January, 2004
Boss (aka Darth) was confiscated and his owner is currently being charged with cruelty and neglect. When asked how she felt about her predicament, she said that she's just sad to lose her "$800 investement".

"Boss" had been suffering from sever Demodectic mange for almost a year, and had a mold/fungus infection on his skin as well. Living with mange is not just uncomfortable, it is painful and the skin tears and bleeds.

Darth was eventually euthanized after it became apparent he would never live a comfortable life.

This poor little guy was much worse than he appears in the picture - he had bed sores from not getting up for so long. His left back leg was swollen very badly and he was very weak and undernourished. He was also believed to have blasto, which is very hard to treat and common in outdoor dogs.

He was another one that made it into rescue too late. He was euthanized in Arkansas 11/14/02

Hope was taken from an abusive owner in December, 2003 pregnant and 10 yrs. old. She has an obvious tumor on her leg and her head tilts permanently to one side. The vet thinks she may have a brain tumor as well. She endured life as a neglected breeding bitch.

Starved & fought, this breeding bitch was found in August of 2004.

It is unknown if she made it.

Pit Bull Stolen from Back Yard
and Beaten to Death

Rakim had been reported missing from his guardian's backyard. Rakim had been beaten by a baseball bat and hit more than 15 times by an unknown assailent. Comatose when he arrived at the vet, his jaw was broken and his leg was shattered. The treating vet indicated that all the muscles and tendons in the right paw were "just gone." SPCA had to euthanize him.

Rakim being dragged by Russell Watson, 17,
across a laundromat floor

Rakim was euthanized. Just a reminder to
NEVER leave your pit bull outside unattended!

News Story

7 Pit Bulls Seized in Dogfighting Arrest
San Jose, CA

Rescued; 3 rescued puppies had been too young to fight; 4 adults were rescued from a barn with an arena for dog fights. One adult female suffered bites going into her bones; suffering from intense pain and unable to walk -- she wagged her tail and greeted rescuers with licks. Some were bolted to the floor with heavy tow chains, said officers. One was chained so long the dog had sores from being forced to sit.

Photo Courtesy of the KPIX-TV

"They use very sweet-natured dogs to train other dogs to fight, because those dogs will not fight back--they're called bait dogs," said Dr. Patricia Latas of the SCV Humane Society.

Deceased/euthanized; dog was tied up in a backyard when the assailants gouged seven holes in his skin with what appeared to be a cookie cutter or large pipe

Photo Courtesy of Chronicle/Paul Chinn

Theodore , pitbull puppy
(approximately 3 to 6 months old)
puppy was set on fire and chased into an apartment building crawl space after forcing him to fight another dog. The injured puppy suffered burns on one-fourth of its body, including on its face, back and legs, and was recuperating yesterday at the VCA Bay Area Animal Hospital in N. Oakland.

News Story

Pit Bull Brutalized

"We recieved a call concerning a stray pit bull, once we arrived we saw the dog down the block and she started to run to us with a big smile on her face.  As she got closer we noticed all of the cigarette burns on her body.  Pixie was incredibly nice and very active.  She was only at the shelter for the required 7 days before she was adopted to a new home that has had great succes with her since.  Unfourtunetly, the case is still open with no leads." - Animal Control officer Chris McGarry

Blackwood, New Jersey Oct. 25, 2004 — Officials from the shelter say they have never seen a case of abuse like this one.

Dr.Marvin Baynes/Staff Veterinarian: "We've seen a lot....but not this kind of cruelty."

Animal control officers Steve Bordi and Chris McGarry spotted "Pixie" wandering the streets of Camden after some one reported her as a stray. And as they approached her, the officers started realizing this dog had been brutally abused.

When the dog arrived at the shelter, care-takers counted between 50 and 60 cigarette burns all over her body.

Fortunately, veterinarians at the animal shelter say "Pixie" will fully recover but there will likely be some scarring. There were also some places where the burns went so deep it's possible she will have a few permanent bare spots. And despite the cruelty she's faced, "Pixie" shows no signs of aggression toward people. In fact, her care-takers say this puppy will likely be easy to train because she loves getting attention.

And, they say, it would be great if she finds a home... with space to run.

More importantly though, is finding a home where Pixie will get the love she's been neglected since the day she was born.

News Story

Yesterday we rescued this little
girl, named BrookLynn Angel.

She was found tied up, abandoned as a stray in New York after having her body be burned with chemicals and we still aren't sure what was done to her face, as that has now been proven that each horrible trauma happened on a separate occasion....

Her photo and story were circulated and Hot Water Rescue saw it and we knew we needed to save her. She is in the emergency room where she has been evaluated physically, received emergency attention in preparation to get her as healthy as possible for her surgery (we are unsure at this point if it will be a series of surgeries which is totally possible) beginning next week. On Monday, she will be transferred to our surgeons at whi ch point they will start their work of restoring whatever they can of her jaw and face. I don't believe that her body wounds will be repairable but we will see...

      BrookLynn Angel is a wonderful example of how a dog, a pitbullwho has been terribly tortured can still love and trust people. An example of how amazing the breeds we work with really are. Even though she has been so terribly tortured and has more scarring on her body than healthy tissue and is missing most of her facial flesh, she still tries to give kisses... It is incredible that a dog ridden with infection, missing her lips, and basically torn apart and tortured STILL tries to give kisses even though it probably causes her pain.
   

Not-guilty plea made in
animal-cruelty case

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

A Renton woman pleaded not guilty Monday to animal cruelty after being accused of cutting off her dog's ear with scissors because of a photo she saw in a magazine.

Cindy Martinez, 21, was charged Jan. 11 with first-degree animal cruelty, a felony.

The investigation began Nov. 14, when Martinez took her 4-month-old pit bull terrier to a Renton veterinarian, saying the puppy was hurt during an attempt to crop its ear. Initially, Martinez denied cropping it herself.

The vet found that the ear cut was jagged, cartilage was exposed, the puppy had bled extensively and no attempt had been made to close the wound. She called police.

Officers said Martinez admitted cutting the dog's ear. According to court documents, she told them she was thumbing through a magazine for pit bull enthusiasts and saw a photo of an adult pit bull with ears she liked. Martinez said she decided to cut her puppy's ears to match, though she had no experience or training.

Using a pair of craft scissors, she held the puppy with one hand and cut more than an inch off the dog's ear. The dog had been given no anesthesia and struggled, requiring Martinez to hold on so tightly that scratch marks were left on the dog's head and neck, documents said.

News Story