, I can't wait for this to be decided where it should be – by a jury of 12 citizens. I predict the verdict (and the jurors' comments to the news media after the trial is over) will make the cops & DA's office look like the assholes they are.

[PLFXpert 0]

I agree. But, as I stated before, unfortunately cruelty to animals is a far less punishable crime than "stealing property". I quote that because, while I don't dispute pets being "property" so-to-speak, I certainly don't believe they are equivalent to a stolen/bashed-in mailbox.

I would do everything I can, too. Like you, I'm in Florida. I can tell you I've been present at, written, researched & investigated for, a couple local court cases on the subject.

This type of situation really ,just.....Ugh!

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[wmw999 2,176]

An extremely old dog or cat can, in fact, look severely malnourished. One of the signs of its being "that time" sometimes is that they quit eating to any significant degree. When our cat stopped mostly eating, we hand-fed him awhile, and then we went back to eating enough to be emaciated. His fur looked awful. He couldn't jump up on the bed without a box to help him.

But he still sat in my lap in the morning and purred, and still climbed on the people-mountains at night.

Leaving a dog chained outside for days is cruelty. Some of what was described pointed to neglect that went past a weekend. But the age, weight, and general decrepitness can go together.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[PLFXpert 0]

Agreed.
I know exactly what can happen to older animals--behaviors, etc.

As you mentioned, other points described pointed to utter neglect.

I'm so, so, saddened by this type of occurrence. I'd rather see an animal humanely put to sleep than suffer in this way.

I mean--they mentioned him being outside, chained in a thunderstorm. My dog had to take doggie Xanax when we first got him to relax him in a thunderstorm for this very reason. Cruz, literally, wanted to be wrapped inside me. He panted & shook to the point of detriment in the first storm that hit after we adopted him. I was relaxed, for him. But, I was terrified the next day knowing my precious doggie was so panic'd by a storm. He was completely exhausted and questionable the next day. Anywho...every dog I've ever had didn't care much for storms...I can't BELIEVE someone leaving one out to soak up the rain and such in storm.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[Squeak 17]

Not enough unbiased information.

I'm in a similar position to the dog owners, my 14 year old dog went to the vets yesterday we have changed her meds, but so far it does not seem to havemade any difference to her quality of life. We are facedwith having her put down, if there is no improvment in the next day or so.
I have had her 14 years and having her killed does not sit well with me (even if it supossedly best for her), I would much rather she died in her sleep. I dont know how we will go with her in the next few days, but it's very difficult to have a friend killed

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[McDuck 0]

I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't leave your dear friend chained up outside in that condition while you agonize over what to do.

Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28
"I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC
Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school.

[Squeak 17]

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I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't leave your deari friend chained up outside in that condition while you agonize over what to do.

No I wouldn't but as I said the information presented is hardly unbiased, therfore I pass no judgment on the treatment.

I keep Sinder, locked in her yard because her sight and hearing are failing, and she wanders into the street and opn the road, if I did not have an adequate fence line, I would consider having her tethered, to prevent her getting run down by a car.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Michele 1]

As someone who has provided a home to significantly abused animals, either while in foster with me on the way to being rehomed or the few times I found them or had been called into a situation (kittens being the more common call I've gotten...), I can't say I'd do anything differently.

There is not much I wouldn't do for a four legged fur baby, even if it means euthanizing them because they are just not going to make it, and the pain is too great. I've even done the holding when I didn't know the pet or owner, simply because the owner couldn't bear doing it (several times at the emergency vet while I was there for something different) and the animal needed loving arms around them while they went to sleep and then died.

Squeak, I have been in your shoes. It's terribly hard to let a friend go, especially one who's been there through thick and thin. It's your decision...often, vets will come to your home and euthanaize there, so the pet doesn't have to go through the upset of going to the vet. If the decision needs to be made, you might want to ask if your vet is able to do that. But the decision is yours - I've had pets die in their sleep, I've had them die in my arms, and I've had to put them down. It's no easy decision in any event...and I'm sorry you're facing that right now.

As for the woman in the story, I would, as I've said, do the same thing...especially if I had gotten a call, tried to locate the owners, and failing all of that, had a dying animal on my hands. I can say that, because I've done it...not the same circumstances, but still...very similar. So I can speak from a position of similiar experience...I'd've done the same. And no, I likely wouldn't say anything about where the pet was, either...

(And yes, I am the local crazy cat lady...
Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[PLFXpert 0]

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Not enough unbiased information.

True with the link I provided, but I did Google it first and there are many more articles with the same facts presented from a variety of sources. I chose that particular link b/c I get the magazine and am a Guardian Angel member.

Now, regarding your doggie-- I can empathize. When we had to put my 14-year old Schnauzer down I was devastated. I was 16 years old. I understood, but I took it very hard. I had just recently lost my 11-year old kitty a few months earlier to a car. It's such a tough decision and I'm happy, at that time, I wasn't the one who had to make it. My father & stepmom are royal dog lovers, too, so I know & trust they made the right decision.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[PLFXpert 0]

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There is not much I wouldn't do for a four legged fur baby, even if it means euthanizing them because they are just not going to make it, and the pain is too great.

I feel the same way.

My Shnauzer, as mentioned previously in my response to Squeak, was my first dog. He started as my stepmom's dog, but really took to me when she moved in. I was his. He was my best friend, and being an only child and having traveling parents, he was also my best companion. He slept with me every night...

In his older age & due to his health problems, he began to snore pretty loudly at night. I was a moody teenager and would always nudge him awake so I could fall asleep. And he barked incessantly when I'd get home from school, and sometimes I'd yell at him to stop--he would get so sad. I thought about all of these things after my parents made the decision to have him put to sleep (he was apparently in a lot of pain).

It was no different than loosing a close relative being that you think of all the things you could have/should have done differently. And to be honest, I never even took the death of a relative even 1/4 as hard as I took loosing my Brandee.

Our house seems to be the house strays or loose animals find for love, food & shelter. So one afternoon when Billy peaked his head in the door and asked me to come out and check out this sweet dog that arrived in our yard, I wasn't surprised.

When I opened the door, though, and saw Sam, tears immediately began streaming down my face--not just a tear or two--a river. Sam looked exactly like Brandee. And he was so excited when I came out to see him and jumped in my lap and just wanted to be loved. Poor Billy. He felt so awful when he saw the tears down my cheek. I really, really didn't mean to cry, and I wasn't sad at all to see Sam (Sam turned out to be a new neighbor's dog from a nearby street). I kept trying to explain that to Billy but he felt like shit, pardon my french.

Anywho....YES, I definitely know what it feels like to loose your best furry, friend.

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.