Volunteers shocked by abuse of tiny dog
Abused dog, Virtue
(CNS): Volunteers from a local animal welfare organisation, One Dog at a Time, say they were shocked by the abuse that a small dog rescued by their group had suffered. A tiny Yorkie-mix named Virtue, rescued earlier this week and now under the care of the charity, was found by an ODAAT supporter last week. Severely malnourished with infected open wounds and badly matted fur, Virtue weighed just six pounds, half the weight she should be, when the organisation took her in.
Volunteer and co-founder of ODAAT, Paula Wythe, described the incident as one of the worst cases of animal abuse the organisation has dealt with to date.
“She had not been fed properly and had been bitten by a big dog at least five days prior to her rescue,” Wythe said. “Her wounds were infected and she was completely matted as she had not been washed or groomed in ages. Her legs have no muscle as she has not been exercised.”
Virtue was rescued by One Dog At A Time
Virtue, who is estimated to be around 7-years-old, has since been released by Island Veterinary Services where she was treated. Her matted fur has been removed and she is being treated with intravenous antibiotics. Once the dog is in a stable condition she will undergo an operation to treat her wounds, remove her teeth, which are rotten due to lack of care, and remove a lump in her arm pit. She will also be spayed.
“She has been at the vets since we got her, and with the operations we are anticipating it will cost around $2,500. Virtue’s recovery will take time as she needs regular food and is in a lot of pain,” Whyte said. “We are encouraging people to share her story and help us raise awareness. We are requesting that people report neglected dogs and other animals when seen straight away to the Department of Agriculture.”
To find out how you can help Virtue, email onfo@odaat.ky or visit their website.
Donations to help towards Virtue’s care can be made to ODAAT Bank of Butterfield account, #1361674940011.
Category: Local News
I am not a ‘dog person’ but if that little girl held on this long we need to help her! I personally will donate to help save her.
I consider myself a dog-lover, but in this case would have suggested the dog be put down rather than endure more pain and surgery. It really is in a mess and its future life doesn’t look to long or rosy. I believe this mainly because this charity is spending so much on one case, whereas that £2.5k could do a lot more good spread over a number of animals.Let’s face it there are many more poorly treated animals in Cayman
I’m a dog lover as well and I have to agree.
Report ?! Once you send a dog to Agriculture Department, if Im not mistaken, do they put the dog to sleep?! Am I correct?
Someone wanted to get rid of their cat, I suggested to them that the best thing they can do is make the cat first live outside their homes. Then after some time, don’t touch, don’t feed the cat any more, and make sure to run it away with water every time it comes near you. Eventually, the cat will get the message, and find a new owner, or adapt to living in the wild. Its not hard for a cat to do this.
But for you to send the poor cat to a shelter group, and have it caged up for life, I think is animal cruelty! The cat loses its freedom, and who will buy a grown cat? They are not like dogs!
As for a dog, here in Cayman, its not easy to have it live on its own. It would not be able to get enough protein in our wild to survive. At least a cat could survive eating lizards, snakes, and birds. But a dog has no chance. So the most humane thing you can do for a dog, is to either find a new owner for it; or, take it to a good shelter. Again, if you give it to a shelter, they will take away the dogs freedom. But this may be temporary because I think dogs have a better chance in finding a new owner than cats.
My opinion
Maybe, when someone gets tired of you, they will try to get rid of you the same way you propose getting rid of the cat. If you are not prepared to be responsible for your pets for their full life span, don’t have pets. It’s that simple. Idiot.
Your potential treatment of cats is both neglectful and abusive, shame on you.
YOU are a horrible person.
lol … listen the truth hurts. But like I said caging the poor cat away forever is far worse than forcing it to survive on its own. Its freedom.
Alot of people have to get rid of cats for good reasons. Alot of times medical reasons too.
They don’t get caged forever. They get adopted you moron.
We’re sorry, your IQ score does not meet the minimum requirements to provide an opinion. Please remove yourself from this and any other page where you may be mistaken for having a clue.
What’s your name so whenever I see you coming near me I can spray you with water. I hope you don’t have children.
Wow. You are a perfect example of the problem here in Cayman. #turds
The cats don’t get caged up for life. The cat room at the shelter allows many to roam free. The GOOD people there and the volunteers do everything they can to have the animal adopted out to a family who actually love the animal. Not to anyone who will just stop feeding it and spray it with water to make it go away. You should be ashamed. So clueless.
Your opinion? Like a@?eholes everyone has one.
You disgust me.
I think that before the shelter release the dog , they should know that the person that owned the dog before is arrested , they should watch the behavior of the dog to the people who would want to adopt it . A dog never forget .
I hope that the person that had the dog is caught and punished just like the little dog did .
They are trying to raise awareness so that things like this stop happening in Cayman. At least that is the hope and all of us volunteers are forever hopeful or else we would all just give up and then where would Cayman be. Hope springs eternal. Plus, the bonus would be that the persons who did this to her are arrested and may KARMA bite them in every way that poor little Virtue was bitten.
These types of people shouldn’t even have rocks in their care much less living things, wicked bastards
Hope you will be able to identify the/these hideous people and that they can be dealt with accordingly. So wicked … so sad.
There are some real POS walking this planet.
Has the owner of this poor dog been charged?
Probably not and probably won’t be.
Exactly! When can the community find out who was the “owner” here so we can publicly shame them and work hard to get their pathetic lives held accountable! So ridiculous! And for the person who said they should’ve put Virtue to sleep… well, at least now she will get to understand pure love and companionship after she heals. At least then she will have not lived her entire life neglected- who would want to die that way!!
You rock!
People are scum that do this. What will the government do about the owners? Give them more dogs no doubt.