11 of the Kern County Dogs are Destroyed

Permission to cross post is granted. This has already been posted to CSI (CAShelterImpounds) a yahoogroups.com list. http://www.bakersfield.com/local/story/5194686p-5228801c.html County euthanizes 11 dogs Seven of 20 rescued from neglect in Mojave taken to ALPHA Canine Sanctuary By JAMES BURGER, Californian staff writer e-mail: jburger @ bakersfield.com Posted: Tuesday January 4th, 2005, 11:45 PM Last Updated: Tuesday January 4th, 2005, 11:48 PM Kern County Animal Control officers on Tuesday euthanized 11 of the 20 dogs they pulled out of a life of starvation and neglect near Mojave the week before Christmas. Two other dogs died of disease -- one over the New Year's weekend and another Monday night. The other seven dogs are now living at ALPHA Canine Sanctuary in the hills north of Bakersfield. Preliminary veterinarian reports on some of the dogs state they were emaciated and suffering from parasites or viruses, said county animal control chief Denise Haynes. But some were obviously more seriously ill. The sudden death of one of the dogs Monday night -- an animal that was due to be picked up Tuesday morning by rescuers -- scares ALPHA founder Marilyn Stewart. Haynes said the dog died of Parvovirus, a serious illness that can kill within hours after symptoms begin to show. Stewart worries that the dogs she has saved are still at risk of death from the disease or the neglect they suffered near Mojave. "I'm terrified. We gave them shots when we loaded them this morning and we went straight to our vet," Stewart said. "The five we were able to test all came out negative. And we took in stool samples later this afternoon for the other two." The 11 dogs Stewart chose not to rescue were given lethal injections by county animal shelter workers, Haynes said. Stewart said the animals were simply too vicious to rescue. "They were gone beyond what we could deal with in terms of aggression," she said. "But these (other seven) we can save." All 20 of the animals were pulled from a mobile home near Mojave two weeks ago after they were abandoned by their owners. They were starving and had begun to eat the carcasses of other dead dogs before animal control officers pulled them out and took them to the county shelter on South Mount Vernon Avenue. The dogs' former owners, Donald and Linda Bone, could face charges later this week after Haynes and her staff complete their investigation. The county will submit photos, reports and veterinarian evidence to the Kern County District Attorney's Office after the fate of the dogs has been set, Haynes said. The District Attorney's Office will decide whether to file charges.

The reason why so little is done, is generally because so little is attempted.

~ Samuel Smiles