We
wish to thank all of our amazing supporters who are well aware of the work we
do, the policies we have in place and the support that we offer to all of our
adopters and the dogs that they so wonderfully open their hearts and homes to;
also a heartfelt thank you goes out to the fair and reasonable general public
who have reached out to us for a better understanding of the factual reasons
that we had to intervene on behalf of a distressed, ill and neglected GSD named
Cassidy.
Cassidy was
adopted out to a wonderful man by the name of Robert Bruch in 2009 at the age
of 8 years old. At that time he was 100% healthy with no hip dysplasia or
arthritis present. He had several x-rays done and a complete physical evaluation
as well as a full blood work up. At the time of coming into care in 2008, Cass
needed dental work and we had addressed that.
He was adopted out to Mr. Bruch in optimum health. Two years later, Mr.
Bruch brought him by a GSRBC member’s home for a visit, and at that time
Cassidy appeared in very good health and spirits, he was not wobbly or showing
any signs of impediment of movement, arthritis or pain. It should be noted that
at the time of the adoption the expectations of GSRBC and the responsibility of
adoptive families are clearly verbally discussed, this is done in conjunct and
beyond the signing of the adoption contract. All of our adoptive families can
attest to this procedure of our adoptions. It should also be noted that when
Cassidy was adopted, the contract was indeed signed by Mr. Bruch, however he
had his spouse, Linda McCrae, with him and she was very much present at the
time of the adoption and was in full knowledge of the requirements and
expectations.
When Mr. Bruch
died suddenly last October, we were advised by Linda McCrae, that he had
passed. We were heartbroken for her and for Cassidy; we included in our
newsletter a brief memorial of Cassidy’s dad, and also paid tribute to him on
our website. Our member was on the phone with Linda at the time, offering
support. In no way did we want to step in to bring Cassidy into care as we
understood from Linda that she wanted to continue with Cassidy and that he was
well cared for. She raised no issues or alarms nor would we assume any. We
trusted Linda to carry on the same level of care for Cassidy as Robert always
had.
In December of
2012 Linda McCrae sent us an email asking if we knew of a groomer that would be
able to come and cut Cassidy’s nails. We sent her the name and number of a
groomer just a few doors down from her. We did not hear from Ms. McCrae again
after that to indicate that she was not able to look after Cassidy any further.
In 10 years we have brought into care close to 400 dogs. Medically and
behaviourally challenged and carefully re-homed them while being very selective
in which homes we have chosen. It would be physically and logistically
impossible to visit each of the homes every few months to ensure that people
are being honest and properly attending to their pets needs and fulfilling on
their moral obligation to provide a good home. Rather we rely on the adoptive
families to do right by the dog in their care and advise should they need help.
We have seldom had a problem as the adoptive people are chosen and screened
carefully and we believe them to be the right people for their adoptive dog.
The issue was
never that the contract was broken as the spouse had not signed it, the issue
was that this dog was suffering in obvious pain, was being neglected and was
not being provided with the basic of his physical, and mental wellbeing or
being provided with the medical care that was required and necessary.
A complaint was
received by GSRBC from another reputable rescue, who had gone to the home on a
completely different and unrelated matter. Upon seeing the German shepherd,
Cassidy, in the yard, they immediately became distressed at the condition of
him. They did not make the complaint lightly and it was made only after
observing the deteriorated state of Cassidy and an extensive exchange and
conversation with Ms. McCrae. There was no outdoor shelter and it was admitted
that since he had fallen down a set of stairs he remained in the yard 24 hours
a day, seven days a week in all weather and seasons as the dog ‘preferred to be
outside.’
The rescue
offered to take Cassidy to the vet on the woman’s behalf or to take them both
so that the dog could be assessed and receive medical attention that he was in
need of. The offer of assistance was refused and the reason given was that she
had spoken with a vet on the phone who advised her to give the suffering dog
‘Tylenol.’ This was another red flag for the complainant as it is extremely
unlikely that any vet would make this recommendation and certainly not without
having seen the animal and assessing and diagnosing their health in person. The
rescue was so concerned about the state that Cassidy was in that they were
about to offer to buy him from Ms. McCrae and if that didn’t work they planned
to make a formal complaint with the SPCA. They were relieved to find out that
he was a GSRBC dog.
GSRBC received
the complaint August 7th
2013.
All ethical
charity rescue organizations and ethical breeders will stand behind a dog for
its entire life and step up to help them, should they ever need it again. Had we not been the ones to have adopted
Cassidy out, the rescue who had, or the SPCA would have been called and the
investigation and intervention would have come from their organization. We
believe the result of him coming back into care would have been the same given
his pain, poor health and living conditions.
