Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Dog dragged behind vehicle

Dog dragged behind vehicle
La follette, TN (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Dec 15, 2006
County: Campbell
Local Map: available
Disposition: Dismissed
Charges: Misdemeanor
Case Images: 4 files available

Person of Interest: Susan Baird

Case Updates: 5 update(s) available

Case ID: 10349

Classification: Vehicular

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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A Campbell County woman is facing animal cruelty charges after police say she drug her small dog behind her car from her residence to Lafollette Middle School.

Campbell County officials say Susan Baird tied her Chihuahua to her bumper by a leash.

Officials say she won't admit to doing it on purpose, but she has still been charged with animal cruelty.

The dog is being taken care of a Lafollette Veterinary Clinic, where workers say it has a swollen face, and a lot of skin damage.

Kim Bolan, a teacher at the middle school says has offered to pay for the vet's services to make sure the dog survives.

Case Updates

A grand jury has decided not to indict the owner of an injured Chihuahua animal cruelty charges.

Susan Baird says she wants her dog back, but right now the dog's fate is in limbo.

The case sparked a lot of interest when it happened, and some feel the woman doesn't deserve little Bobo back.

Bobo drew a huge amount of interest in December when his owner dragged him behind her car seriously wounding the young dog.

Babbi Dilbeck, a veterinarian says, "he hurt so badly he had nearly given up on life. He had lost the will to live."

After five surgeries, Bobo recovered.

Meanwhile, Baird was charged with animal cruelty and was in court last week.

But so to was a Campbell County grand jury who declined to indict Baird on the charges, which has surprised this community again.

Kathy Owens says, "I think it's awful. I mean, she did it so something should be done to her about it."

Kathy Johnson says, "I was disappointed but I wasn't surprised because it's a little animal."

Johnson has been working with a group trying to bring tougher laws to Tennessee for animal cruelty cases.

"We want to see a more severe penalty for animal abuse. We want to see a felony."

So without a conviction, will Susan Baird be getting her dog back?

That's something now being decided.

Stan Foust, an animal control officer says, "I will be contacting the district attorney to see what are the guidelines of her actually retrieving this animal."

Some in the community hope not.

Mason continues, "definitely not. I mean the dog should go to the state and maybe be adopted by somebody, a good family to take care of it."

Owens continues, "she should never get a dog. She should never be allowed to have a dog."

Baird says it was her nephew who tied the dog to her car, not her and she feels everything has been blown out of proportion.

Foust says Baird does face the possibility of the dog's vet bills totally more than $2,000 dollars.

Attempts to reach district attorney Paul Phillips were unsuccessful.

Source: WVLT - Feb 26, 2007
Update posted on Feb 26, 2007 - 10:10PM

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A Campbell County woman charged with animal cruelty did not show up in court on December 29, but her attorney entered a plea not guilty for her.

Bobo has a lot of healing left to do, but he's doing much better after being in the care of the president of the small breed rescue group of East Tennessee for almost two weeks now.

Officials say 31-year old Susan Baird dragged her dog Bobo from the bumper of her car for almost a mile.

The rescue group sat in court Dec 29 morning wanting to save Bobo from being put back into the care of Susan Baird.

"He's at my house. I had gotten a call from the vet asking if I would foster him," says Tyrine Hawthorne of Small Breed Rescue of East Tennessee.

When Bobo first arrived at the LaFollette Veterinary Hospital, just after officials say Susan Baird tied him to her bumper by a leash and drove for almost a mile, the frightened, severely injured dog could not even move. More than two weeks later, it's hard to keep up with the little guy.

"Eighty percent better. I mean, he's healing, he's happy. If we could just get those ears to stay on we would be ok," Tyrine Hawthorne has been nursing Bobo back to life. "He's been at my house getting bandages changed, medication he needs, care."

Bobo had surgery on his ears Tuesday, hopefully his last one.

"He's still in pain," says Hawthorne. "His ears are finally hopefully going to stay attached this time, but it's going to be a long process still."

A process that Hawthorne says will take a loving, patient owner. "We would like to see him come into our rescue group and go from there."

The Small Breed Rescue Group of East Tennessee says what Baird did may have been an accident, but she hasn't checked on her dog since it happened.

"Her lack of remorse afterward, it kind of speaks for itself," Hawthorne says.

"I know that accidents happen, but had it been me and my dog, I would've been hysterical. I would've rushed to the vet with the dog," says concerned dog lover Sandi Harper.

And Baird did not check in at court Friday morning, either.

"It's a disappointment. I would've liked to see her show up and face the music, but I'm not surprised at all," says Harper.

Baird's trail is set to begin February 20th.

Sandi Harper of Knox County started an online petition to support Bobo that's received more than 2,500 signatures from around the world.

