Moose

He is a Neapolitan Mastiff. And a wonderful dog. Someone dumped him at the City of San Antonio's Animal Care Services. His left front leg had been severely damaged. He was most likely used as a bait dog -- to train other dogs to fight.

He was just a baby. Maybe two or three months old.

ACS's veterinarian called me and asked if we would take him and have out vet see what he could do to save his leg. We agreed to do so.

Julia Porter, the Animal Defense League's Assistant Executive Director, named him Moose. The name fit!

Our vet attached a special brace which is designed to stabilize a severe fracture. But his leg was too badly injured and an infection caused by the bite was spreading from the leg into the rest of his body. The leg had to come off.

What's amazing, within hours after his leg was amputated he was up and about and learning to walk on three legs. Now, more than a month after the surgery, Moose is doing great. Active, playful, fun!

But I can't stop wondering how and why someone would use a dog -- any dog -- as bait. What's wrong with some people. I am not a violent person by nature. But I have a pretty good idea about what I would like to do to folks who abuse animals. And it wouldn't be pretty. Painful yes.

By the way, if you are wondering where Moose is now? I adopted him. Who could resist that gorgeous face.

(c) Ron Aaron. 2009

Doodle saved.

There are so many stray dogs in San Antonio especially on the south side. They are often abused. Always hungry. Flea infested and many are heart worm positive. They roam the streets and back yards, the alleys and abandoned houses looking for food and water.

Doodle was one of them.

Julia spotted him in a yard where he stood not far from a German Shepherd who was chained to a tree. She is fearless. A natural dog whisperer.

She walked slowly toward the dogs. First approaching the Shepherd who let her come near. She whispered to hm, in a voice so quiet only the dog could hear what she said. Ears pricked, he sat and let her run her hands all over him. Then she walked over to Doodle, a name she gave him because he resembles a Golden-Doodle.

He was putty in her hands too.

Sadly you can't save every dog in need. Doodle or the Shepherd. One had to stay and while the Shepherd was chained and clearly ignored by his humans he appeared to be in better shape than Doodle. And remember approaching strays can be dangerous business. It's work for people like Julia who know what they are doing.

Julia carried Doodle to the car for the ride to the Animal Defense League where he was treated for fleas. He was heart worm positive But his condition was worse than feared. He had a badly fractured pelvis. ADL's veterinary staff believes he was savagely kicked by someone.

Why would anyone kick a dog?

Why do people abuse so many animals? How can a two-legged human get off on hurting a four-legged dog or cat. There's no explaining it. No way to understand. We see it all the time. Dogs and cats who have been terribly abused. And it makes me crazy.

Doodle should recover from the assault. His pelvis will heal. He's been neutered, vaccinated and micro-chipped. Treated for heart worms too. He will soon be ready for a forever home with humans who will love him and care for him for the rest of his natural life.

Two days after she rescued Doodle I got a call from someone who asked me how she could contact "Super Julia."

"You know, the woman who did that amazing rescue on the South side." She'd heard about it from a friend of a friend who knew of a dog who was being abused by a neighbor.

The legend of Super Amazing Julia grows.

(c) Ron Aaron. 2008

Stabbed.

It is so hard to understand why anyone would abuse a dog or a cat. But we see it much too often at the Animal Defense League. The most recent victim of violence as a Golden Retriever we named Foster.

He was found by a Good Samaritan lying in a street in Northeast San Antonio. He'd been stabbed multiple times.

Deep, penetrating wounds that were infected and ugly.

Our veterinary staff did everything they could to save his life. But in the end it was too much for him to survive. Foster died in his sleep just days after arriving at ADL. Had he been brought to us sooner, had someone seen the assault, why did it happen? How could this happen?

We have a million questions but no answers. What was done to Foster is a felony, punishable by serious fines and jail time. But unless someone comes forward to identify the perpetrator there will be no justice for Foster.

Odds are the person who did this to him is a teenage boy or a male in their early twenties. Sad to say animal abuse is most often committed by males. We also know whoever did this to Foster has bragged about it with his friends. That's par for the course.

So, someone knows the name of the perpetrator. But rarely if ever will they come forward. And that is so sad and disappointing.

We are seeing an increase in animal abuse. Dogs burned with acid. Animals left to die in the street. Cats tortured. And more. It has to stop. But it won't until society makes clear we will not tolerate these acts of violence. Not now. Not ever.

(c) Ron Aaron. 2008

Baked Puppy

It was nearly 100 degrees when a Good Samaritan spotted a box sitting in the parking lot at Rolling Oaks Mall near Macy's Department Store. Out of curiosity she walked over and looked into the box only to find a puppy baking in the afternoon heat.

