Bikers Against Animal Cruelty - Max
| The Story of MAX - Updated 11/19/08 Max's Project Max was brought to our attention in mid-October 2008. He was a helpless victim of animal cruelty and neglect in Henderson, NC. Here is the original news story: Henderson man charged, dogs malnourished Posted: Oct. 17, 2008 Henderson Police arrested Samuel Fields, 46, of 902 Park Ave., after a report from Vance County animal control of malnourished dogs. Animal Control Chief Alex Hargrove said his team found an emaciated dog tied to a tree. The flesh of the dog's neck had grown around a web collar and a chain, and his left hind leg was swollen. Other dogs on the property had no apparent access to food or water, animal control reported. Fields told animal control officers that he fed the tied dog daily, and that the leg injury resulted from the dog getting caught trying to jump the fence. Fields was was charged with depriving the animals of necessary sustenance and denying medical attention. He was jailed on $2,000 secured bond. http://www.wral.com:80/news/local/story/3768428/ At this point, B.A.A.C. stepped in and decided to do something for this poor boy. Related news story: Bikers offer to take in abused dog Posted: Oct. 19, 2008 A group of bikers based in Connecticut has offered to take in a dog whose Vance County owner was arrested for abuse. The county Animal Shelter has been giving veterinary care to the dog since animal control officers took him from a home at 902 Park Ave. in Henderson on Oct. 13. Animal Control Chief Alex Hargrove said the dog was tied a tree and was emaciated. The flesh of the dog's neck had grown around a web collar and a chain, and his left hind leg was swollen. The Bikers Against Animal Cruelty nonprofit has agreed to take the dog after it is healthy enough to travel. BAAC came together September 2007 during the aftermath of Michael Vick animal cruelty case. The group works with rescue groups, raises money to defray veterinary costs and conducts educational activities. Henderson police arrested the dog's owner, Samuel Fields, 46, and charged him with depriving the animals of necessary sustenance and denying medical attention. Animal control officers also found six more dogs in one pen at the house. None of the animals had access to food or water, officers said. Fields told animal control officers that he fed the tied dog daily, that the dog would not let him remove the collar and that its leg injury occurred when it tried to jump the fence. http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/3759695/ We worked with some wonderful people in NC who pulled Max from the shelter and got him immediate medical care. Thank you so much to Maureen and Ron Warren for helping him during this critical time. They so graciously took Max to a pet-friendly hotel for some quiet time before his transport to CT, which we arranged after we found a wonderful foster home for him here in Connecticut. Here are some pics and a note from Maureen about the time they spent with him. I just wanted to give you all an update on Max......Lisa Carrier, thank you SO MUCH for letting Cindy know we would help out in the transport. Ron and I got to spend one day of quality time with Max. We went to Henderson yesterday at 4PM and picked him up from Vance County Animal Shelter. He was a happy big goofy fella. Although he is about 50lbs underweight, he was so happy....tail wagging, giving kisses. He enjoyed the car ride back to Raleigh. He would look out the window, wag his tail when he saw people, and then would nap on and off. We decided to get a pet friendly hotel for him as we have seven dogs and it was going to be less stressful for him. So we got a room at the Best Western on Capital by 440. Oh, he was like WOW, this is NICE. He first saw himself in the mirror and head butted the mirror (not in an aggressive way...but in a hey, there is another dog, play with me kind of way). Then he discovered the toilet lid open..I think he drank all the water out of the toilet (I checked and flushed .......first before he drank). After slobbering profusely all over the bathroom floor he proceeded to knock everything in sight off the table, night stands...so we had to dog proof the room. I fixed him boiled chicken and rice before I left the house so he had that for dinner along with his medication. Then he went for a short walk. We noticed though after he got all his excitement out of him he was slowing down. I think he wore himself out. His back legs appeared to get weaker and he was tired. So he was pretty much mellow the rest of the time. SO, the couple who was doing transport, coming from Atlanta, GA. was supposed to arrive off I85 in Henderson at 9PM last night and we were going to drive Max back up to Henderson. Max is being transported to CT to be fostered by a WONDERFUL Biker Group http://www.pitbullsaloon.com/home.asp. We called the gentleman and his wife to see where they were and we found out that they were running seven hours behind... their van broke down. So I went home about 10:30PM and Ron and Max stayed at Best Western. I tossed and turned all night, I couldn't get Max out of my mind. To think of what this guy did to him.....to think of the pain he must be in....to think of all he has endured. I called Ron several times. Finally, at 3:30AM Ron got a call and the guy and his wife were an hour away from the meeting place so Max had breakfast, his meds and is on his way to CT today! It was an experience I will never forget. I have never been around a dog who was in such bad shape. The only place I knew to pet him was on his face as every other part of his body appeared to be so fragile. Max is yet another rescue dog that will go into my journal and he will never ever be forgotten by Ron or I. He is a very special boy and we all need to send him our well wishes ....he is also heartworm positive :-( but will get nothing but the best of care from Cindy and her group! At this point, Cindy and Max's new foster Mom drove down to MD to meet the transport. He became settled into his foster home in CT with ease and