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Case ID: 16651
Classification: Neglect / Abandonment
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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Dog starved to skin and bones
Mission Viejo, CA (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Oct 2, 2010
County: Orange

Disposition: Open
Case Images: 14 files available

Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Argus, an emaciated and abandoned white German Shepherd, is clinging to life after being found at the side of the road by a South County rescue group.

The approximately 7-year-old dog was rescued by Coastal German Shepherd Rescue after a volunteer at the Redlands Animal Shelter put his picture on Facebook. He was scheduled to be euthanized.

On Friday, Tiffany Norton, the rescue group's director, took Argus to Alicia Pet Care Center, where he is being treated by Matthew Wheaton, a veterinarian who has helped the group with other dogs.

"He's just bones," Norton said. "He is beginning to eat and is sort of responsive and is getting better."

Norton said the dog was likely abandoned or left in a home. He has clear markings of wearing a collar a long time, she said.

To help with his care or to find out more, call 714-528-4730.


Case Updates

Argus, an emaciated white German shepherd who took his first steps a week ago after being rescued, has died.

The 7-year-old dog was euthanized Monday at the Alicia Pet Care Center after Matthew Wheaton, the veterinarian treating him, determined he could not be saved.

"It's heartbreaking and just seems so unfair," Tiffany Norton, director of Coastal German Shepherd Rescue, said through tears on Tuesday. "The only way we can look at it was that for two weeks he knew what it was like to be petted, to have a full belly and be around people who cared for him. On Monday he showed us he was ready to go."

Argus was found on Oct. 2 after being reported as a "dead dog lying at the side of a road" by animal control workers from the Redlands Animal Shelter. Norton and her Lake Forest-based rescue group saved the dog from being euthanized after a shelter volunteer posted the dog's picture on Facebook.

On Oct. 7, Norton took Argus to Alicia Pet Care Center in Mission Viejo for help. The dog began making strides toward improvement. He had previously been treated by a veterinarian in Santa Ana, but needed more aggressive care.

When Argus first arrived at Wheaton's facility, he had to be carried in and was just skin and bones. With treatment, he began eating spoonfuls of rice, chicken and veggies prepared by volunteers from the rescue group. He was given medication and fluids to make him stronger and last week took his first solid steps. He continued to eat throughout the week.

But over the weekend, Norton said, Argus began to rapidly decline. He would stand and then suddenly fall down and he walked in figure-eight circles. His kidney values that early-on showed extreme dehydration became worse, Norton said. And Wheaton determined Argus also had neurological damage.

"Yesterday, he couldn't lift his head and he didn't know we were there," Norton said. "There was just so much damage done that we couldn't get him back.

"It makes me so mad that someone did this to him. So many people who didn't even know him wanted him to live just from reading his story. But he had an owner who didn't care enough to give him food."
Source: Orange County Register - Oct 19, 2010
Update posted on Oct 20, 2010 - 12:03AM 
Argus, an emaciated white German shepherd found on the side of a road and brought to Alicia Pet Care Center last week from the Redlands Animal Shelter, took his first solid steps on Monday.

Argus was found a little more than a week ago after being reported as a "dead dog lying at the side of a road" by animal control from the Redlands Animal Shelter. A local group, Coastal German Shepherd Rescue, saved the dog from being euthanized after a shelter volunteer posted the dog's picture on Facebook.

On Thursday the shepherd rescue's director Tiffany Norton took Argus to Alicia Pet Care veterinarian Matthew Wheaton for help.

"When I first saw him he was carried in and struggled to breathe because his chest muscles were so weak," Wheaton said.

Since Saturday, the 7-year-old shepherd has started eating spoonfuls of chicken, rice and veggies prepared by rescue volunteers.

Norton speculated Argus was likely a family pet that was turned loose. Scar tissue has formed on his ear tips. Both she and Wheaton said it appears the dog has been without a consistent source of food for several months.

"Just in the last week we've taken in three dogs who have been victims of foreclosure and abandonment," Norton said. "The last few have been seniors and had been with their families since they were puppies. Now they are homeless. In the last year we've taken in more than 100 abandoned dogs."

Wheaton, too, said he has seen more and more people come into his clinic unable to pay for veterinary care. In some cases he is able to use donated prescriptions to help people treat their pets. Others are put on payment plans.

At OC Animal Care, which provides service for 17 cities and the unincorporated areas in the county, shelter Director Ryan Drabek said in the last year it has not been uncommon to find dogs tied up to fences, left in parks, at schools or in the parking lot of the animal shelter.

"We always recommend that if you can't care for your pets, bring them to the shelter and we can care for them," Drabek said.

Drabek said severe cases like Argus are rare in Orange County because most people who are losing homes find places for their pets or continue to care for them.

Wheaton is "cautiously optimistic" about Argus, adding it will be months before the sweet-tempered dog is back to normal. He weighs 40 pounds and should weigh about 75 or 80. In just a few days though, he has gained one pound.

"This is the stuff we never want to see," Wheaton said of Argus. "It happens a lot more, but it's often under the radar."

Norton said the rescue group hopes to put Argus into foster care when he gets stronger and will seek a permanent home for the dog.

To help with Argus' care call 714-528-4730 or Coastal German Shepherd Rescue, 23600 El Toro Road #D276, Lake Forest, CA 92630.
Source: Orange County Register - Oct 11, 2010
Update posted on Oct 20, 2010 - 12:02AM 

References

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