Pit bull awareness month: This was Rhett

On  May 30 2011, a sweet, shy, docile dog named Rhett was attacked inside his own yard by a pit bull from across the street that had smashed through a gate to get to him. Rhett was a good sized dog, but he was a lover, not a fighter, and he submitted to the pit bull. But pit bulls don't recognize normal canine etiquette, as many bewildered family pets have found out too late. After Rhett lay on his back and submitted, the pit bull continued to maul the vulnerable dog, and before Rhett's owner could come to his aid, he had suffered life changing and ultimately fatal wounds.

Rhett suffered for days, his condition steadily worsening. After his stroke and paralysis, Rhett's human companion made the painful decision to put him to sleep. Like most pit bull victims, Rhett's story never made the news, but we did write about it last year in this article. 

Even though the broken gate has been repaired, the murder scene washed and painted, the creature that killed her dog breathes still, and strains daily against it's screen door, a constant reminder of the injustice of the violation suffered. The sorrow of Rhett's end remains a poignant memory.

"My sister made a little monument for my garden, and I put in on the spot where Rhett was defeated by the monster. I've put plants and wind chimes on this spot, prayed but I can't get over the image of him on his back, and the blood splattered on the wall."

As animal lovers, we all sooner or later know the pain of losing a beloved pet, but when the end is so brutal, senseless and undeserved, the pain is worse.

"Every day, when I walk my other two dogs, there's that spot in the graveyard, where Rhett kept vigil, and I wonder if his spirit is still there, if he keeps vigil for the first owner who abandoned him and broke his heart, or if he's waiting for me."

"I hope that there is a kind of heaven for him"

Pit bull awareness month: a reader speaks

A reader (who requested anonymity out of legitimate concern for violence from pit bull activists) related this story about one of her co-workers:

My coworker owned a pit bull, which she described as very sweet - "wouldn't hurt a fly". She often dog sat for a friends large Akita, and the pit and Akita always seemed to be best friends. One night they were out in their yard together and they noticed that their play had escalated to a full on dog fight. The pit was no match for the Akita  who had size and a protective coat on its side. But despite the fact that the pit bull was losing badly, it continued to fight. Her husband had to beat her it a shovel to get it to stop. Once the pit stopped, the Akita stopped.

Japanese Akita

A few years later this same coworker decided to adopt a small, elderly chihuahua mix that someone found wandering in the road. I warned her not to trust her pit bull, but she seemed unconcerned. For a year the dogs lived together happily, often sharing a bed and seeming to enjoy each other. Then one night the pit walked over to the sleeping chihuahua mix and grabbed it around the neck and began shaking it with the clear intent to kill it. The chihuahua was screaming, the pit was silent. Again her husband had to stop the pit bull attack, but there was no shovel handy. He had to punch the pit repeatedly in the head to get it to stop, and he had to punch it so hard he broke his hand. 

Chihuahua

The next day my coworker came to work and was clearly still shaken up by the whole thing. She kept saying "you were right, you were right..." She will never own another pit bull. 

Pit Bull

Wise woman.

It's a good thing when someone is enlightened, and begins to take seriously the safety and well being of  their pets, and the pets of others. It's even better when it doesn't require a fatal mauling in order for them to see the light.

Arkansas nightmare: pits kill owner

News coverage of deadly attack

In what has become an almost routine event of late, another pit bull owner was brutally mauled to death by her pit bulls. 45-year-old Deborah Renee Wilson, of Jefferson County, Arkansas, was found by her husband when he returned from a visit with a neighbor to find "a gruesome scene" - the pit bulls tearing his wife apart as she lay bleeding profusely. Calling 911, he immediately attempted to help her, but the pit bulls turned on him and he was unable to render aid.

When animal control officers arrived, they managed to capture one of the pit bulls, while the other, dangerously out of control, was killed. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

A curious fact came to light during the ensuing investigation - the woman had been attacked in the past by those same pit bulls, requiring a trip to the emergency room for treatment.

Read the full story at the link below - 

Pets turn deadly on owner - KATV News:

via Blog this

The conspiracy to kill Timmy

Timmy is a very happy, well-behaved spider who loves walks, belly rubs, and feeding times. He deserves every chance at a normal life in a loving home. But Timmy's life is threatened. His crime? Simply that he looks like a brown recluse spider. 

Please help me. They want to kill me because of my appearance.