had a Vet appointment on Monday, October 26, 2008. Here is Cindy's note about the events leading up to and of that day. I don’t even know how to write this. It certainly is not the update I ever dreamed of writing about our beloved Max. I expected to write about the whole experience and have a happy update. As many of you know, Kim (foster mom) and I started driving south Friday morning to meet Dick and Diane who were able to fit Max on their transport coming up from GA, leaving Thur. They picked Max up from Maureen and Ron Warren who have been an integral part of Max’s rescue with helping with his initial vet bill and pulling him from the shelter. We didn’t want Max to get stressed out on a transport full of other dog, barking and confusing him so Kim and I met Dick and Diane in Maryland, just over the Delaware Bridge. Max was nothing short of a big ‘ol handsome, goofy, happy-go-lucky, doofus of a pup. He just loved meeting new people and to look into his eyes, you would never know the abuse he endured. He entertained us the whole ride home with his awkward and goofy ways. He had no manners to speak of, which we did not expect anything else. All he wanted to do was to find food and eat. Who could blame him. We picked up a new harness and leash for him and brought him to his foster home. He spent the weekend in his foster home, meeting new people and acting like a pup, something he has not experienced as far as we know. Monday we had a vet appointment for him. Something we were looking forward to as we’d find out how old he was and what breed mix. The Dr. thought him to only be around 10 mos and maybe of a hound/mastiff mix. He weighed in around 67 lbs, it was hard to get the exact weight as he would not stand still. I mentioned to the Dr. about him possibly being heartworm positive, but the paperwork from the vet in NC said nothing of him having heartworm, only an intestinal worm and our Dr. performed a test that showed no signs of heartworm as well, but was going to test further. The Dr. suggested leaving him over night and they would suture his neck and neuter him. We looked forward to seeing Max today, with a nice and clean stitched up neck, neutered, fully vaccinated and ready for his new life. Around 9:30 PM last night, the doc called me to give me the most terrible news. I am still in shock and can not understand why. He said he had time last night and wanted to get started on Max, all his vital signs were good, even when they put him under anesthesia. It wasn’t until they tried to bring him out after the surgery was successfully finished that he arrested and they were unsuccessful in trying to revive him. I am at such a loss right now and feel like I’ve failed Max horribly. He deserved the best life possible, he had so much love to give. Please know he at least was able to be given the best weekend of his life in Kim and Laura’s love and companionship. Max's last, loving and happy days in his foster home: Max was shown much love and compassion during his last days and all donations collected in his name will go towards his cremation and autopsy to find out exactly what went wrong. We are all very distraught over this loss, and know how hard we tried to give him a life he so deserved. He will forever live in our hearts and never be forgotten. RIP Max, know you were loved by many, some who have not even met you. You were a good boy. A final update on Max from Cindy - 11/12/08 I received a call from the Dr. last night after he performed an autopsy on Max. Max’s liver and kidneys were greatly deteriorated due to long term dehydration and lack of proper nutrition which appears occurred over his entire short life. Even if he made it through the surgery, his quality of life would have been poor and short lived. He needed the surgery for his neck to clean out the infected tissue and close it up because his immune system was so weak, the wound wasn't healing and infection was thriving. Unfortunately, it was a lose-lose situation.... Who is to say that he was better off passing in peace while asleep or lived longer only to suffer a slow deterioration? I find comfort just in knowing he is no longer in any pain, felt love and had finally found peace. He was such an incredibly good boy.... The Dr. sends his condolences to all who were involved in helping Max. He truly feels terrible and really wanted to see him enjoy a good life as much as the rest of us. He too, couldn’t get over how sweet he was, from all that he’s been through and even through cleaning out the wound and everything, you know it had to hurt to touch, but he never whimpered or showed any sign of aggression. The autopsy gave us some more insight into Max’s life. Basically, Max was tied to a tree and left to die from the time when he was just a baby pup. I am fortunate to have had the experience to feel the unconditional love to the highest extent. People should learn from the pages of a dog’s life. The innocence of completely depending on humans to provide a quality life for them; and the forgiveness displayed when those humans fail them. It was an honor knowing Max. Through Max’s rescue, I have come across some very compassionate people who like us, cared deeply for Max and only wanted to see him thrive in a new life that he so deserved. At least he thrived for a full weekend, from the time Maureen and Ron picked him up from the shelter and spent the night in a hotel room with him, watching him check himself out in the mirror; then his ride up front in the van with Dick and Diane, startling the gas station attendants and just being a goofball, to the life of luxury he spent, relaxing and playing at home with Kim and Laura and the rest of their families; and just absorbing their love. A Note from Max's Foster Parents, Kim & Laura Hello everyone. Kimmy and I were part of the final leg of Max’s journey and I would like to share our experience. I knew we would be fostering Max approximately ten days before he came. Though Kimmy kept assuring me that everything would be o.k., I was hesitant about taking him on. I was plagued by