Tag: abandoned dog

How the Heck Did 7 Puppies End Up on an Uninhabited Canadian Island?

It’s mystifying and also pretty horrifying to consider how in the world a litter of seven puppies ended up on an uninhabited island in Manitoba, Canada.

The 4-month-old castaways — or, as I prefer to call them, “castawoofs” — were discovered by JR Cook and Leon Colombe as they were fishing near Cook Lake. They first heard them crying late in the afternoon on July 30. It was by then too dark to explore the island, so the two men returned the next day to investigate. It’s a good thing they did.

At first they thought the crying might be coming from wolves, but they discovered it was the seven Labrador-mix puppies. There were no other adult dogs or any people in sight.

Cook and Colombe returned to the mainland and told a volunteer at Norway House Animal Rescue about the puppies. Over the next three days, as arrangements to transport the puppies off the island were being made by the rescue group, the men returned to the island to feed the puppies. The first day, the hungry puppies devoured an entire bag of food, Debra Vandekerkhove, the director of Norway House, told CBC News.

“They went back three times a day to take care of them,” Jessica Boeckler, adoption coordinator for Norway House, told CBS News. She said the rescue group gets frequent calls about abandoned and stray dogs. “We bring them in, get them properly vetted, sometimes other rescues take them in if we’re full,” she said.

The puppies are staying in a foster home until they’re ready to be adopted in a few weeks. Cook and their foster parents have named the four males and three females after characters on — you guessed it — “Gilligan’s Island,” the classic sitcom about people stranded on an island. Boeckler predicts the now-famous castawoofs will all quickly find forever homes.

In an update posted on the Norway House Animal Rescue’s Facebook page last night, their foster parents reported that all the puppies are doing well. “Skipper and Gilligan are best of friends,” they said. Well, of course they are!

Assuming the puppies didn’t somehow escape their yard and swim to the island, here’s hoping that the monster who dumped them there with no food is arrested and charged with animal cruelty. And here’s hoping that at least two of those very lucky pups are adopted by Cook and Colombe, the men who very likely saved their lives.

For information about adopting the puppies and to make a donation to help care for them and other homeless dogs, visit the Norway House Animal Rescue Facebook page.

Photo: Norway House Animal Rescue/Facebook

UPS Driver Rescues Puppy Dumped on Road

In a cloud of dust, a 3-month-old Cairn Terrier frantically chased after an old blue pickup truck whose driver dumped him on a Northern California road.

“I’m rolling up and I see it pull away in the dirt, going pretty fast, and the little dog is chasing it down the yellow line,” Jason Harcrow, who’s been a United Parcel Service (UPS) driver for 16 years, told the Modesto Bee.

As Harcrow pulled over to the side of the road, the puppy, startled by an oncoming car, darted under his UPS truck.

It took a while for Harcrow to coax the pup out from under the truck.

“I tried to grab him and he was kind of playing with me,” he told the Bee. “I didn’t want to get down on all fours, so I was just kind of swiping for him. I was getting a little frustrated.”

He was finally able to grab the puppy and put him in his truck. He called Stanislaus County Animal Services and was told an animal control officer would come and take the pup, but Harcrow had deliveries to make.

So he brought the abandoned puppy along with him on his route. “He’s an awesome little pup,” Harcrow, who has a dog and cat, told the Bee.

Harcrow dropped his furry passenger off at a police substation. An animal control officer later took the pup to the Stanislaus County Animal Services shelter.

‘He’s Very Playful, Very Cute’

Not surprisingly, the puppy had no ID tag or microchip. In the highly probable case that his owner doesn’t show up to claim him, the pup will be available for a new forever home — emphasis on forever — Tuesday, June 21.

“He’s very playful, very cute,” Annette Patton, executive director of Stanislaus County Animal Services, told KCRA. The shelter has been flooded with calls about adopting the puppy, who they named “Biscuit.” Patton is certain Biscuit will find a loving home soon.

Jessica Lafferty, supervisor at the local UPS hub, told the Modesto Bee the company is very proud of Harcrow.

“He’s a very good guy,” she said. I couldn’t agree more.

Photos via Facebook

Big-Hearted Veterinarian Enjoys a Meal with Scared Dog in Cage [Video]

Just as CJ the German Shorthaired Pointer won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show last night, Dr. Andy Mathis, of Granite Hills Animal Care in Elberton, Ga., should win a Best in Veterinarians award.