"This is racism of the lowest kind", said Carol Deluise, director of the National Arachnid Research Council. "These docile creatures have gotten a bad rap because of bad owners, and a media that seeks sensational headlines. Brown recluse spiders are no different from any other spider." She continues "In reality, nobody can identify a brown recluse spider; technically, there is no such thing. And anyway, all the statistics point to garden spiders as the biggest biters." 

June Berkeley, director of the Arachnid Family Foundation,  says "These spiders were bred to be really great with children. They were originally called nanny spiders and were often used to look after children in Victorian England."  She adds, "that was their primary role until recent times, when bad owners started abusing them, and forcing them to attack. The only reason they ever attack is because they are so loyal to their owners. Arachnid temperament tests show that brown recluse spiders score higher than garden spiders!"

Dolly Kane, a Ft Myers-based activist who focuses on human rights issues for Brown Recluse spiders, spoke with us, saying "Even if one of these babies was provoked so badly that he did accidentally bite someone, the fact is everyone deserves a second chance. Before you go condemning and hating these innocent creatures just because of their appearance, take a good look in the mirror." She concludes "If you really want to make a difference in the world, stop hating and educate yourself! Find out about the good side of brown recluse spiders. For instance, they don't have locking jaws as everyone assumes. Go volunteer your time with rescue. Your views will change."

Sally Zeller, herself bitten by a brown recluse spider last year, says that she doesn't blame the spider for the attack. "All I can figure is that It must have been spooked by the new aquarium. But hey, stuff happens. I forgive him for biting me, and I've moved on with my life. Why can't everybody else do the same?"

Megan Dumpolz spoke out passionately "I am so sick and tired of my baby being judged because of his appearance. It's time to stop the violence, and it's time to stop the haters!' She explains "It's never the spider, it's always bad owners. You take a spider, you lock it up, abuse it and make it fearful, guess what, it's going to bite, Sherlock! I am so sick of all the whining 'waaa, the spider bit me and I lost my hand' Well boo freaking hoo! Things happen, get over it. If you can't handle a real spider, then shut up and sit down"

Finally, a blogger/spider activist known as "Tyrant Bob" threw down the gauntlet: "Any of you ignorant racists who claim brown recluse spiders don't make good pets, well, let me tell you, if we ever catch you, we're gonna give you what's coming to you andl lock you up in a dungeon full of brown recluse spiders, what do you think about that?"

RIP Quincy - Guide dog killed by pit bulls

RIP Sweet girl

On March 19, 2012, Bruce Cole, and his guide dog, Quincy, were victimized by two loose pit bulls owned by Jameison and Whitney Harney. Mr Cole was very sensitive to Quincy, having worked with her for years, and immediately knew that she was in trouble, but being blind, could not help her. I can only imagine the horror of the situation where a blind person knows that his guide dog, who means the world to him, is being attacked by pit bulls, and he is helpless to do anything about it.

Cole shouted for help repeatedly. Eventually someone driving by got out of the car and managed to stop the attack, but then drove off without offering any further aid.Cole then called 911, and Harney, the owner of the pit bulls, came from his house, heard Bruce saying that his guide dog had been attacked, and called him “a (expletive) liar,” which can be heard on the 911 tape.

Jameison and Whitney Harney w/ one of the pit bulls that attacked Quincy

As Cole made his way home with a traumatized Quincy, Jameison Harney began shouting angrily at Bruce. At no time have Jameison or Whitney Harney apologized, offered to help or expressed any concern at all for Cole or Quincy. Jameison Harney was and is on probation for felony drug charges. 

Quincy did not exhibit any symptoms for several days, but seemed shaken. The veterinarian thought it best to monitor Quincy’s condition and no office visit was scheduled.

Quincy became increasingly unsteady, losing the use of her hind legs. Cole took her to Beneva Animal Hospital on April 9, where tests revealed that Quincy had two fractured vertebrae and a bacterial infection.

Quincy died on May 4th.

Visit the Quincy Cole Facebook page
See quincycole.com for further updates on the case

Pit bull atrocities - the gentle victims

An Texas family in East Montgomery County awoke to a horrific scene early Thursday morning, and discovered 15 of their sheep were dead or dying, having been brutally mauled by a pair of pit bulls that were allowed to roam the neighborhood.

Can any who call themselves animal lovers not be saddened and enraged to learn of such gentle creatures forced to suffer so, at the hands of purpose bred killers?

