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Current diary entries    I    Past diary entries Doll's Diary Account by Doll Stanley, April 14th, 2005 Dear Diary,  I know that others will be reading this entry, and the purpose of my diary is to share the reality of life, as well as to capture dreams. We know that I dream of cruelty-free days - animals free from human abuse was unimaginable to me as a child, but that just isn’t what this week was about. Freshly back from the experience of the Grassroots Animal Rights Conference (GARC), this animal rights lifer was renewed. That was a very good thing. This week has been as much about addressing the “Why hasn’t someone done something sooner?” tragedies as about preventing future suffering. Before I tell these tales I am thrilled to say that a letter and news release I sent out were picked up by the local papers. I am sending both to other papers, as well. Also, I hosted the WXVT morning programs both last Thursday and Sunday. I was happy that Sunday’s was taped on Thursday because Sunday is our adoption day, and I didn’t want to miss a minute. Both programs went extremely well. I spoke of our work here in this region, and the issues facing animals. I got some really positive feedback from several viewers. One of our members here saw it and said it was as professional as “Good Day New York.” Now for the heartbreaking stories: Last Thursday I went to Attala County to follow up on a report of a severely neglected dog. After investigating the circumstances of the complaint and seeing the condition of the dog, I suspected that the motivation for the complaint might have been the original guardian’s desire to have the dog back. I advised that a vet report would be needed, as well as proof of heartworm prevention and shots. I gave the guardian two weeks to comply and put five pounds on the dog. While there I asked to see the other animals. The three other dogs were okay, but the two horses were thin. One of them was a mare whose colt had just been weaned. This is no excuse for a horse to be thin, but here even vets will back up this false claim. As it is common thinking that animals are for the “use” of their humans, horses, cattle, and other animals that depend on grass for their mainstay are expected to lose weight during winter. Even “outdoor” dogs are subject to this assumption – one that we are working hard to change. Anyway, I told the man how much weight his horses needed to put on, and then spotted his goat. The poor Billy was using the trainer in his enclosure to hold him up as he grazed. The man told me he thought the goat had been kicked by one of the horses, so I told him to immediately contact the vet for aid.  On my way out, I inspected a smaller puppy mill. As heartbreaking as it was that the dogs were treated like breeding machines, they did have sanitary conditions, adequate and clean housing, and weren’t crowded. I later alerted the vet to expect to see the dog and the goat. By Monday, the two vets in the Attala area had not yet seen the goat. Sally Link (our long-time friend) jumped through hoops to get a seizure order, but missed the judge by five minutes. I got the sheriff to send a deputy with us to negotiate the release of the goat. The guardian wasn’t there, but his adult son was. When he said he couldn’t give permission to release the goat, I explained that the next morning I would have a seizure order, and that I would have to file an affidavit for animal cruelty. He therefore allowed the goat to be taken to our vet, signed that he witnessed our taking the goat for this purpose, and aided us in putting the goat in our van. Sally had to go home, so I stopped up the road from Project Hope and got Diane to ride with me to the vet’s office. She has a key, and we prepared a place for Billy while waiting for Doc. While we waited, I noticed that Billy’s eyes were jerking. We began to wonder if he had a fever. It’s normal for a goat to have 103-104 degree temperature so his warm horns didn’t really mean anything. Doc determined that Billy is suffering from Listeriosis, which you can get from eating bacteria-infested food. I am relieved that Billy’s health is slightly improved this morning.  One thing I am certainly thrilled with is that the Attala County Sheriff that was in office when we were investigating Jeff Hodges is out of office. I’ve been pleased with the professionalism displayed by the current sheriff and his officers. Sunday I learned of a horse that was in such bad condition that everyone that had seen her was in tears, and up in arms because the Rankin Animal Care Officer (ACO) had not acted on her plight. Our buddy Cindy Bailey (who was an ACO in Clinton, Miss.) started making calls while we were at PETsMART. I followed up with my calls, and the horse was seized that evening. Since Sunday we have been pushing for the release of the horse into our care because Dr. Shiedler has agreed to care for her. He saved and adopted Stormy, the almost four-year-old horse that had been so starved that he is as small as a six-month-old colt. Also, Kate Colson, an avid horse advocate, agreed to take the care of the mare. Kate has the knowledge and experience to rehabilitate a horse in the worst of conditions. Her vet, Dr. Vice (who adopted Lady from us), is considered our state’s #1 horse doc. Yesterday it seemed that the mare would be released to Kate, so she and I met with the ACO and his superior. The mare has been under the care of Dr. Rick Kirby, who has attended to her several times each day. Kate and I got some peat moss for her to lie on so that she would be more comfortable. It was very clear that moving her now wasn’t the answer; making her comfortable was. She isn’t expected to make it, and will likely be relieved of her suffering today. I