CA - Beaten, starved German shepherd dumped at Oakland shelter

[Deleted member 96356]

I can't watch the video either. I have raised 4 German Shepherds and loved them with all of my heart. I cannot bare to watch that video. I do hope they find out who mistreated that poor dog. I am not sure that the person who is seen in the video is thew guilty party though. Maybe they found the dog and brought them to safety?

BBM

I wonder if it was a neighbor or someone else who became aware of the abuse and took the dog to safety, but doesn't want it to be known that they did it for fear of retribution from the dog's owner. Anyone capable of violence and abuse against an animal is capable of violence or threats against a human, IMO. One more reason they need to catch whoever did this. :twocents:

 

[Columbo]

I am so freaking outraged!!!!! She deserved to live. Her organs were shutting down from starvation but that can be reversed. I have seen it countless times. I wish I had known about her situation and that she had been near me. I am beyond devastated!!!!

Now I really feel sick, knowing that she did have a chance of surviving and recovering. I figured, if she could stand up then she wasn't beyond help....but I'm not a vet. I'm mad ! I wonder who made the decision? I saw that one picture/video of her lying on the floor and I wondered why she wasn't under medical care, with IV's and so on! It's like no one even cared...Now I am mad!!!!!

And the German Shepherd Rescue Group didn't even try to get her saved?

 

[Columbo]

I can't watch the video. Animal abuse stories haunt and disturb me.

I did notice the headline...Oakland, CA. Either very rich or very much a .

It could be either, but I'm going with very much a .

 

[believe09]

IMVHO, the shelter should not be vilified here. I am certain they tried to help her. We dont know what level of pain and suffering she was experiencing. We just dont have that information. Dogs do amazing things under the most dire circumstances. She may have stood because she was finally allowed to or because the spirit moved her or because she finally knew she was safe.

 

[Columbo]

Thanks, believe09. I am sure you are right. I have to believe you are right because I'll be too upset if I don't, but I think they must have evaluated her very well before having to make such a decision.

I just wish someone would come forward and give LE some information! lease:

 

[katydid23]

I am not going to judge the shelter either. I applaud them for doing the best they can do under awful circumstances. JMO

 

[Deleted member 96356]

If I may offer a perspective on the decision to euthanize dear Marlo (that was her name)...

Before we castigate Oakland Animal Services, the attending vets, or local rescue organizations, it's important to step back and recognize the extent of Marlo's condition. Multiple massive infections, multiple exposed bones (I don't mean you could see her bones because she was skinny, I mean her bones were exposed out of the skin), kidney failure, organs shutting down, necrosis (some of her flesh was literally rotted), plus injuries. It's quite possible that the surgery required to help her would have killed her. It's quite possible that even the amount of painkillers required would have killed her. At what point do you put aside heroics and employ mercy? To go gently to sleep with people soothing her was probably the greatest gift she'd known in her horrific life.

As for private rescues intervening, when an animal is with animal control it's not always possible to take over, especially when there is a criminal investigation, as there is in Marlo's case. Even without a criminal case it's not possible to take the animal right away. And in Marlo's case, the time it could have taken to coordinate between the city and private groups would have been more time she was suffering.

I pulled a dog out of traffic and got a kind cop to take him to the shelter, and spent three days calling to check on him, reminding them every time that I wanted to claim him the minute those three days were up. Meanwhile, I was on the phone with a local breed rescue to work a deal where I would sponsor him. I also arranged with a vet. He was elderly, hair was matted, bad joints, teeth and gums badly diseased, he was in pain. Unfortunately, his owners claimed him at the last minute. All I was told was that they'd gone to Hawaii and left him in the backyard and had a neighbor check on him once a day. "Somehow" he got out of the yard, which is when I found him wandering in traffic. I asked what had been done about the teeth, the joints, etc. I was told that the owners had been told he needed a vet, but no conditions were put on the dog's release because it didn't meet level of neglect required (I will say that some shelters are stricter than others on this). I was so damn mad!!! But a dog is just property under the law, and so long as that dog is those people's property there's nothing I or the breed rescue could do. You can't just take an animal from the county or city, nor from its owners.

I'm speaking as someone who was blessed to be the lucky guardian of two rescues, both of whom came from serious abuse - one of whom required major surgery, and one of whom required a 4 week hospital stay before she could even come home with us. And those were just the physical issues, the emotional/psychological fallout was a whole other issue. So trust me, I know about going the distance to recuperate an abused, suffering dog. But it needs to be about the dog, not our own emotions. Like I said, there comes a time to set aside heroics and turn to mercy.

Until I see evidence that the vets just took a lazy route, and local rescues were just "doing nothing" to help, I will be grateful that at last Marlo found comfort and peace. I am heartbroken that this happened to her, but I am glad she is out of her pain and pray she is somewhere better.

:twocents::twocents::twocents::twocents::twocents:

 

[LinasK]

By Joan Morris, Contra Costa Times

[email protected]

Posted: 07/16/2013 12:00:00 PM PDT
Updated: 07/16/2013 03:54:15 PM PDTMarlo, a German shepherd who suffered horrific abuse before being left at the Oakland animal shelter in late May, died more than a month ago, but the search for her abuser continues as those who were touched by her story continue to rally in her name.
Marlo was by far the worst case of abuse and neglect that seasoned animal control officers and volunteers had ever seen. She could barely stand, had deep gouges where her chain had cut into her, and she was so emaciated that her ribs had broken through her fragile skin.
Her condition was so severe that the veterinarian working with Oakland's Animal Services recommended she be euthanized, providing a sad but peaceful ending to what had been a tortured existence. A necropsy showed that Marlo had been eating dirt, sticks and pebbles to survive.Finding Marlo's abuser was going to be a long shot under any circumstances, but Animal Services had one thing on its side.
Marlo had been left at the animal shelter and it was captured on video. The grainy, nighttime video showed an Asian man leaving Marlo at the door in a brand-new crate.
David Cronin, Animal Services director, says officials thought the crate might be the best clue they had. After doing research, they learned that the crate is one specifically made for Walmart. The chain agreed to help the investigation.An initial search of sales receipts revealed that 290 crates had been sold in California in the weeks before Marlo was abandoned. They then looked at the five stores nearest to the shelter, Cronin says, and shortened the list to 40.Walmart then allowed Cronin and authorities to view videos, trying to pinpoint the purchase and see if they found someone who resembled the man in the animal shelter's video.
"Walmart was very helpful," Cronin says, "and we appreciate their efforts. We were hoping to find the man buying the crate and, in a perfect world, have video of him putting it in his car and a shot of his license plate, but it just didn't work out."
Marlo's case continues to be investigated. Cronin says people have been forthcoming with tips. None have panned out, but you never know, Cronin says, when one might yield results.
"We aren't giving up," Cronin says. And if he sounds like it's a bit personal for him, it is -- for him and all of the employees at Animal Services.<snip> I'll continue to follow the case and, I hope, it's resolution.
An $18,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest. Call the Oakland Police Department at 510-777-3333. more at link: http://www.mercurynews.com/animal-l...use-case-still-under-investigation?source=rss