Advice Requested
 

A friend of mine has discovered that a friend of hers has a pit bull that has been brutalized while in the care of a room mate (The friend was out of town overnight, and came home to find the animal in a very sad shape) - this poor creature has had a leg broken, been stabbed, and has been burnt with a clothing iron. (And that's just the beginning, there has been a lot more torture that we know we don't know about) It is the Vets opinion that the dog should be put to sleep, due to the fact that he's so traumatized, and has very little chance of being saved even with extremely heroic medical measures. :mad2:

The friend lives in Texas, and this is where the abuse occurred. (We're trying to get pictures to support our case).

I know we have a few resident Texans on board, and I was wondering if they would be able to tell me of whom we could contact in Texas to report this abuse.

The dog is currently in Pennsylvania (the friend drove all night to get the dog away from the abusive situation, and to a vet that he trusts), but we are concerned that contacting the SPCA here would put the friend into a situation where he is considered suspect for the abuse.

I think the best way to go is euthanasia.

Then attend to the dog. Where in Texas, Dag? :mad:

I'd call the police where the abuse ocurred. Animal cruelty is very against the law.

I'm not sure where in Texas...(friend is out of the office at the moment)

My proposal is to euthanize the dog...than inflict the same abuse on the asshole(s) that did this to the dog.

But not give THEM the benefit of euthanasia.

I think this has to be reported and the responsible individual punished to the full extent of the law.

Surely the friend can come up with some sort of evidence to support the allegations against the other party?

We're taking pictures today (and no, I don't think I'll be posting them here), and a friend of the son of the monster who did it has already called Animal Control/SPCA in Houston where this happened.

I'll let you know what transpires.

Rascal crossed the rainbow bridge this afternoon :(

I don't know if I should be more sad, or infuriated. :mad:

my sincere sympathy for the dogs owner, and wishes for punishment to the fullest extent for the perpetrator.

One person, we'll call them dog-owner, rooms with another person, we'll call them raving-maniac. While dog-owner is out of town, raving-maniac does a slice and dice on the poor dog. Have I got that right?

This may be a topic for another thread, but how is it that dog-owner rooms with raving-maniac and has no clue that raving-maniac is, well, a raving maniac?

You've got that right.

Dog owner has not lived with raving maniac for all that long (and no longer shares the space under the same roof with raving maniac). Has never known Raving Maniac to lose touch with reality, control of anger, or even have the slightest possibilty of becoming the person that he has.

Dog owner has also just recently moved to the area (Texas) and was staying with a Friend of a friend (someone doing him a favor, as he's down on his luck, and really just needed a place to stay until he could find a job). Sad thing is, DO was going to have his own Dog Friendly apartment 8/1.

urgh! this is one thing that really gets me revved up. what goes around comes around, I hope this pathetic excuse of a human feels the full extent of the law and of karmic law from the repercussions of that abuse, torture and mutilation to the poor little dog. I hope the authorities throw the book at him. Personally I would not have been able to stop myself from getting violent with him there and then when I found the dog.

What did the dog owner do when they found out it happened? just bolt to the vet in another state?

Nothing deserves to be treated like that, my most positive of energies today will be concentrated on the spirit of this dog, its owner and every other abused animal out there.

Bless you, Sun Sparkz. This is indeed a sad situation. I think it's been said before here on another forum-we are supposed to be the steward's of animal welfare here on earth. Did this guy snap, as in psychotic break? People who have no qualms about inflicting pain/injury/murder on animals ususally don't have any qualms about doing the same to human beings. Jeffery Dahmer started out torturing animals. This guy bears close watching.

The great thing about domestic animals (especially dogs, cats and some birds), is they give us unconditional love and trust. Just imagine what that poor dog must have been thinking. The puzzlement at why it was being treated so. This is such a sad story.

This has got me thinking, if the vet is aware of the abuse, doesn't he have a legal liability to report it to the authorities.

I mean if a doctor or school teacher finds out a child is being abused - they have to report it right? Well do Vets have the same onus on them?

There was something about this on TV only a few days ago. Someone was lobbying that vets should be operating under a similar law to doctors. Apparently at the moment they are not obliged to report mistreatment of animals (in NSW), although they can report it to the RSPCA if they wish to.

See thats ridiculous! Of course they should be legally bound to report it! It's not like animals can repot their owners like kids can sometimes report their parents (i say this loosely).

