[Early 2007]
These pictures represent Dobermans that were brought into DAR&E and kenneled
at a vet facility DAR&E uses while waiting for a foster home to open up. The first two dogs (Rhett and Dylan) looked well
fed when they came into the rescue and as weeks went by the pounds dropped off and their skeletons became more prominent.
These dogs became this way WHILE in the RESCUE GROUP. They did NOT look like this when they arrived and were taken into the
care of DAR&E. These are not dogs that declined because of kennel stress. There are always one or two dogs that do not
do well in a kennel but when all the dogs kenneled lose significant weight, it is not due to stress.
"Rhett"
came from a shelter. He was severely underweight and had kennel cough when the shelter received him as a stray. The shelter
cured his kennel cough and was so proud that they were able to "fatten him up" to his normal weight BEFORE he came
into DAR&E. He came in looking like a normal Doberman and went out skin and bones.
There is no way to tell how much
longer Dylan could have lasted. He was in even worse condition than any of the dogs by the time DAR&E pulled him, and
all the other underweight dogs, from the kennel and put them in foster homes (oddly enough, until the pictures became public,
there were no foster homes available for these dogs), put weight on them and quickly adopted them out.
Eddie came into
DAR&E after the February visit and I don't know how he looked then but he certainly was skinny on 3/23/07.
During
the volunteers visit on 3/23/07, a couple of employees at the facility approached them. One employee in particular asked (no,
pleaded) that the volunteers not tell that he/she talked to us about the Dobermans. This employee stated that he/she had been
trying to get the “front desk” to feed them more but that they declined because of “diarrhea issues”.
This employee was extremely concerned about the decline in the Dobermans condition. Another employee stated that the Dobermans
don’t always get out of their kennels each day. They are supposed to get out for exercise 20 minutes a day (prisoners
get more time outdoors than this) but that doesn’t always happen because of lack of time with the kennel staff.
Pictures
of the kenneled dogs were taken whenever the volunteers went to visit for play sessions and treats. Pictures were posted on
the DAR&E volunteer site. Comments were posted about their condition. Fosters that took dogs out of the kennel also posted
how the dogs came into their homes so skinny that it was worrisome, and how they were eating like they were starving. Nothing
was done until the last set of pictures were taken, through the tears shed by the volunteers as they took each dog out for
their play session which turned into a session of eating treats while ensconced on a blanket. Nothing was done until the anger
of the volunteer taking the pictures became apparent when the last post went out and the volunteer who sent it also sent in
her resignation. This volunteer said “This isn’t supposed to be happening, not in a RESCUE”.
