Abuse Case in CO (We need your rays)

[dutchman]

It looks like another one of our little friends needs some prayers this weekend. I'm attaching an e-mail I just received from Teresa.

I wish I had time to get setup on photo point so I could post the two attched photos of this little boy. He is very thin but what a face. Please keep him in you'r rhoughts.

Thank you,

Tom

---------BEGIN ATTACHMENT----------------
Subject: Fwd: Abuse Case in CO
Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2000 18:49:19 EDT
From: Tacke12@aol.com
To: (Names Deleted)


Hello,
We need a miracle here in Colorado. Below is Eli's original story. This precious boy is not doing well, and not expected to make it thru the weekend. We need the power of prayer and healing thoughts for him. Today he quit
swallowing, the vet and Kristin is taking turns every 2 hours running a tube down his throat to try to keep him going. The vet can't do surgery to install a stomache tube, he doesn't think he would live thru the surgery.
This guy is only one year old and his owners starved him to death, if you want to see his picture email me and I'll forward to you.
BUT........Tears......Eli.......needs a miracle folks..........Teresa in
Colorado

<<
Everyone:

Please keep this little boy in your thoughts for the next few days. We (Dachshund Rescue of Colorado) got a call from one of our local shelters yesterday about this boy. They are pursuing criminal charges, so they could not give me any details about the "owners" until the case is over. I picked him up earlier today and took him straight to our rescue
vet. The pictures of this poor little thing do not even do his condition justice...the pictures came out darker and don't show the bones sticking out. He is literally a bag a bones. He is 60% under his normal body weight at 5 lbs. He can hardly walk, but he does wag the tip of his tail furiously when you talk to him. And he did try to get his leg away when they were shaving his leg for an IV. They are still running tests, but they have found that he has almost zero protein in his system, so he will not be able to absorb much of the IV. They will be trying a plasma transfusion to help this situation. His liver is failing due to the fact that his body is cannibalizing itself. They have him on steriods and he ate 1/4 of a can of A/D, which is a good sign (and he has kept it down for almost 3 hours). He is only one year old. Please, please think of him. He has such a sweet face and disposition. If ever there was a boy who deserved a decent chance at a happy life, it's this boy.

--
Dawn-Renée Mack
Andie, Delaney, Elliot and bitty boy Griffin

Well, it has been determined that there is no underlying medical reason for Eli (yes, he got a new name!) to be so emaciated. So, it looks like he was purposely starved. We are happy that he does not have a medical problem, but we are saddened that it appears that his former owners allowed this to happen to him. Everyone who came into the clinic today saw him. Most people got pretty upset. He had a blood transfusion from our hero, Kiefer, the 125 lb German Shepard Dog who belongs to our Rescue vet. He seemed to be holding his own and he perked up noticibly
and wagged his tail when my Elliot (his lookalike) paid him a visit. The vet is giving him a 50-50 chance. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers and I will keep you posted on his condition and the status of the criminal case as I get news.
--
Dawn-Renée Mack
Andie, Delaney, Elliot and bitty boy Griffin

----------END OF ATTACHMENT---------------

[georgette]

Thanks for posting and we'll continue to send best wishes his way.
-g

[isobelsmom]

You have hooman prayers from me and dachsie rayz from Isobel to little Eli. Why does the nastiness of humans STILL amaze me? Hugs to the rescuers in this situation! They are truly <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm37.gif" border=0>

mary

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by isobelsmom on October 08, 2000 at 07:45 AM</font>

[WOTANSMUTTI]

This little fighter deserves to live just to spite the awful "people" that did this to him.

May they get what comes around...<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm4.gif" border=0>

[Roxane]

All my prayers for this little one.
Roxane

[dutchman]

Here is the latest news I just received.

Tom

-------BEGIN ATTACHMENT---------------------
Subject: Dachshund Abuse in CO aka Eli Update
Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2000 20:14:25 EDT
From: Tacke12@aol.com
To: (Names Deleted)


Hello,
Below is Dawn's update from this morning. Hubby and I went down today to meet little Eli........Folks I can't tell you......He's in horrible shape. The pictures do no justice to what has been done to him. He is very weak, I held him for along time. I held him close to my heart, I wanted to take away
all his hurt and make him whole. There was a time that Dawn and Kristin thought he had passed on in my arms, he is truley a skelleton with skin ........but those precious eyes of his are shining and clear and full of love. DR James came in to feed him and increase his fluids and give him some meds, he was feeling a little better when we left. But folks, he is still
breathing, I'm not sure how.........I reckon, by the grace of God........Please continue to send healing thoughts his way.......He needs them all, precious baby Eli, We love you so..........Teresa in Colorado


Permission to cross-post...I know this is getting around the net~

If everyone would keep the positive thoughts rolling in......we thank you for each and every one!