anxious thoughts. Would he get along with our dogs? Would we be able to give him the care he needed? What if he got worse? Would I get enough sleep to be able to go to work? Who are all these biker people anyway?! Then Max came home, the goofy red dog with the too-big head, too- long legs, and eyes that could melt your heart. None of my fears mattered anymore. It was love at first sight. With the first fifteen minutes that Max was with us, Kimmy took our two dogs and went to pick up baby gates at her sister’s house. I was alone with Max for the first time. As if on cue, he pooped in the living room. A lot! While I was cleaning up that mess, he pooped in the kitchen then came back and proceeded to tear the paper towels out of my hands as I wiped up the first mess. Stupidly, I then took him outside to go, but, predictably, there was nothing left. Kimmy and Cindy had brought chicken and rice which I tried to cook, hoping to stay one step ahead of Max in my imaginary schedule. Max immediately knocked over the garbage, then jumped up onto the counter to see what I was doing, then proceeded to scratch wildly at the refrigerator door before I could even manage get the rice into a pot. All the while his tail wagged, a constant Thump! Thump! Thump! which I will never forget. We were advised to keep him away from our dogs in the beginning, so when Kimmy called to say she was nearly home, I brought Max upstairs where his crate and blankets awaited him. Getting up the stairs did not go very smoothly. Max was unaccustomed to climbing. He walked up using only his front legs as if he forgot that he had back legs-his body just spanned the stairwell ala Inspector Gadget. I had to straddle him and gently lift him from beneath his chest. We moved awkwardly to the top (I was very grateful that I had no witnesses. Trust me, it was not graceful.) Max was in his crate mere seconds when I first heard his bark, a low, repetitive Rooooooooof! Rooooof! Rooooooooof as Kimmy returned with our dogs. Uh-oh, I thought, here we go. With our dogs sniffing confusedly all over the downstairs, and Max rooooofing upstairs, the chaos I imagined was coming to fruition. My life as I knew it was over. We spent several hours trying to keep the dogs separated from each other (the baby gates were useless!), but to no avail. Exhausted, we finally brought Max down to meet his foster brother and sister. Thank God for the Dog Whisperer! As the dogs circled and growled, wagged and whimpered, Kimmy played “pack leader” and got things under control. Both dogs played with Max, but clear boundaries were drawn. There would be no mounting of Darwin, and their bones were off limits to Max. Fair enough. They played intermittently throughout the night and all slept peacefully together. It felt like it was meant to be. On Saturday, family and friends came to visit. Max took to all immediately and vice versa. Once the shock of seeing Max’s wound and emaciated condition was over, everyone remarked on how loving he was and that there was something soulful about his eyes, so peaceful and loving. That night, Max took his first walk around the block with the “pack”. I got to walk Max and he stopped at every leaf pile and stick on the side of the road. We lagged behind a bit, but he was much stronger than he looked and pulled mightily on the harness when he wanted to catch up with Jack, Darwin and Kimmy. I did not know then that this would be our only time around the block together. In my imaginary schedule, this would have occurred nightly as he grew stronger. I am grateful for the memory of that walk. On Sunday we avoided near tragedy when Max thought it would be fun to pick up our pet turtle while its cage was being cleaned. Tucked safely inside his shell, which sat gently in Max’s large jaws, Ninja was the only one who met Max who was not impressed. We spent much time at home that day with the wood stove going. Max seemed to love the fire. He received lots of love and affection on our final full day with him. He was a perfect fit. We were looking at pictures of Max we had taken, when we received the call from Cindy that Max had passed away. We were devastated. It could not have hurt worse if it were one of our own dogs. Neither of us could function for days afterwards. We did not want to come home after work. We couldn’t look at his toys, the pink elephant that Cindy brought him, his bones, his special food in the fridge, his medicine-everything made us cry. His presence was, and is, everywhere. It’s hard to believe we had him only for three days. It was one of the worst losses either of us had ever suffered. But if we had the chance to do it over again we would, despite the pain we continue to feel. Though we both had trouble finding the message in Max’s death at first, we now believe that God put Max in our lives, not only so he would be loved in his final days, but in order that we may learn from Max’s beautiful spirit. Max suffered terribly at the hands of humans for nearly his whole life. Still, he loved unconditionally without hesitation. If he could do that as wounded as he was, we could certainly overcome the mundane problems and nagging thoughts which affect our daily lives. He taught us to be better people, to do more to help others-dogs and humans alike-without hesitation. The time we spent with Max was worth the pain, even though it is hard to accept he is no longer with us. I try not to be angry at the person who tied Max to the tree, his actions prove that he suffers from an unnamable affliction, one from which those of us who visit this website have been spared. I’d rather think about Max and the people who worked so hard to save him. It is our hope that anyone who reads this will remember Max, his journey, and his spirit and foster Maxes of their own. We thank God for Max and for the wonderful people of BAAC who are now in our lives as a result of him. We will be forever grateful. Update: 11/19/08 Thank you so much to Kathie Sullivan-Parkes for her time and effort in creating this beautiful quilt dedicated to Max! You can bid on it here! |
