(June 2017) Florida: Joseph Shepherd and his girlfriend Diana Harrelson charged after leaving emaciated, blind, deaf, matted dog covered in maggots tethered to trailer

FLORIDA -- Sarasota County Animal Services has dealt with many animal abuse cases but there’s a recent case deputies say rates among one of the worst they’ve seen.

“If you look at the photos, it’s horrific,” says Lt. Daniel Tutko, Sarasota Sheriff’s Office.

 

So horrific, half of the photos we can’t show you. Sputnik, a 14-year-old terrier mix, had to be euthanized.

Tutko says, “When the person picked him up, found it lethargic, matted, filled with maggots infection in its eye, one eye was missing, foul smell from the dog…it was suffering.”

Tutko says a Good Samaritan found the dog tied with a cord around its collar to this trailer on Walnut Avenue.  “I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. To let a dog get in that state you can’t imagine why someone would let that happen.”

Tutko says the reason the owner gave for tethering the dog outside is upsetting. “She wanted to let it die a natural death and that natural death was full of pain and suffering should not have occurred,” says Tutko.

Animal services officers in Sarasota were first made aware of the dog's condition on June 5, when a person rescued the animal.

The dog was reportedly in extreme distress, with matted fur and extreme dental decay. The 14-year-old terrier mix, named Spunik, who is both deaf and blind, was covered in maggots and attached to a cable tether without shelter.

Officers transported the dog to a veterinarian who performed humane euthanasia to end Spunik's suffering.

Deputies charged the homeowner, 55-year-old Joseph Shepherd, with abandoning an animal and animal cruelty.

Shepherd says, “All we ever gave our dogs is love, it’s an unfortunate situation.”

Shepherd says they placed Sputnik outside for a few days after Shepherd returned from the hospital and couldn’t care for him.

“He was defecating on the floor, urination more than I can take of it at the time. The dog was fed, given water, the skin condition I had no knowledge of,” explains Shepherd.

“This shouldn’t happen. There are resources available, we’ll come over, we’ll take the dog,” says Lt. Tutko. He adds, “It’s an excruciatingly painful death he shouldn’t have had to endure.”

 

Through a continued investigation, deputies learned that Shepherd's girlfriend, 62-year-old Diana L. Harrelson was aware of the dog's condition but moved to Mississippi in the months prior.

On June 7, Harrelson contacted Animal Services in order to retrieve another dog the couple owned named Bella, who was impounded due to excessive parasites and fleas.

Tutko says Bella is a 10-year-old terrier mix and is fairly good shape suffering from some fleas and parasites. The Sarasota County Animal Services wants the couple to sign over ownership so it can put the dog up for adoption but Shepherd says they won’t give up their dog.

During interviews with deputies, Harrelson admitted the last time she took Spunik to a veterinarian was in August 2016. 

Harrelson claimed she didn't have enough money to pay for euthanasia and claimed she wanted Spunik to "die a natural death" [eaten alive by maggots].

Harrelson was given a notice to appear Monday and faced the same charges as Shepherd. She was released on a $2,120 bond.

Bella remains in the custody of the Sarasota County Animal Services Section and will more than likely be transferred to a rescue facility at a later date.

Name: JOSEPH NILES SHEPHERD
Born: March 02, 1962
Age: 55
Residential Address: 4118 WALNUT AVE, SARASOTA FL 34234

VIDEO NEWS CLIP:

(WXYZ - June 30, 2017)

United Kingdom: Kevin, The Permanently Surprised Cat, Is The Newest Internet Sweetheart

UNITED KINGDOM -- Kevin has won the hearts of netizens and Instagram users, and this is because of his distinctive features that make him look permanently surprised.

 

People might think Kevin is just too cute to handle, but the four-year-old Russian Blue cat is actually suffering from hydrocephalus, which is an accumulation of excess fluid in the brain. The condition has also made Kevin partially blind and deaf.

As a result, Kevin has an enlarged face and a startled expression.

Kevin and his human companion Tailah, a veterinary nurse, first met when Kevin was around four weeks old. A lady found little Kevin in a car park and decided to surrender him to the nearby veterinary clinic where Tailah was working.

"I fell in love with him straight away and knew I had to give him a chance," Tailah told LoveMeow. "I was warned that he wouldn't live to see six months (if he was lucky) and to not become attached. I told myself that even if he passes away, I gave him all the loving I could," she added.

 

But Kevin remarkably survived past the six-month prognosis and just celebrated his fourth birthday. He's never had a seizure despite having hydrocephalus and shows no signs of nausea.

Although he may be a bit small for his ages, Kevin seems to be extremely happy and contented with his life.