Eli made it through the night!! I really can't believe it. I really thought he was going to die last night. When Dr. James was tube feeding him today at 7 am, he actually got up, walked to the edge of his kennel
and wagged his tail. What a fighter!! He has not vomited up any more feedings since the 6 pm one last night. His situation is very serious and it is more likely than not that he won't make it, but if anyone can
do it, it's this little guy. I will keep you posted throughout the day as I get more information.

And really, everyone, I want to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of the people who have taken the time to write and those of you keeping Eli in your thoughts. I hope to God it works. In
12 years of participating in Rescue, I have never so wanted a dog to make it as I do Eli. Maybe it's because his face is the spitting image of my Elliot. Maybe it's because they are both from the same *%&$ pet
store. Maybe it's because even after being treated so horribly by humans, he still wags his tail and wants to please. The canine capacity to forgive should never be taken for granted.

--
Dawn-Renée Mack
Dachshund Rescue of Colorado
Andie, Delaney, Elliot and bitty boy Griffin

[loving two dachsie's]

Many prayers for this special little guy.

My heart breaks, and I can not understand how one can abuse such a beautiful creature.

God bless you Eli.

Linda

[dutchman]

Reading a couple of the other threads on this threads I've just found out Eli didn't make it. He will be in my thoughts. I know Teresa will be lighting an extra candle tonight to help guide him to the bridge.

Thank you for caring,

Tom

[~Jen~]

http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/frown.gif http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/frown.gif Poor Eli http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/frown.gif http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/frown.gif Sending thoughts and Rayzzzzz to him to help him make his trip to the bridge a safe one. At the bridge he will never be hungry or in pain again!

Jen

[loving two dachsie's]

I came in tonight just to check on Eli, I am so saddened by this.

He is in a safe place now, no more hunger, no more fear.

Linda

[dutchman]

We can hope for some justice in this case Colorado laws were changed earlier this year so animal cruelty is not a felony. Let's hope the responsible individuals get more than a slap on the wrist.

Tom

[twix0699]

Sorry, I just found this thread and my heart is broken for Eli. I simply cannot believe that people can actually do something like this. How horrible do you have to be to starve a dog to its death? I can't imagine how ugly these people are. Oh, how my heart hurts.... If there is anything that I can do to help put these people where they belong (in the electric chair as far as I'm concerned) please let me know.

In tears, Teresa

[dutchman]

Here is a new update on the Eli case. IT sounds like ignorance and lack of finances may have been a bigger factor in Eli's death than intentiona abuse. The origianl vet is another matter. I believe the shelter originally involved in this case is one of the Denver area ones but I don't know which one. You can read the attached message and make your own judgements.

Tom

---------BEGIN ATTACHMENT-------------------Subject:
Fwd: Eli update
Date:Thu, 12 Oct 2000 18:48:48 EDT
From:Tacke12@aol.com
Tohttp://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/frown.gifNames Deleted

In a message dated 10/11/00 10:03:12 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
anderuel@uswest.net writes:

<<

~Permission to crosspost~

Everyone:

Okay, first things first. Eli's autopsy yesterday showed nothing. The
vets thought there was a chance that there might have been something
wrong that would not have shown up on a blood test (lymphoma or an
aortal arch pinching his esophagus) but there was nothing medically that

would have caused him to become so emaciated. Extensive tissue samples
have been sent to CSU to rule out anything else. His immediate cause of

death was that his large intestine "telescoped" in on itself, causing a
shutoff of blood supply to portions of the intestine. This in turn
caused that section of the large intestine to die, rendering his fragile

system septic. This happened because we fed him, which, of course, we
had to do. He was so starved, he would have never made it through
surgery. This intestinal problem is somewhat common in severe
starvation cases. Our vet felt that if we would have just gotten him in

sooner, even as little as two days sooner, we probably would have been
able to save him. Which makes the next part even worse.

