Two Dogs rescued, only one survives, Wisconsin

[Rene Allegrini]

Hopefully the reward will cause someone to report the person responsible for these two animals suffering and the one's death. But, as reported, that information may never be known.

Only one happy ending for two abused dogs found in Valley

Party responsible for abandoned pets unknown

Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers


A Doberman pinscher, one of two abandoned, severely malnourished dogs taken in by the Fox Valley Humane Association in April, is healthy and happy in a new home.


However, the female rottweiler dubbed by Humane Association staff as Honey Bunch, wasn't so lucky.


The rottweiler was euthanized June 20 after more than two months of care and unsuccessful attempts to curb its aggression, executive director Deb Lewis said last week.


As the rottweiler regained strength, its temperament deteriorated, Lewis said.


"It was very sad, but certainly understandable considering all she had gone through," Lewis said. "She was with us nearly 2½ months when we came to the conclusion that there was nothing more we could do about her severe dog- and people-aggression."


The Doberman, dubbed Sweetie Pie, remained true to her name throughout recovery. After three weeks of care at the shelter, a Menasha-area man "fell in love with her and took her home the next day," said Bobbi DeBruin, Humane Associations communications coordinator.


"He said he knew he could nurse her back to health and that's just what he did."


Greenville Constable Vicki Prey found the canines three days and about a mile apart after separate calls from town residents. Both canines were near death when she found them, withered to skin and bone and plagued by infections suggesting months without shelter.


Prey said she was driving to the animal shelter to check on the health of the Doberman on April 13 when a Greenville resident called to report "a brown dog laying in her backyard and it looked just horrible."


The rottweiler "was so weak she could not even get up on her own," said Prey, town constable since her appointment in late 2005. "She wasn't even able to sit because she'd just be sitting on bone."


Both of the dogs were worse off than any Prey had seen in her lifetime.


"I really didn't know people could actually neglect their animals to such a degree," Prey said. "I really thought this was something you only saw on TV."


Whoever abandoned the dogs may never be known, despite a $1,000 cash reward offered by the Humane Association and numerous tips from the public.


"We knew both dogs probably came from the same place because they had the same smell about them, like they were kept in a barn or an outbuilding," Prey said.


"There were lots of tips from people, lots of places to check out, but we never did learn who the owner was," Prey said. "We believe it was somebody from outside the area who must have just dumped them here."


http://www.fdlreporter.com/apps/pbcs...N0101/70716041