The Good Samaritan carried the box into the mall and called the San Antonio Police Department for help. An offer responded and took the box and puppy to the Animal Defense League. We named her "Macy" in tribute to where she was found. She was greatly overheated, dehydrated, and very lethargic.


There was no way to know who had dumped her there. Fortunately no one ran over the box. And thanks to the Good Samaritan, Macy is on the road to recovery.


Who knows why someone would dump a perfectly fine puppy in the middle of a parking lot? but someone did so.

Too often people see animals as objects. Failing to see them for who they are. People with fur. And four legs.


Thanks to WOAI TV's report on Macy, Kami rushed to ADL the morning after the TV report and offered to foster her. What a wonderful commitment. Fosters literally save lives every day at ADL. And for Macy that means she will have time to recover in a home rather than a kennel.


There's not a lot of difference between animal abuse -- burning, cutting, hitting, hurting dogs and cats and dumping a baby in the middle of a parking lot to roast in the summer sun. Folks who do those things should be punished. But they are rarely identified so they are rarely prosecuted. And isn't that a shame.

(c) Ron Aaron. 2008

Burn babies.

It happened again. This time two companion animals were severely burned.

One is a beautiful little three-year old dachshund mix we named Parker. No one knows who did it, but one or more humans poured acid on his back. Just like Gracie who we rescued a month or so ago. Parker's burns were serious.

He wandered into a man's yard. The Good Samaritan immediately saw that Parker was in trouble and he brought him to the Animal Defense League for treatment. The man said he'd never really been a dog lover. But Parker touched his heart. Once our veterinary staff treated him the man offered to foster Parker and said he hoped to adopt him. Now there's a happy ending for one little guy.

We named the cat Mango. He is an orange tabby cat. Like Parker he is also three years of age. A woman spotted two teenage boys torching his tail with a cigarette lighter. The woman yelled at the kids. They dropped Mango and ran off. She brought him to ADL where our veterinary team had to amputate his tail because it was so badly burned. We're looking for a foster home for Mango.

We are hopeful someone will come forward to help identify the perpetrators in both these cases. The likelihood is the perps are teenage boys or males in their early twenties. They are the usual suspects in cases of animal abuse. And as most folks know, people who abuse animals frequently go on to abuse humans too.

Perps often brag about their "work." So odds are one or more people know who burned Parker with acid and who torched Mango. But knowing and coming forward are two very different things. People are often afraid to identify perpetrators for fear of their own lives. But without someone identifying the actors in these cases they will continue to abuse and torture animals.

They must be stopped.

(c) Ron Aaron. 2008

Burned for no reason

A Good Samaritan brought her to the Animal Defense League. A 7-month old Dachshund whose back had been severely burned.

ADL’s veterinary staff believe the burn may be the result of the puppy running under a car and being trapped underneath the catalytic converter although it is also possible someone poured acid on her back.

Sadly, that's very possible.

She is just one more example of what humans do to animals. Abuse them beyond reason. Beyond my ability to understand. The violence makes me cry,

We named her Gracie. And she is being treated at ADL. She will recover although she will be scared for life. Once her wounds heal she will be put up for adoption. ADL staff named her “Gracie.”

But despite what a human did to her Gracie loves people. Amazing.

(c) Ron Aaron. 2008

Hung from a tree.

We named her Chloe. She was found this morning hanging from a tree at Saunders and Durango near downtown San Antonio by a Good Samaritan who brought her to the Animal Defense League. She was literally hanging from a tree, a cord around her neck, tied in a slip-not so the more she moved the tighter it got.

The Good Samaritan told me, “She was crying very loudly. You could tell how scared she was. My friend and I cut her down from the tree and brought her to ADL.”

In addition to the rope burns around her neck Chloe is also covered with mange. She will be treated and rehabilitated by ADL’s veterinary staff and put up for adoption as soon as she is healed.

The Animal Defense League is the oldest no-kill shelter in South Texas and the only one with a full time veterinary hospital and staff. Part of ADL’s mission is to rescue and rehabilitate dogs and cats like Chloe so they can be adopted into forever homes.

I see animal abuse all the time. But I rarely meet the people who commit these obscene acts. Perhaps it is best we not meet. What kind of a person will hang a puppy from a tree? She is so small. So delicate. Just five months old. A Chihuahua mix who should hate humans. But as we see so often, no matter the abuse, no matter what a human has done to a dog or cat, they turn around and give us their unconditional love.

Looking into Chloe's eyes I could feel her pain. And yet I could also feel hope and love and more.

She should be fine. She will soon find a forever home. And we will share her story with her new adoptive family. They deed to know what she's been through. So they can love her even more.

Great News. Chloe went home on July 7 with a wonderful family who will foster her for a few weeks and then, if all works out, they will formally adopt her.

(c) Ron Aaron. 2008