Everett, Wash.
Published: Saturday, September 6, 2008

Abandoned puppies ready for adoption

The dogs, found starving, are healthy again

By David Chircop
Herald Writer

 GRANITE FALLS -- Gary Tuttle was walking in the forest along a familiar dirt logging road near Granite Falls last month when he heard the yip-yip-yipping of puppies in the underbrush.

The 71-year-old retired logger, who was on a blackberry picking outing, figured the noise was coming from a hidden den of coyote pups.

Instead, he came across a startling discovery: someone had abandoned a litter of eight Australian shepherd puppies and left them to die.

They were starving and crammed into a small plastic dog crate without food or water and covered in their own waste. One of the puppies managed to escape. The rest were locked inside.

"The things were just pathetic," said Lois Tuttle, who brought the dogs food and water after her husband called to tell her what he'd found. "It made me sick to my stomach."

It was nearly 90 degrees -- one of the hottest days of the year -- and the dogs were sick and starving. The Tuttles figure the dogs had been there for several days.

"They couldn't have made it (through) the night I don't think," Lois Tuttle said.

Thanks to the care of good Samaritans, the 9-week-old puppies not only survived, but they're thriving. On Sunday, they'll be available for adoption.

After finding the puppies, the Tuttles said they had trouble getting an animal control officer out to the site. So they loaded the puppies in their Chevy pickup and drove to the Everett Animal Shelter.

Shelter employees washed the filth off the dogs, got them food and water, and had them evaluated by a veterinarian.

The dogs, which had eaten their own feces to stay alive, were diagnosed with an intestinal parasite and a potentially deadly blood infection.

Australian shepherds, popular in rodeos, are a breed of working dog known for their boundless energy and strong drive to herd animals big and small.

But these puppies were weak and sluggish. Shelter employees were afraid some wouldn't survive.

"It's so disheartening in this day and age that somebody would do that," said Bud Wessman, director of the Everett Animal Shelter, which accepts lost and abandoned pets in much of unincorporated Snohomish County and nine cities.

Wessman said the shelter would have accepted the animals, no questions asked.

What was perplexing in this case was the tails of the dogs were docked, or amputated, a common yet controversial practice to prevent injuries among herding dogs.

They also had their dewclaws removed, a sign that someone put effort into preparing the dogs for sale or work.

The puppies have been named Ash, Paisley, Zack, Toby, Poppy, Smudge, Kina and J.P.

Snohomish County Auditor Carolyn Weikel, whose office oversees Snohomish County Animal Control, said it's uncommon to see this form of deliberate animal cruelty in Snohomish County.

Often when Animal Control officers find dogs, they're wandering around and it's difficult to tell if they are lost or abandoned.

While whoever did this could be criminally liable, Weikel said finding the perpetrators is difficult.

"There's not much we can do unless there is an eyewitness to the event," she said.

If enough evidence linking someone with the abandonment was uncovered, the case would be forwarded to the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney's Office to determine whether to press a case of animal cruelty.

An employee at the animal shelter volunteered to care for the runt, which was in the poorest health.

Dawna Berg-Bancroft, 63, helped nurse the other seven back to health.

She is someone the Everett Animal Shelter calls on from time to time to care for particularly vulnerable dogs.

Berg-Bancroft, an Arlington mastiff breeder who owns a 35-acre spread, is such a dog lover that she buys a special high-protein food for sled dogs -- a mix of salmon and tripe -- in frozen 50-pound blocks.

For nearly three weeks, that's what she fed the puppies, along with dry kibble and Ensure nutrition shakes. She also gave them regular doses of medication.

In short time, some of the puppies doubled their weight and went from having visible vertebrae and rib cages to being healthy pets, she said.

"Now they're jumping up and wanting to be held and behaving more like you would expect Australian shepherds to behave."

Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.

Puppies up for adoption Sunday

Australian shepherd puppies will be ready for adoption starting at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Everett Animal Shelter.

People will be screened prior to adoption. If you rent, bring a copy of the lease showing that dogs are allowed, along with the landlord's name and phone number. Australian shepherds are working dogs and get bored easily if they are not given something to do. They are not recommended for families with small children.

The shelter is at 2732 36th St. Construction has 41st and 36th streets closed west of I-5. A detour to the shelter runs along Pacific Avenue west of I-5 and continues south on Chestnut Street.

For more information, call 425-257-6000.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA