Late last night, it came to our attention that a dog named Blue, who we assisted in 2012, has apparently swtiched homes and owners unbeknownst to us! When we last spoke to Blues family, he was doing well, taking Joint Supplements we provided, and living as an indoor family pet, with a little boy who adored him! The SPCA assured us he had a great home with one of their employees, even after we repeatedly offered to Rehome him. We were only allowed to say goodbye, the Fayette County SPCA took control over Blues future. Because we intended to Rescue & Rehome Blue ourselves, there originally was a chip-in link set up to help Dimples, Blue and other chained dogs like them! We have receipts & Vet records to prove & Blues adoptive family can confirm we 1) Offered to Rescue him, they refused 2) AATO still paid for his intial Vet bills (neuter/vax,etc) & did two follow up visits with supplies to ensure he had all he needed, even though he ended up NOT being an official AATO Rescue as we intended. We still stood by Blue and supported him. Each time we followed up, we saw nothing but a healthy, happy dog! There was no reason for concern. However, as soon as we became aware that Blues circumstances have drastically changed, of course we reached out to the family to offer assistance again! Even though Blue is technically not an AATO dog (because the SPCA took over and decided to let their employee adopt him instead!!) we absolutely still care about Blue! Anyone who says otherwise is crazy! And we will not waste our precious time and energy with the insanity of the Haters/Liars Club!!! Some people who claim to love animals spend all their time judging, criticizing and spreading misinformation about the people who are in the trenches actually getting dirty do the real work of Rescue on a daily basis! And bashing another Rescue does nothing to HELP THE ANIMALS!!!! Blue needs help.....and it doesnt matter who gets credit for it....feed your hubris if you must....but please, HELP BLUE instead of bashing us!!! You clearly do not have all the facts & enjoy trying to destroy all of our hard work, which says alot more about you than us! AATO has indeed reached out to the owners of Blue to offer assistance ~ several times and ways!! We were told that he is in the custody of a PA Humane Officer, and absolutely no laws are being broken. (And sadly in PA, if a dog has food, water, shelter... the authorities wont do anything because there are soooo many animals that dont even have that!) We asked if they would surrender Blue, and the answer was no. We asked if we could provide a Foster home for him, would they accept? No. We asked if we provided a crate, would they bring Blue inside for cold weather/overnite atleast? (we are hopeful they will accept). We asked if Blue needed any food or straw? We were told it was not necessary. (And even this pic, as sad as it is to see, technically, Blue does not look like he is underweight or in need of immediate medical attention!) By all accounts, as much as no one likes it, currently no laws appear to be broken! And even if they were, ONLY a Police Officer or Humane Officer can legally remove a dog from private property with a warrant. We do not have that authority! Although AATO does not advocate for dogs living outdoors, we realize as long as it is still legal, alot of people see nothing wrong with it! :( If an Owner refuses to surrender a dog, legally there is nothing we can do. Other than offer to improve their quality of life &/or report any evidence of abuse to the proper authorities......we can not just take Blue! We can not force them to bring him inside! We certainly will monitor the situation, and offer any assitance the owners will accept to help Blue! Instead of unnecessary drama and playing the blame game, we chose to focus on how we can help Blue! And other dogs like him, in even worse conditions!!! If anyone in the Uniontown, PA area has a large, heavy duty dog crate to offer Blue....maybe we can atleast get him inside for now! If anyone can Foster Blue.....maybe we can ask them again to let us help him be an indoor dog. But unless or until they either chose to accept help, or they break the law, legally there is nothing else we can do! There are so many animals in worse conditions than this that need help too. As much as we want to, and are willing to help Blue, if they refuse, we can only help the ones that the law & the owners permit. As much as we all hate to accept that.....unless or until our laws change....it is a fact! We will certainly keep Blue in our thougths and prayers. And continue to follow up in the hopes that they will accept help to bring Blue inside!
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 18:05:31 +0000
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