Lori Hoffman remembers the first time she set eyes on Sweetie. Hoffman says she looked like a skeleton and weighed only about 50 pounds. Still she says, "Sweetie's personality shined through. She's a sweetheart. She's an absolute love."
Hoffman and her husband run a nonprofit called Heidi's Legacy Dog Rescue and say neighbors called them about two weeks ago. They were frantic and wanted them to pick up Sweetie to get her some help. Her ribs are still showing now but the photos of her when she weighed about half of what she weighs now are striking.
Hoffman says, "It was a stray and had been abandoned. It had no identification on it at all."
After $900 in veterinarian bills that have been paid thanks to generous donors Hoffman says, Sweetie is making a comeback which is why she and neighbors who initially sounded the alarm cannot believe there's a chance the dog may eventually go back to her original owner.
The Hillsborough County Pet Resources Center told 10 News that there's no current plan to return Sweetie to its owner. Not just yet. But they told us that it is the law that animals are considered property. The owner in this case who hasn't returned our phone calls told the county Sweetie had a pre-existing condition and he wants her back.
Hoffman says, "The law has to change. A living creature is not a piece of property." She adds that if Sweetie is returned it could set a terrible precedent where people refuse to report a dog in this type of condition thinking ultimately it won't help. She says, "But if other people think we're going to help them and they find out the county doesn't care - that the authorities don't care - then why should they care?"
Official Statement on Heidi's Legacy Rescue Dog
Recently, The Hillsborough County Pet Resources Center became aware of a situation involving a German Shepard who is in the possession of an animal rescue known as Heidi's Legacy. The case involving Nikki/Sweetie has several elements, but Pet Resources' involvement is limited to offering medical attention to an animal in need. It seems that an animal rescue group and the animal owner disagree over the status of the dog and its medical condition. The dog owner claims the rescue has possession of his property and he wants it back. The rescue is claiming that it is a civil matter and that they will possibly be seeking legal remedies to keep the dog. Pet Resources is concerned that the dog is either suffering from neglect or has a medical condition that needs immediate attention.
The Hillsborough County Pet Resources Center has reached out to the rescue asking for the dog to be brought to the shelter for additional medical testing to determine if it was neglected as the rescue claims, or if it has an underlying medical condition that makes it thin that the owner is claiming. The Pet Resources Center volunteered to do this testing and to cover the cost of the testing to determine what is the right thing to do in this case.
The Pet Resources Center not heard back from the rescue, but the County Attorney's Office was able to make initial contact with an attorney involved in the matter. The County is currently unable to determine if any civil or criminal animal violations have taken place without having access to the dog for further testing and examination. Pet Resources continues to work on this case to try to resolve it as quickly as possible.
There is no current plan to return the dog to its owner because there are pending questions that must be answered through medical examination and testing. The Hillsborough County Pet Resources Center is encouraging the rescue to cooperate with the investigation and to allow further testing and examination of the dog at the County's expense.
(WTSP 10 News - Aug 31, 2015)
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