Source: WVLT - Dec 29, 2006
Update posted on Jan 3, 2007 - 10:00PM

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Little Bo-Bo's face tells a sad tale, but it's the one wagging behind him that's telling the story everyone was hoping to hear.

"He says, 'I'm feeling so much better,'" Dr. Babbi Dilbeck explained.

Dr. Dilbeck is as happy as her little patient, now that she knows he is going to live.

The 10-pound Chihuahua mix was a mess last week, after he was dragged a mile down the road, when his owner went to pick up her children from school.

Susan Baird faces a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty. She has not returned phone calls from 10News.

Dozens of concerned viewers called and e-mailed 10News about Bo-Bo, even a U.S. soldier fighting in Afghanistan.

The LaFollette Veterinary Clinic has also been inundated with calls. It's even received "Get Well" cards and holiday messages for Bo-Bo.

"Never ever in a million years did I dream this little dog would have such a big story," Dr. Dilbeck said. "Maybe it's got to do with the season."

While Bo-Bo's raw, pink patches may still look a little scary, the vet said they're actually good signs that he's healing.

Soon, new skin and hair will replace some of his scars.

"He said, 'I'll never be scar-less, but I'm not going to look as much like Frankenstein as people might think,'" Dr. Dilbeck explained.

Bo-Bo's bowl is another sign he's doing better. He's now eating on his own and taking his medicine.

"He had the saddest look on his face of any dog I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of sad dogs," Tyrine Hawthorne said.

Hawthorne, the President of the Small Breed Rescue Group of East Tennessee is hoping to make Bo-Bo even happier.

Once his re-attached ears are wrapped to protect them from being shaken loose, Hawthorne will take Bo-Bo to her home for the holidays.

"He can have a little white meat turkey for Christmas," Dr. Dilbeck advised. "No ham or fatty dark meat and that goes for all dogs."

Hawthorne is Bo-Bo's temporary foster mom.

"He gets a ton of attention here from people walking by," Hawthorne said of the vet's office. "But at night I'll be there."

So, Bo-Bo won't be alone on Christmas.

He'll have his own stocking, shaped like a dog's paw, not a person's foot.

Plus, the little red-nosed Chihuahua has his own brand new bed.

Bo-Bo is not up for adoption. A judge will decide his and his owner's fate Friday, December 29.

In the meantime, the LaFollette Veterinary Clinic is counting on donations to help cover Bo-Bo's healthcare costs. Bo-Bo's vet bill was at $1,600.

Any extra money from donations will go to the local shelter.

The LaFollette Veterinary Clinic can be reached at (423)562-0060.

Source: WBIR - Dec 21, 2006
Update posted on Dec 22, 2006 - 12:19AM

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Bobo, the chihuahua dragged behind an SUV for nearly a mile last week is making progress toward recovery from his injuries. According to workers at Lafollette Veterinary Services, Bobo is now eating on his own and is feeling better.

He will have another surgery tomorrow to re-attach his ears.

The dog's owner, 31 year-old Susan Baird faces a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.

Source: WBIR - Dec 18, 2006
Update posted on Dec 18, 2006 - 3:24PM

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Animal control officers are investigating a case of a small dog dragged nearly a mile behind a car. Now the dog's owner, Susan Baird, is charged with animal cruelty.

Bobo is a seven pound Chihuahua mix. He has sores all over his body and constantly shakes with pain.

Babbi Dilbeck is one of the veterinarians at helping care for Bobo at LaFollette Veterinary Services. "Some areas, the road rash is so deep that it does go down to bones and tendons, just from being drug."

The little dog went through intensive surgery Friday morning. Doctors stitched up big open wounds.

"His ears were completely severed. Those have been reattached to his head," Dilbeck says.

Director of LaFollette Animal Control Stan Foust says someone hooked Bobo's leash to the trailer hitch of Susan Baird's SUV. He says she drove nearly a mile, from her house to LaFollette Middle School to pick up her child.

"When I got there, you could see a trail of blood coming from the street all the way into the parking lot. Then there was big pools of blood in the parking lot," Foust says.

He also says Baird would not admit to dragging her dog on purpose.

Bobo has already had more than $1,000 worth of surgery and he will likely need more. Two middle school teachers have offered to pay for his medical expenses.

Veterinarians remain hopeful Bobo will make it but the little dog is not eating and doctors may have to insert a feeding tube.They say he is in a lot of pain and is lucky to be alive.

A foster family will care for Bobo until the Baird's court date, which is scheduled for December 29. A judge will decide who gets custody of Bobo.

Source: WATE - Dec 15, 2006
Update posted on Dec 15, 2006 - 9:27PM

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References

	WVLT - Dec 15, 2006
	WATE - Feb 26, 2007
	WBIR - Feb 26, 2007

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Dog dragged behind vehicleLa follette, TN (US)

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Dog dragged behind vehicle
La follette, TN (US)