have never seen a horse in worse condition. I will bear her plight in my mind, and spare those of you reading this. Rankin County Animal Control has no excuse for their failure to act on the early reports of this poor horse’s condition. Unlike those of us that are trying to aid animals in cases that take us into multiple counties, they are only responsible for the one. We have learned that the Sheriff’s Department had been receiving calls about this horse for weeks. We are asking people to please write Sheriff Ronnie Pennington, 221 N. Timber St., Brandon, MS 39042, or call (601) 825-1480, and politely ask why the mare’s plight wasn’t addressed when she might have been saved. A Feb. 8, 2005 Clarion Ledger article said that the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department seized 4.9 million dollars during drug raids in the past two years. I would think that this figure would imply that lack of funding wasn’t an excuse for not being able to save the mare. Early morning, before leaving to see about the mare, I received a call that a raccoon was lying injured on the side of the road only miles from us. I immediately left to provide whatever aid to this animal that I could. As I was going to Jackson, I took him to the North State Animals Hospital, which offers care and rehabilitation for injured wildlife. It was hours before we got to North State, but at least he was off the road (which in the sun would soon be hot to the touch), spared from the fire ants and the spider that had crawled onto him. But it was bad news. His face was shattered, and the pain he would endure to be saved might not pay off. He was mercifully relieved of his suffering by a North State veterinarian. On the way to Jackson I also had to take our Nicolas in for his second heartworm treatment. I left him overnight so that he wouldn’t have to stay in the van all day. As I was leaving, a Fed Ex driver approached me and asked if I was the person to report neglected animals to. When I said yes, he told me that he saw horrible things while driving his route, specifically a chained-up dog that was just over a couple of miles away on Academy Street in Winona. I told him I would look into it in the next day or so, and we parted. I got into the van, but it just wouldn’t turn south. As I neared the intersection to turn to Academy Street, the van pulled to the right to make the turn. How in the world could I drive on knowing that this dog was in trouble? I will never forget a visiting friend of Dr. Katz’s exclaiming that we must never forget, or pass the suffering individual in our effort to save the many. I felt such a kinship with him, for neither can I turn away and put off another’s salvation. Thank God that I went to see about this dog. The precious animal was chained to a tree just off the road in some bushes and trees. Fresh blood glistened from a wound on the bridge of his nose. As he turned to make contact with me, I saw the oozing abscess that had smeared blood across his shoulder. The poor creature was emaciated and panting, his water bucket and food at the foot of the hill. He had wound the chain around the tree so that he had barely a foot of chain between his head and the bark.  The Winona Police Station was only blocks away so I went for assistance. I had to wait for the two officers that went back with me, and I was getting really anxious about the dog, suffering there. They were very cooperative, and after a quick briefing as to the circumstance we headed over to assist the dog. When we arrived, the dog’s guardian was home for lunch. He came out and explained that the dog would put on weight, and then just as rapidly loose it. I pointedly asked him why he hadn’t taken his dog to the vet. He gave what I perceived to be a feeble attempt to cover his neglect by saying that he was giving his dog something from the Co-op. I thought not. Anyway, I explained that he needed to let me take his dog to Dr. Bailey’s, and asked the guardian to put him in the carrier I had prepared. The poor dog was entirely unsocial. He wagged his tail to my sweet talk, but lunged and threatened to bite when I got too close. After giving Dr. Bailey time to examine the dog, I called him on my cell phone to check in. He tried to be as gentle as he could as he explained that the infection raging in the dog’s sinus cavities had “simply been let go too long.” He was certain that there was no hope for the dog, and that the merciful thing to do was to put him out of his misery. I left messages for the guardian, but have not yet heard from him. I intend to file an affidavit of neglect, and to see that he at least pays the vet bill. What can I tell you, Diary? Today I will follow up with the Tallahatchie County case where two brothers let nearly (or perhaps more than) forty cows starve to death. Sometimes it seems that we are just too late, that the bad so far outweighs the good that our mission is hopeless. Then I read the awesome news from past accounts and know that even when we are called in too late for rescues with happy endings, we have driven a message home to other community members and the local authorities that these inexcusable tragedies will not be buried, will not be forgotten, and must not be tolerated.  Any good news? Yes, some. Yesterday I picked up a little dog that a woman rescued after seeing him wandering highway 407 for the past month. I took him in, and another dog named Foxy who was returned to us Sunday after nearly four years. Her guardian was in the midst of some life-changing events and wasn’t able to care for her, nor get anyone else to. The Mississippi Animal Rescue League (MARL) said they had someone in mind for both dogs. I took them to Jackson and delivered them to the guardian as well. What a day!  Doll Stanley, Project Hope