A member of
GSRBC went to assess the situation that same day to follow up to the complaint
and to determine if the complaint was valid and as serious as was impressed
upon our organization; this is our standard process. It has happened in our
experience that complaints may be unfounded, malicious or well-intentioned but
misguided. It is our responsibility to follow up on each complaint regarding a
dog that we have placed, and not to simply have a phone conversation. A
complaint requires a member to physically assess the dog and their living
conditions.
Given our past
relationship with Ms. McCrae and the care we knew that Cassidy had previously
been receiving, we didn’t think it would be possible for these allegations to
be true. We felt that it would be a simple matter of a visit and some support
if needed, but we were not looking to take Cassidy back into care.
Upon arrival at
Ms. McCrae’s residence, Cassidy was found lying in the back yard and the member
was able to easily observe that Cassidy had difficulty standing, moving and was
in pain. As he got up, he would fall over as he tried to walk towards the
member. He would drag himself up and try again, only to fall over again.
At that point,
the member knocked on Ms. McCrae’s door. After a happy exchange, the member
notified Ms. McCrae that they needed to talk about Cassidy. Ms. McCrae took the
member into the yard where Cassidy was. The member examined Cassidy closer.
Looking into his mouth, which gave off a strong and very foul odor, it could
clearly be observed that he had abscessed and broken teeth with rot and puss
showing along his rear teeth and swollen gums. Cassidy’s nose had sores and
puss was observed around his nostrils. His front nails were painfully long
indicating that they had not been cut in a very long period of time and his
coat was in extremely poor condition. It was observed that Cassidy was often
falling over and when he attempted to walk he was dragging both of his back
legs. This validated what the complainant had observed and advised.
Further, to the
shocking and distressing physical health of Cassidy, it was observed that there
was no shelter in the yard for him other than a tree, the yard was overgrown
and the fence was falling down. To further ascertain the treatment that Cassidy
had been receiving, the extensive conversation between our member and Ms.
McRae, confirmed that the dog had not seen a veterinarian in well over a year
and Ms. McRae advised that a vet over the phone told her without seeing or
diagnosing Cassidy, that he be given a couple of Tylenol every four hours. Ms.
McRae would not advise the member of who the vet was so that this information
could be verified and discussed with the vet. Ms. McRae also advised that the
dog was left in the back yard day and night, no matter the weather or season
since he had fallen down a set of stairs; it was told to the member that
Cassidy did not like it indoors and would cry by the door if she brought him
inside. She reported that she could not get him up the stairs. It was also
admitted by Ms. McRae to the member that she could not take proper care of
Cassidy since Robert had suddenly passed away in October of 2012. She advised
that she was in a fog and could not manage Cassidy or his care physically and
financially.
It was
determined and agreed to calmly, that the best thing for Cassidy would be for
him to be returned back into GSRBC’s care and to have his medical needs
assessed and attended to immediately. Our member was let out of the gate by Ms.
McRae and gave our member a hug goodbye. It wasn’t until Cassidy was being
placed in the member’s vehicle that Ms. McRae became emotional, likely due to
her realization of the weight of the situation.
We understand
that Ms. McRae has now adjusted her version of events by alluding that she had
contacted GSRBC supposedly via email and received no response and that Cassidy
slept in the house in her room etc., however this new version of Ms. McRae’s
story has come to light since the reporting of the story to the media which
occurred more than 48 hours after Cassidy had been received back into
our care. It is regrettable that the media devoted entire one sided minutes of
visual news coverage to allow only one side of the story to be heard. The
pictures of Cassidy that were shown on air were years old and in no way reflect
his current state.
We are aware
that sensationalism sells TV, but the price to be paid will be public
misconception and a poor impression which will impact animals in need and the
legitimate rescues who are all working to ensure the fair ethical treatment and
safety of all animals. We were afforded a 10 minute phone interview with each
of the news agencies and our summation of the actual events were reduced to 20
second quotes that were likely carefully chosen to influence the slant of the
story.
The truest
loser in this case is Cassidy who at his age of 12 years old, should never have
been left to suffer in the state that he was left in, living day and night in a
back yard without shelter and in obvious pain and distress; this should have
been the focus of the story. The news sadly was aimed at sensationalizing Ms.
McRae’s victimization of herself and did not allow us to address the true
victim in this entire sad event which is Cassidy. We as a society should be
ashamed that the truth of this story could be so clearly misled to the public
and the responsibility of the news media to report with truth and the research
of fact clearly goes unchecked and without any accountability. They reported
with impunity an untrue, unverified, one sided story and the real cost will be
paid in the loss of animal lives and downturn in support for those who need it
the most, the companion animals at risk.
It is never the
mandate of any reputable animal advocacy organization or charity to have to
bring back into care a pet after it has carefully screened a home and family
and then placed them. We want every cautiously chosen home and family to be a
forever home for the dog. We go above and beyond to keep dogs *in* their homes.
