Dog beaten, stabbed, set on fire in home robbery
Pasadena, TX (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 15, 2011
County: Harris
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Nearly a week after being beaten, kicked, burned, Ike is on the road to recovery, but still a little shaky.
Trembling in his tiny, eight-pound frame, the three-year old Chihuahua has become something of a celebrity after surviving a vicious attack by home invaders last Thursday.
On Thursday morning, Iris Garcia received a call from her mother informing that her home at the 1700 block of Jane had been burglarized. Upon arrival, Pasadena police found the house ransacked with several items missing. Once home, Garcia immediately realized that Ike, the family pet, was also missing. After a search, PPD officers found Ike underneath a detached building next to the Garcia home. Police determined the suspects had beaten Ike with a baseball bat, stabbed him in the lower back and shoulder and
then set fire to his hind legs and genital area.
Ike was taken to the VCA Animal Emergency Clinic on the Gulf Freeway where his initial injuries were treated before being transferred to the Angel Animal Hosptial, where he remained in critical condition for days.
"The first thing we were thinking about was trying to assess his injuries and trying to get him comfortable and see what we were going to be able to do for him," said Dr. Jay L. Gotcher, D.V.M. "There are all the heartwarming things that were going on, but at the time, were just focused on getting him better."
In those first few days after the attack, Ike wouldn't eat and remained weak.
"After we got him over the first treatment of his injuries, he wouldn't eat, wouldn't get up at all and was just physically depressed from all he had been through," Gotcher said.
Ike suffered mostly soft-tissue injuries and by Monday, he was eating well and his burn and laceration wounds were slowly healing, though he will have to receive follow-up treatments for his burns.
Immediately after the Pasadena Police Department released the details of the home invasion, the Angel Animal Hospital on Strawberry has been inundated with calls from well-wishers.
"It's heartbreaking to see something like this, and this is probably an incident that can highlight that there is a real victim to animal cruelty," Gotcher said. "In this case it's not only Ike, but his family. A lot of people have really helped with him financially and expressed an interest and concern. It was really heartwarming to see that. You see the abuse side of it, but seeing the other side is a special thing - to see how much people care and not only just care, but invest in it."
Dr. Gotcher praised the emergency team at VCA Animal Emergency Clinic that treated Ike's initial injuries, including Dr. Tom Godwin, Dr. Gary Klein and Dr. Darrell Palm.
"It's been a combination effort, a lot of people have chipped in and helped out with him," Gotcher added.
The Pasadena Police Department is now actively investigating the incident and is following possible leads for persons of interest. Crime Stoppers is also leading a campaign to raise awareness on the issue of animal cruelty and Ike is the perfect poster boy to strengthen that cause, said Ryan Sullivan, director of communications with Crime Stoppers of Houston.
"The message that we're always trying to get across is that the victims of animal cruelty are multifold," he said. "In this case, it really does highlight the most innocent of the victims, the animals themselves."
The incident also backs up the statistics that animal cruelty is often tied to other types of property and violent crimes.
"In this instance, it was a burglary that was tied to the victim, but we're also seeing illegal gambling, drug dealing and gang violence which is more often than not tied to dog fighting and that creates a larger community safety issue," Sullivan said.
Ike's story starts with the kind of hard-scrabble beginning worthy of a Pixar hero. He was a young refugee in the fallout of Hurricane Ike when his Pasadena family took him in.
With that back story and the aftermath of his attack, Ike can put a face on an issue that can too often remain an underground crime, Sullivan said.
"As in every case of animal cruelty, we really hope that people recognize not only how common animal cruelty cases are and how pervasive it is through our communities in Houston and the tragedy behind each one of those, but also that attention will be brought to the larger criminal implications," he said. "Any case that gets publicized is a step in the right direction, so that the community and the public can be aware of how animal cruelty cases always precipitate in larger crimes. This is great example of that because this was a case where an innocent dog was beat up, but it was during the commission of a burglary and the case would not have existed and the dog would not have been victimized had their not been a larger crime tied to it. This brings everything to light."
Ike was able to spend the night at home by Tuesday and comes back during the day for follow-up observations and treatment to his burns. Every time his family leaves, said Angel staff member, Meagan Gardner, Ike whimpers. But until Ike's family can take him home for good the staff at the Angel Animal Clinic remains smitten.
Ike lost some whiskers from the attack and the green stitches on his tiny nose, the cone around his neck making his still-trembling frame seem even smaller, the downcast eyes when strangers look at him and television news cameras are pointing at him - all give him the air of a wounded warrior.
"It was a very difficult thing to see and we're very happy to see that he's doing better," Gardner said. "Everyday he's improving and that's great for us to see."
Crime Stoppers in Houston has offered a $5000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person involved in this crime. Ryan Sullivan, director of communications with the organization is also using this egregious case of animal cruelty and abuse to bring awareness to the frightening correlation between cruelty towards animals and violent crimes. These violent acts toward animals are now recognized as a dangerous psychopathy; these actions are just not confined to animal cruelty.
The Pasadena Police Department and Crimestoppers are requesting that anyone with information or leads on the incident and the suspects to call Crimestoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS. To contribute to Ike's medical bills, contact the Angel Animal Hospital at 713-944-2424. If you have information on this case, please contact:
Crimestoppers of Houston
713-222-TIPS
References |