(Nature World News - May 20, 2016)

Related: https://www.instagram.com/theadventuresofkev/

Manor House Farm kennels investigated over claims blind, deaf, elderly dog was mauled to death while owner was on holiday

UNITED KINGDOM -- A blind deaf 16 year-old dog was mauled by another dog and left to die while staying at a boarding kennels, a distraught owner has claimed.

Family pet Rex, a Border Collie / Labrador Retriever mix, was found covered in blood with half his tail pulled off after staying at Manor House Farm in Aspull, Gtr Manc., over the weekend, it is alleged.

When David Collett and his family collected him yesterday, they said his limp body was handed to them in a dog bed with no explanation as to how he had died.

RIP Rex

 

The owners of the kennels have denied any wrongdoing and said they have received threats after the allegations were posted on social media and widely shared.

The RSPCA has been informed and David's post about Rex's death has been shared more than 18,000 times on Facebook.

Posting the image online, David Collett wrote: "Was taken to the kennels whilst went away.

"When we got him back he was had half his tail missing. Left in a room to die. Lying in his own waste. Dehydrated blood all over him. Mum cleaned him up. And maggots coming out of him".

"His eye sight was going and hearing too. So he never would have seen or heard the other dogs attacking him. These people neglected and in return killed my best friend."

David also posted a selection of touching photographs of the dog he described as his 'best friend', alongside shocking images which show the state of Rex when he was collected.

He added: "Below is pictures of my best friend growing up. There are photos of him to show you how much he was loved and how beautiful he was. But there is also traumatizing photos of my best friend now died."

Wigan Council chiefs are investigating claims David and his family's claims.

A spokesman for the authority said: "Lots of you have contacted us regarding an alleged incident at Manor House Farm. We are aware of the complaint and are investigating."

The RSPCA also confirmed an officer was investigating.

A spokesman said: “The RSPCA has received five calls, one late last night and four this morning, about a dog that has been put to sleep on veterinary advice after allegedly being collected from an address where he was being boarded in Wigan.

“We can’t say any more at this time.”

A spokesman for Manor House Farm said: “We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Rex, which we have only been made aware of through social media.

"We take the welfare of all animals that come into our care very seriously. In 30 years of running the kennel, we have never had an incident of this kind.

"We will state that we never house dogs in shared kennels in line with the Animal Boarding Establishment Act 1963, of which we have been licensed throughout our tenure in the industry.

"We invite the owners to get in touch to discuss.

"We would also be happy to speak with the vet who treated Rex and we have already invited the local authority, RSPCA and the police to inspect our facilities and ensure the standards which we run our business are maintained.

"We also continue to support local dog rehousing charities and social services team at Wigan Royal Infirmary."

Julie Searing, business compliance manager at Wigan Council, said: "We are aware of the allegations against Manor House Farm and are working closely with the RSPCA to determine exactly what happened. We will also be conducting our own investigation."

(Mirror UK - Aug 10, 2015)

Deaf therapy dog helps Langley patients

VIRGINIA -- As Lothair, a white Sheltie therapy dog, makes his way in to United States Air Force Hospital Langley in Hampton, Va., for his weekly visit to meet with patients, he walks tall and proud into the building and is immediately greeted with a hug from a receptionist at the front desk.

Lothair continues walking down the hall, carrying himself like royalty, appropriate for a dog named after a French monarch. From the time the dog was a puppy, he had a proud, dignified air about him, his owner, Hampton resident Melanie Paul said.

“He was beautiful,” she said. “He was like a king.”

Civilian registered nurse Monique Rolle, center, and Second Lt.  Sarah Jun,
right, as well as other staffers enjoy Lothair’s visits, but he doesn’t enjoy the
smell of alcohol from the hand sanitizer they use.
(Judith Lowery/Daily Press/TNS)

 

Watching the way Lothair moves and interacts with patients at the hospital, it is not obvious that Lothair has been deaf since birth.

“Deafness is an invisible disability,” she said via email.

Lothair began serving as a therapy dog – providing emotional support to patients in hospitals, nursing homes and other settings – several years ago.

He is registered with New Jersey-based Therapy Dogs International, which has dogs registered in all 50 states and Canada.

Along with tests required by the organization to become a certified therapy dog, deaf dogs must also undergo a startle test. During the test, someone will come up behind the dog and pet and touch its rear quarters, and the dog must not be startled or react negatively, TDI’s website states.

Paul has had therapy dogs for more than 15 years. She started a pet therapy program at Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton more than a decade ago and started the same program at Langley Air Force Base about five years ago.

She usually brings Lothair and another therapy dog to Langley once or twice a week and also makes regular visits to local hospitals and nursing homes.

