Deaf Dane Rescue Inc. Available Danes Magnum's Page



	Magnum <---waiting for---> that DaneTrain
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Reprinted courtesy of the Prince George Citizen

Here is the text of the story above
April 29
by KAREN KWAN
Citizen staff

The SPCA is asking for the public's help in finding the person responsible for blasting several shots into a young Great Dane and leaving him for dead in the woods. The dog, an albino with a white coat and blue eyes, was found lying in the woods behind Cranbrook Hill Sunday night by a family, said SPCA branch manager Jeannine Woodhouse. "We're very upset about this, that somebody tried to euthanize him in this format," she said. "He's deaf so he couldn't have heard a predator coming and he probably wasn't in any condition to run," she said. She said the dog was probably shot sometime Friday or Saturday, and would have died if he hadn't been found soon. It's not known if the animal will make a full recovery, Woodhouse said. She said SPCA staff thought at first wild animals had caused the gaping wounds, but X-rays taken Thursday showed at least three shotgun wounds, one each in his head, neck and shoulder. The dog received 70 stitches to close the wounds and other lacerations, after being given fluids for several days to treat severe dehydration. Surgery will probably have to be done as well, Woodhouse said, once veterinarians assess the location of the shotgun pellets. The dog could also have been attacked by animals, she added. "We're assuming that he was injured and it drew the animals out of the woods, because of the amount of damage that's been done to him," she said. Other than his injuries, she said the dog, a neutered male between one and two years old, was healthy and had obviously been cared for but was not fitted with a tag or microchip identification. Woodhouse said she expects the treatment to cost thousands of dollars. Anyone with information on the case or who knows the owners is asked to call the Crime Stoppers at 564-8477 or 1-800-222-8477, or special constables Woodhouse or Goodine at the SPCA at 562-5511. "We're seeking the public's assistance in helping us figure out what happened to him, why it happened and who caused this," Woodhouse said. The perpetrators could be charged with abandonment and cruelty to animals, she said, urging people to have their pets put down by a veterinarian instead.

Reprinted courtesy of the Prince George Citizen

Here is the text of the story above
May 6
by KAREN KWAN
Citizen staff

Charges are being considered against the person who shot a Great Dane several times last week, leaving him for dead in the woods, an SPCA official said Thursday. "We have located the owners. We have a confession from the shooter and charges are being forwarded to Crown (counsel) through RCMP," said shelter manager Jeannine Woodhouse. Until the investigation is complete, she said she couldn't say whether the dog was shot by one of its owners. The suspect could face criminal charges or charges under the provincial Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Tips came pouring into the Crime Stoppers hotline after the SPCA put out a plea last week for information from the public, and one of the leads led investigators to the dog's owners. The dog, meanwhile, has been placed in a foster home and is recovering well. "He's playing ... His whole attitude has really improved. He's much happier, he's responding a lot better, he's not in so much pain," Woodhouse said. "He's becoming a puppy again." The dog, a one or two-year-old male albino with a white coat and blue eyes, was found lying in the woods behind Cranbrook Hill April 25. He had been shot at least three times with a shotgun in the head, neck and shoulder, and required 70 stitches to close the wounds and other lacerations. SPCA officials believed it was a failed attempt to euthanize the animal. Veterinarians were considering operating to remove the pellet fragments, but have decided not to unless it becomes necessary, Woodhouse said. "He's healing up very nicely, so we don't want to disturb that," she said. She said the dog is expected to make a full recovery and there's a good chance the foster family might adopt him. The SPCA is also trying to recoup from the owners the cost of the medical treatment, which is now close to $1,200 but could run as much as $1,600, she said.