Here's the owner's story, corroborated by her vet. She received the dog

as a gift from a relative who had purchased the dog from a pet store.
Not the healthiest beginning. But, he seemed to be doing fine until
about 5-6 weeks ago. (We don't think this woman is very dog-savvy). He

had been 11 pounds....a good weight for a year old pup. Then he seemed
to lose interest in food and she finally took him to her vet (she
evidently doesn't have much money). At her vet's (two weeks before she
brought Eli to our local shelter), Eli weighed only 7 pounds. The vet
suspected a blockage of some sort and recommended x-rays. The owner
told him she didn't have enough money, so the vet just prescribed
steroids and sent her on her way. No follow up visit recommended and he

dispensed steroids without a diagnosis. Big no-no. Even worse, he
didn't recommend any alternatives. Here in Denver, we have a large
not-for-profit veterinary hospital that provides low-cost veterinary
care to those who qualify. They also have an "Angel" program, where
people who wouldn't normally qualify for normal services but who have a
one-time huge veterinary expense (torn ACLs, dog hit by car, etc.) can
go and get a reduced fee or, in some cases, no fee at all. They do pet
care for the homeless, etc. They turn away *no one*!! This vet,
besides not dispensing steroids without a diagnosis and not scheduling a

follow up with a dog almost 40% under body weight, should have referred
this woman to Harrison (the non-profit vet hospital) immediately. He,
by his own admission, did not do any of these things. We are looking in

to this and seeing what we can do with the state board.

The majority of the responsibility still falls on the owner, however,
our purpose is not to drag ignorant people through the wringer. Our
purpose is to make sure what happened to Eli does not happen again. So,

we have set up a meeting with the owner next week so we can talk. And
we are seeing what we can do to make sure that every vet in this area
knows it is their responsibility to refer people who indicate they
cannot pay for *necessary* health care for their pets to Harrison. And,

Eli sat in the shelter for two days without an IV before we were allowed

to get him. If we had only had those two days, well, perhaps it would
have been enough. We have made sure that will not happen again. Lots
of people failed Eli...we want to make sure that we don't...and
education is our best weapon.

What we *think* happened is that Eli ate something that got stuck for
awhile and it worked itself out naturally, but, by the time that
happened, he was past the point of having an appetite. You know the
rest. We are honestly relieved that Eli's case appears not to be one of

intentional neglect. But, intentional or not, we will do what we can to

prevent it. At this point, we are withholding judgment as much as we
can until we receive the results of the tissue samples from CSU. Please

be patient and know we will keep you posted on this as we know more. If

it appears that criminal or civil action is warranted, we will notify
everyone. Thank you for Eli...I know he would give each and every one
of you many puppy kisses.



--
Dawn-Renée Mack
Andie, Delaney, Elliot and bitty boy Griffin

-------------END ATTACHMENT------------


<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by dutchman on October 13, 2000 at 10:28 AM</font>

[Wienergal]

I think Dawn is right--everyone failed Eli. But from what she wrote, it would seem that the biggest portion of blame rests with the vet who simply dismissed a patient who couldn't afford the recommended treatment and prescribed steroids, drugs that carry with them a huge array of potentially dangerous side effects. One would hope that the state review board would investigate this case and, at the very least, suspend the vet's license temporarily--until he could be educated on how to deal with patients who have financial problems. Perhaps he should be "sentenced" to work in an animal shelter for a few years.

Can you see how reasonable I'm trying to be? Deep in my heart, I think he should be banned from veterinary medicine forever and perhaps denied any medical care other than steroids for any problems HE might encounter...

I have checked with my vets to see what their policy is in such cases. They will not deny necessary treatment to any patient; that is as it should be. Period.

[Roxane]

Thanks, Tom. An example of when bad things happen to good people. Tracing the story back I would hold the first vet directly responsible for Eli's suffering and death. We have had several examples recently of people who care, being motivated to become activists, because of dog abuse and death. I know it may sound simplistic and trite but if good comes from all of the bad things that have happened; then dogs like Eli, Duchess, Honey,et all will be remembered as being the reason for reform.
My emotional salvation through all of this is to make sure there is less and less we have to report, by working in my little corner of the world. And by responding to all the board members who ask us to jump in and make our feelings known where it will do the most good.
A big hooray for all of you,
Roxane