Paul decided to acquire a deaf dog as she prepared to retire from Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in 2009 after a 30-year career in education, intending to use the dog to help deaf children improve their literacy skills, she said.

She ended up taking in Lothair as a 3-month-old puppy. Both of his parents are blue merle Sheltie champion show dogs, and breeding them together increases the likelihood at least one of their puppies will be deaf or deaf and blind, she said.

Paul, who became deaf at 12 after incorrectly being diagnosed with an illness and being prescribed the antibiotic streptomycin, said there tends to be some hesitation among some deaf people to have a deaf dog, as they end up relying on the dogs to hear for them. However, because her husband as well as her other dogs can hear, that wasn’t an issue for her.

“In fact, maybe because of the affinity that the puppy would also be deaf, ‘just like me,’ I enthusiastically looked forward to the experience of adopting and raising a deaf dog,” Paul wrote in a 2011 article about Lothair published in Sheltie Pacesetter magazine.

When she didn’t see results from traditional obedience school, Paul taught Lothair American Sign Language, and also created her own signs, applying techniques used to teach deaf children, Paul explained in the article.

In the course of training Lothair, her other dogs learned the signs, too.

During a recent trip to Langley, Lothair paid a visit to Rebecca Bennett-Jordan, who underwent a hysterectomy that morning and was waiting to see when she’d be able to go home.

Bennett-Jordan, who has three cats, said Lothair’s visit was unexpected but welcome.

“I love it,” she said as she petted Lothair in her bed. “I’m an animal person.”

Next, Lothair spent time with Abygale Morris, who was in the hospital for asthma treatment on the eve of her 10th birthday.

“Hope you’ll be feeling better,” Paul told Abygale.

“We’re trying,” responded Abygale’s mother, Rebecca, as she knitted a sock.

Lothair’s visit led Abygale to reminisce about pet dogs the family used to have.

“It’s nice they bring the dogs in,” she said. “It sucks to be in the hospital all day.”

Staffers at the hospital enjoy Lothair’s visits as much at the patients do.

 

“The therapy is not just for the patients, it’s for us, too,” said Monique Rolle, a civilian registered nurse. “I wish they came more often.”

Knowing that those at the hospital look forward to seeing the dogs motivates Paul week after week.
“It warms my heart when I see patients, staff and visitors smile, their faces light up and are so happy to see my dogs when we do visits,” Paul said via email.

“The individual happiness of patients stays with me long after I have completed the visit.”

(Albequerque Journal - March 27, 2015)

Deaf-mute woman attacked by pit bull

KENTUCKY -- A 59-year old woman who lives in an assisted adult care home because of her special needs is in the hospital after being mauled by a pit bull. She couldn't hear the dog coming or even form the words to say help.

Tony Simpson, who witnessed the attack, tells WDRB News, "I've never never seen nothing like that."

 

The two-year-old pit bull named Rambo sits quarantined in a steel cage at the Breckinridge County Animal Shelter.

Stacey Lucas and her fiance Tony Simpson say the last time they saw the dog in Cloverport, it was trying to tear Shirley Sturgeon apart. 

Simpson says, "The dog was literally just eating the woman. He was not just biting her. He was tearing her meat off and swallowing it."

Shirley Sturgeon lives at Breckinridge Manor. She is deaf and mute and was walking down a road Saturday on the way to a friend's house. It was just about a block from her home that Rambo attacked as she walked up the road.

"I said, 'Honey come up here, they got her down,'" Lucas told WDRB News. She heard groans and became the voice Sturgeon didn't have. 

This photo was taken immediately after the attack

Simpson came with a bat and his nephew brought a machete.  They eventually scared the dog off, though the damage was done.

"I wasn't expecting to see an arm missing practically," Simpson says. "I've never every seen nothing like that."

Sturgeon remains in fair condition at University Hospital. Police say she will have several surgeries to save her right arm. The dog is on death row being observed for ten days for signs of rabies.

Animal Control Officer Tommy Matthews explains, "In this particular incident the owner has surrendered the dog to the shelter, and according to our policy we do not adopt or re-home animals that have bitten or attacked. So after that ten days the dog will most likely be euthanized."

WDRB's Gilbert Corsey tracked down the dog's owner.  Jimmy Sanders faces misdemeanor citations for harboring a vicious animal and permitting it to run at large.  He says, "I'm so sorry.  I wish it wouldn't have happened. I've never had a dog do anything like that and I'll do anything I can to help her out."

Sanders went on to say that the dog was tethered and broke off its post.  He's due in court Next Tuesday.

Sturgeon's family was not available for comment.

(WDRB - August 28, 2012)