Perhaps they are concerned with tarnishing their name if they report a false alarm or something, but i mean, so what! if it saves even one animals suffering it would be all worth it!

hmm.. i'm going to look into this.

I think most vets would feel morally bound to report incidents of mistreatment, but I agree there should be legislation covering it. Don't forget that in Dagney's case, the innocent owner took the dog to the vet, not the perpetrator. I guess that in this case legislation would force some action to be taken, even if the owner was reluctant to press charges. Of course, there may well already be laws in place in Texas and Pennsylvania.

Animals are property.

The penalties for abuse of animals are minimal at best. Fines, sometimes with brief jail terms.

There is usually not a provision for ordering the individual never to own another animal.

The fact that the animal was transported across numerous state lines has probably not helped the case.

Neither does the fact that he was a pit bull.

The poor animal had a broken bone, been stabbed and burned with an iron! That is not "cruelty"-it's sick. People who do this to animals have been known to follow a certain pattern. WATCH THIS PERSON. Who-WHO-could do something like that while the creature wimpered in agony? It disgusts me. Please encourage your friend to pursue this.

Friend already has - I got more information regarding the situation today - now that things have settled down a bit - and heads are a bit clearer.

1. Dog owner was at work when this happened.
2. EvilBastard had a history (unknown to Dog Owner _or_ person who referred Dog Owner to the home as a temporary place of residence) as a child of cruelty to animals
3. Dog Owner took dog to Texas Vet immediately after incident
4. Texas vet filed a cruelty investigation report with SPCA, which started an investigation immediately.
5. Dog Owner was not comfortable returning to the home where the incident happened - (Dog was in the care of the vet). Asked the vet if the dog would be safe travelling back to PA - to be put under immediate vetrinary care as soon as the dog arrived in PA - Vet said yes - gave Dog Owner a list of treatment recommendations, the x-rays, everything else that PA Vet may need in order to care for the animal, along with pain relievers and antibiotics for the animal.
6. Dog Owner arrived in PA - and immediately went to the family vet - who also filed a cruelty report with the SPCA.

Last we've heard the police are involved, and Evil Bastard is being questioned - more than one person has come forward stating they witnessed the abuse - which apparently took place in a garage with the door up. (He wasn't very concerned about hiding it). Evil Bastard's excuse for what he did? The dog had gas.....and he couldn't stand the smell.

Yes, dog farts caused this asshole to be so cruel to an innocent animal. I'm NOT kidding - although I really wish I was.

Whoa. There is a well-documented probability that children who torture animals grow up to become psychopaths/serial killers/sociopaths. As awful as this is, it might be a blessing in disguise if it gets and keeps this guy off the street.

Or away from kids. :mad:

I am too angry to speak.

Had this happened to MY animal, said Evil Bastard would not currently be alive to be questioned. I treat my dog (a mixed pit bull terrier) as if he were my own son. And then some. But then again, I'm an animal lover.

Brian

While we are on the subject of dog abuse, here is another type that is all to common. Read it, print it, circulate it. Please. :(

Thanks for that link, Bruce. I think the most telling thing in the article is not the apathy, but the espousal of further abusive techniques because they genuinely believe the alternative is "cruel."

I once knew a woman with four cats, all kept inside a tiny one-bedroom apartment. The cats were not allowed outside, because to do so was cruel according to her--they might get run over, you see. People who let their animals outside were abusing them. The cats began peeing on the carpet to express their displeasure, so they got confined to smaller and smaller areas, until ultimately all four were kept permanently in the laundry room. I begged her to give them away to other homes--she wasn't comfortable with that, because she couldn't be sure these new owners wouldn't let the cat outside.

I plotted for long periods of time how I could manage to drop by her house, and somehow let the cats out the front door while she wasn't looking. Finally, two got out and ran away and the other two were taken by relatives.

This is why I'd rather spend my time with animals that with most humans I know.

My condolences to "Dog Owner".

To "Raving Maniac": You should be crucified between two trees, both legs tied off to the bases of said trees, and your nuts, however small and dainty they are, should be slowly cutoff with a steak knife, while your eyes are burned out with a blowtorch. This shall be done in the town square, since you enjoy public displays of torture so much. People like you need to be exterminated. Fucking scumbag.

To the other Cellarites: I am sorry for this outburst. Animal abuse pisses me off.