However if an animal is in obvious poor health and suffering a condition of
pain and neglect, it is every human being’s responsibility to speak up
and do the right thing for the animal who does not have a choice in its own
living conditions. Our member had a moral and ethical obligation to fulfill on
our lifetime promise to Cassidy that he would live in wellness and care and be
given every opportunity to be comfortable, safe and free of fear and pain. Had
he not been brought back into care but left to languish in pain and left alone
to die in a back yard, we would have been seriously in breach of our most basic
moral obligation and so would anyone who did not report or act on his
situation.
We see people
who neglect, abuse and even kill their animals in media stories and wonder why
it was allowed to happen, why no one intervened, where were the people to
report the abuse of Captain the GSD beaten within an inch of his life and
dumped into a dumpster to die in pain, alone and scared; yet when it is clearly
necessary to step in and do the right thing we are called to task for being
heavy handed or unreasonable; all of this public outcry without people being
allowed to know the truth of the situation and the events of the necessity for
rescuing Cassidy for a second time.
GSRBC, as are
many wonderful and legitimate rescues, is wholly run by devoted volunteers who
give of themselves in time, effort, money and heartbreak to be the voice of
those who do not have one.
The funding for such organizations is most often
from our personal bank accounts and countless hours of campaigning for
awareness and showing need in the hopes of education and donations to support
the care of more animals. Sadly there are more animals in need than volunteers
or funding to support the animals in dire need. We do not have a facility and
all of our dogs are fostered in private homes being cared for by responsible
and loving good people.
Cassidy’s vet
bills will be large as his condition was allowed to get out of control. At his
age and in his medical state, it will be challenging to find Cassidy the exact
right loving forever home where he will have all of his needs, medical,
physical and emotional addressed each and every day without fail or without
question; he deserves no less. We know that we will do this as it is our
responsibility and the right people to love him may still be out there, waiting
for him and he is worthy of the love they surely can give to him! However, if
this is not to be, Cassidy will remain with us for his final days, months,
years, living in a home in comfort and receiving treatment for his pain. His
needs will always be attended to and he will be well loved, just as he was when
he lived with us before his placement 4 years ago.
Cassidy will be
forever on pain medications Deramaxx (easier on the liver then Medicam) and
Tramadol for the now very advanced arthritic condition in his knees. Due to the
severe onset and the amount of time that he has been allowed to suffer with it
left untreated, there is nothing more that can be done other than to monitor
his pain levels and treat him with pain medications.
If Cassidy's blood
work comes back good enough, he will go in for in surgery to remove
several abscessed teeth that have led to him suffering a severe rhinitis
infection in his nasal cavities, but thankfully we were able to get him into
care prior to it moving into his lungs.
His further assessments including blood
testing etc. will be updated to all once the results are back from our
veterinarian. We are all hoping that Ms. McRae did not indeed treat Cassidy
with 8 to 10 Tylenol a day as she indicated, as he could be suffering more
serious and grievous internal injuries from the Tylenol but this will not show
up until his extensive and thorough blood panel is back.
Our vet is
recording Cassidy’s condition and reporting it all in the event of further
action being required; he is familiar with the judicial obligation of pet care
and what the courts require to assess abuse and the need to remove an animal.
It should be noted that neglect and pain and suffering as a result warrants a
condition of abuse, and is in direct contravention of the Essential Five
Freedoms of all companion animals
(http://www.spca.bc.ca/about/faqs/what-are-the-five-freedoms.html).
From GSRBC’s
vet “Further examination revealed presence of severe dental disease included
fractured crowns. These conditions did
not arise suddenly and cause pain and suffering and can be mitigated in the
short term with appropriate use of prescription anti-inflammatory and analgesic
medications until further assessments can take place. If this dog has not been receiving treatment
as such, pain and suffering would have been present.”
We will be
ensuring that Cassidy has all of his medical needs addressed to the extent that
modern veterinary medicine is able. We will not rest until he is out of as much
pain as possible and is living in warmth and loving care for the rest of his
days. Cassidy is now 12 years old and with the proper loving care and home we
are hopeful that he will have many good years ahead of him.
Again we wish
to thank all of those who cared enough to look past a poorly reported and
irresponsible news story that vilified a situation for the selfish purpose of
selling the news and for completely missing the mark on the real story which is
that although you may love an animal, love is not enough. If you promise to
care of a pet, it is for life, there are no excuses not to. This means that
even if your personal situation changes or the pet becomes ill or it is no
longer convenient for you to care for, it is not ok to neglect and ignore them
and their most basic of needs. Companion animals are not disposable they are a
lifetime responsibility. The love and care that they give to you, is the very
least of what you owe to them. Be good to your pets, do right by them and one
day perhaps the need for rescue organizations will no longer be necessary,
which is our ultimate goal.
Sincerely,
German Shepherd
Rescue of BC
