Two dogs find life after neglect

Cassady Jeremias

Duke and Jane looked more like withered bags of skin and bones than

2-year-old purebred German shepherds when concerned residents brought

them to the attention of the district attorney’s office last August.

Duke’s condition was so bad that most of his hair had fallen out

and he was 30 pounds underweight.

A county German Shepherd Rescue group claims that both dogs were

so neglected under the care of their Costa Mesa owner that their ribs

and vertebrae showed through their bare skin.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Maureen Hall contacted German Shepherd Rescue

of Orange County to see if they could help the dogs after the owner

voluntarily gave up custody.

“We’ve never seen anything quite that tragic,” said Maria Dales,

chapter leader for the rescue group.

Jane was boarded at the Community Veterinary Hospital in Garden

Grove for five days and released. Her brother Duke was in worse

condition. He stayed for three weeks to make sure he was responding

to medication for skin ailments.

Bill Grant, the veterinarian who worked with the dogs, said it

probably took months or even years of neglect for the dogs to look

like this. He said they were emaciated, almost hairless and unsocial.

“We are a throwaway society,” he said. “People don’t want to take

the time or spend the money to get things fixed, so they just throw

things away.”

German Shepherd Rescue has spent more than $3,000 on care for

Duke, provided entirely by donations from animal lovers and adoption

fees. He is now at a foster home south in Encinitas, where he has

been recovering smoothly.

“I think he had seen the worst in human beings and had just given

up hope. There was no expression in his eyes. They were just hollow,”

said Diana Pohn, Duke’s foster mom and a German Shepherd Rescue

volunteer.

She said the maturity level of Duke and Jane have regressed to

that of a puppy because of physical and emotional neglect. Duke’s

hair has finally grown back, and he’s almost back to normal weight,

minus some muscle tone.

The German Shepherd Rescue group has created a mail campaign to

encourage the district attorney to come down hard on the owner if he

is found guilty and to send the community a strong anti-abuse

message.

The owner, Costa Mesa resident John Haddad, was charged with two

counts of animal abuse, which could land him up to six months in jail

and could carry a fine of up to $20,000, Hall said. He also faces two

counts of permitting an animal to remain unattended without proper

care and attention, which could result in six months in jail and or a

$1,000 fine, and two counts of a leash law violation, she said.

DiAnna Pfaff-Martin, president and founder of the Community Animal

Network in Newport Beach, said animal abuse and neglect cases are

hard to prove.

“You have to have evidence. It is very difficult to prove without

a videotape,” she said. “But in Duke’s case, because it was a private

residence, it was obvious.”

Today, Duke will make his first public appearance in a while at

PetSmart in Encinitas, where perhaps he will find someone to give him

a permanent home.

Pohn said she will be picky about who adopts him.

“He needs someone who is very, very patient,” she said. “Someone

who accepts the dog how he is and does not have high expectations and

is willing to let him go at his own pace.

“He doesn’t bark too much or do too much bad other than to stuffed

animals,” she said.

She said Duke will do best in a home with other dogs.

Jane has been at a separate boarding facility and is also ready

for adoption. She will do best in a home without other animals.

“She needs a lot of work to get her nice,” Pohn said. “She’s not

too good with other dogs.”

German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County is a branch of an

L.A.-based group. Dales said they receive up to 300 calls a month to

place dogs, and do find more than 500 dogs permanent homes annually.

“We are the ultimate safety net,” Dales said. “We are here when

all other options are exhausted.”

Grant said the rescue group really saved these dogs.

“I really respect their effort. They really gave this dog a

chance,” he said.” There are a lot of rescue groups out there that

would just choose euthanasia, but they spend their own time and money

on this.”

Usually dogs brought to German Shepherd Rescue are boarded at a

private kennel in Orange until they find a place to live. In Duke’s

case, he was so sad looking that Pohn volunteered to take him into

her own home.

“It was just sheer will that got him through because there was not

much else there,” she said.

“Duke was just so desperate. I really felt so sorry for him and

was willing to sacrifice our whole routine here,” she said. “We just

take it one day at a time and, each day, there are minor

improvements.”

* CASSADY JEREMIAS is the intern. She may be reached at

[email protected].