A wolf, a coyote or a mountain lion might kill a sheep out of hunger. But well-fed pit bulls seem to torture their victims for the pure joy of it, tails wagging, leisurely tearing apart their gentle, long-suffering victims.

It's saddening that these sheep were so brutally and cruelly torn apart in the one place they ought to have been completely safe. Even worse, although the family that kept the sheep had been victimized by the same pit bulls on previous occasions, there has been no legal relief for them. The marauding pit bulls are still running loose, and the owner of the pit bulls is not facing any charges.

Read the article at Craven Desires (warning, graphic images of pit bull victims):

Susu's last day

 On the night of June 21, 2012 Susu, a elderly chihuahua mix, breathed her last. After having been given the cocktail which would put her to sleep, she passed away in the arms of a kindly stranger who had taken pity on her. In that sense Susu was more fortunate than many elderly dogs, whose owners abandon them at the shelter as if they were worn out toys, rather than the sensitive, feeling creatures they are.

Susu had been dumped by her owners, perhaps simply because she was old; perhaps because she had advanced arthritis. In any case, Rancho De Chihuahua was her final stop, and RDC co-founder Joy Nicholson was the kindly stranger who held Susu in her last moments.

Joy's observations of the little dog's last days:
"The amazing thing about Susu is how doggedly she looked for her family. Our property is about 3 acres, and is not level, but on wobbly, painful knees, with little sight and very, very little hearing, she searched endlessly for them, walking through every inch. She would sense my presence, ( I think through smell) get very excited, 'run' towards me, then realize I was not who she was looking for, and then turn away and continue her search. When she got too physically tired, she would lay down, and I would go pick her up ( she hated to be picked up, and would buck, bite, and salivate) then she would lay, very depressed, until she slept. The other dogs scared her, so we always kept her alone, which she preferred, but didn't 'like'. When she woke, she would want to search again. Immediately. Any time of day or night. She would turn endless circles, and cry, trying to find a way to get out and search. Her happiest moments were the first 1/2 hour of each search--she would navigate to the fence, then carefully, with an upraised tail, walk the fence line, back and forth. Her tail would sink lower and lower as she got tired, and she was unable to find her people. Still, she wanted to walk. She seemed to believe that if she kept walking, she would eventually find her people, and everything would be okay."

I have to wonder where her family was during this time, and what they were doing. Did they love her? Did they stop loving her when she got old? Were they thinking about her at all? Susu could seemingly think about nothing else except finding them again. 

Joy continues:
"Susu was on Rimidyl, which seemed to help with her pain. And her ability to walk further did increase with less pain, but the emotional pain got worse, not better, when she couldn't find her people."

As sad as Susu's death was, the fact is that dogs put down at the shelter generally come to an even less pleasant end. It varies from place to place, but 50 to 80 percent of Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes in shelters will ultimately die for lack of someone to adopt them. An older dog has virtually no chance at all but the least crowded shelters. An older dog with considerable health issues, like Susu, will suffer greatly for the few days spent at a shelter before the euthanization takes place.

Joy recalls Susu's last hours:

"I gave her a tranquilzer ( Acepromazine) in her breakfast treat, and when it set in, I brought her to our vet. She slept the whole way, looking at me, but not in any apparent distress or fear, and seemed very relaxed--the most relaxed she had been. At the vet, we gave her a little more tranquilzer, waited until the injection fully 'took' and she was completely under. She did not open her eyes, wake, struggle or seem to have any signs of distress when she was euthanized. I was touching her the whole time, and lightly petting her face. Susu did not like to be touched, so I kept it very light in case she was feeling it--just enough to let her know she wasn't alone--but not enough to irritate her.) She went to sleep and did not wake up.

She should have been euthanized with her people holding her. We couldn't give Susu much in life, but I do think her death was a peaceful one."

Many of us have been guilty in the past of letting the vet or someone else handle the details when one of our pets is put down. Let's resolve to do this, at least: If and when the time comes that our pet must be put down, let's not dump the poor bewildered baby off somewhere and wash our hands of the whole affair. Let's be with our pets in their final moments, and hold them as they leave this world. Let them feel love and compassion, rather than fear and loneliness. I believe It really makes a difference. 

"One can measure the greatness and the moral progress of a nation by looking at how it treats its animals." -- Mahatma Gandhi