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Every so often in rescue, one comes along to remind us what we are here
for....why we are here. Far is that one.
After years of neglect he was left at a local boarding facility
Alltails.com while his owner left town on
vacation. Kennel owner, Renee Nichols was so shocked at his condition, she
immediately began making enquiries. Without too much research she learned
that Far's owner was under court orders not to own pets. With that
information at hand, Renee contacted the local police and so began the plan to
save Far. After several weeks of negotiations, Far's owner
surrendered him to an independent breed rescue person, who had agreed to act as
Far's guardian ad litum. Far has been shaved and bathed.
He also made a much need trip to the Veterinary office where he lost all but 2
of his teeth, and his 'manly parts' .
For weeks, we worked behind the scenes to save Far from this horrible woman.
Finally, came our day in court. Armed with a statement for our
attending veterinarian and photos of Far's condition, Kennel owner
Renee Nichols was called to testify. She told of Far's appearance, how he
was matted to the skin, infested with parasites, of how his decayed teeth fell
out into his feeding bowl. She shared with the court how her staff
had cared for him for the 3 months he remained in her care, of how happy he was
to be rid of the matted, dirty fleece that had become his coat; bathed with
clean bedding, and of the steps she had taken to be able to appear before the
court.
As the story unfolded, we learned how Far came to be owned by this contemptible
woman, of how she "rescued" him and several others from a neighboring state
several years ago. Of the puppies she had bred. Through
this information, we have been able to link this woman to another less
than desirable backyard breeder who had surrendered the original rescue puppies
to us in 1997 and an older female in 1998 (see website link at
www.ahrco.org/Rescuepuppies.htm
and www.ahrco.org/Sadie.htm )
The judge listened, shocked at the photos he was shown, angry at Far's former
owner, he found her in contempt of court for violating the court's order not to
have dogs in her possession; he ordered her to surrender her remaining dogs, a GSD mix and a Vizsla to the Humane
Society within 24 hours.
The photos below show Far's condition then and now. Follow this link for
the latest news on Far - Update
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