When Mathis saw Graycie, an abandoned Pit Bull mix, cowering in the corner of her cage, refusing to eat, the vet joined her.

In a touching video he made Feb. 13 that’s gone viral — and that’s led to many adoption offers — Mathis climbs inside Graycie’s cage and sits beside her, eating and offering the dog her own dish. Eventually Graycie starts eating, too.

“We’ve had dogs in the past that took up to six weeks to feel comfortable getting outside, and then they love to play, they love other dogs and they love me,” Mathis told ABC News. “It doesn’t make me sad to see [dogs] broken and withdrawn because with time, I know what’s possible.”

Graycie, who’s about 2 years old, was brought to the animal hospital on Jan. 29 by someone who found her dumped on a little-traveled dirt road.

“Emaciated, starved (20 lbs.), dehydrated, hypothermic (temp of 95), anemic and with a vaginal prolapse,” Mathis wrote on the hospital’s Facebook page. “Practical Me says I should put her to sleep, but Veterinarian Me wants to try and give her a chance.”

Mathis decided to give Graycie a chance. He took her to the University of Georgia (UGA) Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where specialists were able to reduce her prolapse, get her temperature back up and rehydrate her. Mathis took her back to Granite Hills Animal Care, and she’s been making a slow but sure recovery.

“She had a collar, so she was owned by somebody at some point,” Mathis told ABC News. “Whoever was feeding her wasn’t feeding her enough. She was 20 pounds when we found her and probably should have weighed 30 to 35 pounds.”

With Mathis by her side, Graycie has gained five pounds. He sometimes hand-feeds her.

“She’s still quite timid around me,” he said. “I’m spending time with her so she’s not scared of me.”

Graycie will be ready for a loving new forever home in a few weeks. In the meantime, as Mathis pointed out, there are plenty of other dogs across the country waiting to be adopted.

“By sharing her story, it brings awareness to other pets who need homes,” he told ABC News.

To make a donation to help Dr. Mathis and Granite Hills Animal Care save more pets, click here.

Photo credit: Dr. Andy Mathis

Owner of Dog Dumped at Gas Station Releases Her for $400

Butterbean will never be dumped at a Louisiana gas station again.

In a photo that went viral last week, the German Shepherd mix was seen chasing her owners’ pickup truck on a busy Louisiana highway after being left behind at the Highway 11 Shell station in Slidell.

As it turned out, this wasn’t the first time her owners had pulled this horrible stunt.

“It’s not uncommon at all for this family to abandon the dog at the station and let it chase their truck,” Jeff Dorson, director of the Humane Society of Louisiana, told ABC News last week. “They’ve done this multiple times and apparently think it’s no big deal, and they don’t seem to care about the welfare of the dog.”

Butterbean appeared to be happy and uninjured, Dorson said. However, the 6-year-old dog had been dumped in the area as a puppy, so it seems that being abandoned again and again (not to mention having to run through traffic to keep up with her owners) would be especially stressful for her.

“We are truly amazed that Butterbean has survived this many years,” Dorson told the Times-Picayune.

When the Humane Society of Louisiana first contacted Butterbean’s owners about giving their dog up for adoption so she could live in a safer, more compassionate home, the owners refused.

“They stated their intention is to now keep her tethered in their backyard, which of course is not an acceptable way to maintain a family dog in our view, apart from the history of extremely irresponsible pet ‘ownership,'” the Humane Society wrote on its Facebook page Friday.

Dorson told ABC News the Humane Society was “pursuing all avenues to gain legal custody of Butterbean to ensure she has the safe and happy life she deserves.” Her case was escalated to St. Tammany Animal Services, which has the authority to directly intervene.

Yesterday, one of Butterbean’s owners, Lisa Pearson, received a warning from St. Tammany Animal Services. Instead of taking Butterbean to a shelter or vet, Pearson said she would give up the dog — for $400. The cash was donated from the Humane Society.

“We certainly don’t like to reward this kind of behavior, but sometimes it simply takes too long for cases to move through the legal system,” Dorson said in a news release today. “Our first concern was Butterbean’s safety. We were convinced she could be let loose again to run in traffic at any time, and we might miss our opportunity to intervene.”

Butterbean is being treated for a heartworm infection and will be available for adoption soon. Dorson said anyone interested in giving her a forever home must go through an application and interview process. (Want to bet that one of the questions is, “Would you enjoy dumping Butterbean at a gas station for fun?”)

Dorson said the Humane Society is delighted that Butterbean’s story will have a happy ending. It won’t be such a happy ending for Butterbean’s previous owners, who are facing citations for violating several state laws. Pearson signed an agreement not to allow any animal to roam at large in the future, and not to chain or tether any animal, either.

The new campaign “Butterbean Buddies” has just been launched to help other dogs who are abandoned, chained or tethered.

“We’d love to save 500 dogs or more through our Butterbean Buddies during the next year,” Dorson said. It costs the Humane Society of Louisiana about $500 to rescue, provide veterinary care for, and spay or neuter a homeless dog. Housing, food and transporting the dog for adoption can cost an additional $500.

“If only a handful of people concerned about Butterbean pitched in to help, we could save thousands of dogs here in Louisiana,” Dorson said.

If you’re interested in adopting Butterbean, contact the Furry Friends Animal Hospital at 504-366-6060.

To donate to Butterbean Buddies, click here or send a check to Humane Society of Louisiana, PO Box 740321, New Orleans, LA 70174.

Photos via Facebook, Facebook

‘Abandoned’ Dog’s Owners Frequently Dump Her at Gas Station for Fun

It was a picture that broke a million hearts this week: A German Shepherd mix seen chasing her owner’s pickup truck on a busy Louisiana highway after he dumped her at a gas station.

To add to the heartache, the dog seen in the photo, snapped by Lorie Hollis on her cell phone Monday, then seemed to disappear.

“I saw a gentleman walking around the gas station with the dog following him, and I thought he was homeless,” Hollis told ABC News. “He then sat on the back of this pickup truck and talked to the dog, who seemed to be very in tune to what he was saying.”

She said another man came out and told the dog to go away. “He shut the tailgate, and the dog tries to put its paws up to climb, but he just enters the truck and they back up real fast, almost hitting the dog, and speed off.”

Hollis followed behind them, watching the dog weave around cars as he chased the pickup truck. “The truck crossed two lanes of traffic, and still the dog followed,” she said.

When Hollis lost sight of them, she returned to the Highway 11 Shell gas station in Slidell, where an employee told her the dog lived in the area and to “mind her own f-ing business.”

The dog’s owners were finally tracked down Thursday by the Humane Society of Louisiana. Its director, Jeff Dorson, told ABC News the dog, Butterbean, was uninjured and very sweet, but the discovery was “incredulous.”

“It’s not uncommon at all for this family to abandon the dog at the station and let it chase their truck,” Dorson said. “They’ve done this multiple times and apparently think it’s no big deal, and they don’t seem to care about the welfare of the dog.”

Butterbean, who had been dumped in the neighborhood as a puppy, is between 6 and 7 years old. “We are truly amazed that Butterbean has survived this many years,” Dorson told the Times-Picayune.

The dog is apparently co-owned by two families. She was found Thursday on the property of one of her pet parents, Lisa Pearson.

Dorson said the humane society would educate Pearson and the other owners about the dangers they’re posing to their dog, named Butterbean, and other drivers. “We’re hoping to get a citation issued through our local animal control against the owners for having their dog at large,” he said.

According to an update on the Humane Society of Louisiana’s Facebook page yesterday, the owners are refusing to rehome Butterbean. “They stated their intention is to now keep her tethered in their backyard, which of course is not an acceptable way to maintain a family dog in our view, apart from the history of extremely irresponsible pet ‘ownership,'” the humane society wrote.

Butterbean’s case has been escalated to St. Tammany Animal Services, which has the authority to directly intervene. Dorson told ABC News yesterday the humane society is currently “pursuing all avenues to gain legal custody of Butterbean to ensure she has the safe and happy life she deserves.”

Meanwhile, a Shell gas station employee named Sandra told an ABC News reporter on the phone, “Everyone is making a big deal, and it needs to stop.”

Many commenters on the Humane Society of Louisiana’s Facebook update support Butterbean’s owners. “All of you need to back away and leave these people and their pet alone!!” wrote Gregg NVicki Miller. “Has been happy until you decided that you are not happy with the way somebody else lives their lives. I don’t like the way you think its OK to step all over somebody.”

I wonder if Gregg NVicki Miller were driving down Highway 11 and struck and killed happy Butterbean, he’d feel the same way.

Photos via Facebook, Facebook

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