Reprinted courtesy of the Prince George Citizen

Here is the text of the story above
May 17
by KAREN KWAN
Citizen Staff

Charges will not be laid against the person who blasted several shots into a Great Dane and left him for dead in the woods last month. SPCA branch manager Jeannine Woodhouse said the shooting was not an intentional act of animal cruelty, but an attempt to put down the dog that went awry. "(It involved) some very poor decisions, not checking and just leaving the animal there," she said. "(The shooter) confessed right away, he surrendered the weapon, he's very remorseful," she said. Woodhouse said the dog's owner had asked the person to euthanize the animal because the family didn't know how to deal with the deaf dog, who also had vision problems. The one-year-old dog was found in the woods behind Cranbrook Hill April 25 suffering from wounds to the head, neck and shoulder. She said the owner has now surrendered the dog to the SPCA and has agreed to pay the $1,200 veterinary bill. People who want to put down their pets are urged to bring the animals to the SPCA, she said. The SPCA is also discouraging people from buying pets, especially purebreds, from "backyard breeders," who are not certified, she said. Poor breeding practices could be involved, and veterinary checkups and vaccinations might not be done, she said, and there's no education on how to care for the pets. The owners of the Great Dane purchased the animal as a puppy from the back of a truck in a parking lot, Woodhouse said, and didn't know it had hearing and vision problems. Several dogs from the same litter, all with similar problems, have been brought into the SPCA, she said. Prospective owners also need to find out whether the breed is appropriate for their lifestyle, she added. "(The shooting) stems back to a worse problem and that's the backyard breeders selling what they classify as purebred animals, but they're poorly bred, they're not registered, they don't come with proper instruction (for the owners)," Woodhouse said. Meanwhile, she said the Great Dane is recovering well and is staying in a foster home while the SPCA tries to place the animal in a rescue centre in preparation for a possible adoption. The Deaf Dane Rescue in Springfield, Ore. would be helpful because it specializes in training deaf and special-needs Great Danes, she said, but it would be best if a place can be found closer to home "Because of all the trauma that he's gone through, we felt that if we would get him into the best situation possible so he could re-home successfully," Woodhouse said. Marc Sayer of the Deaf Dane Rescue, a non-profit organization he runs from his home, said he learned of the wounded dog through someone on an Internet group dedicated to rescuing Great Danes. He said the dog could be kept at the centre for possibly four months where it will be trained to respond to hand signals and be put through a socialization program. "(Health problems) frequently lead to dogs being abandoned but we don't normally see something as drastic as this," Sayer said. Although the white-coated, blue-eyed dog looks like an albino, he said the Great Dane actually has a condition caused by two defective genes, which is not uncommon in the breed.

Note - Just to clarify, They didn't get what I said quite right in this interview. The merle gene involved in these sorts of deafness and vision problems is not a defective gene, it is simply a color modifying gene. The problem comes when the dog gets a copy of the gene from each parent. Dogs carrying two copies of the merle gene (called double merles) tend to lack pigmentation (they are often white or nearly all white) and can have vision or hearing problems. As Jeannine says in this article, the problem is poor breeding. A good breeder would know to avoid breeding indiscriminately and producing litters with lots of double merle pups. A dog carrying a single copy of the merle gene will not have these problems. What I was trying to explain to the author was that, while the dogs lack pigmentation, they are not albinos, as she had referred to them in previous articles. Albinism is caused by a specific gene, which Great Danes do not carry. For more info on deaf dog issues, click here

The SPCA responds to community outrage at the lack of prosecution.

May 21, 2004
To: News Directors and News Editors

The BC SPCA has received a significant number of telephone calls, emails and letters during the past week regarding the case of the Great Dane who was rescued by the Prince George SPCA after being seriously wounded in an attempted euthanasia. While we understand and empathize with the concern and frustration being expressed by Prince George residents who are calling for stronger punitive action against the individuals responsible, I believe the public may not be fully aware of the details of the case as it relates to current anti-cruelty laws and the reasons for the decisions that were made. I would appreciate the opportunity to clarify some of these details.

Firstly, the RCMP, not the SPCA, was the enforcement agency responsible for investigating this case and making a decision regarding the recommendation of charges. After gathering and analysing all of the evidence, the RCMP concluded that key elements and pieces of evidence necessary to successfully obtain a charge under the Criminal Code of Canada were absent, including the proof required under the Criminal Code that the shooter wilfully intended to inflict unnecessary pain and suffering on the animal. (In this case the intention was to euthanize the animal.)

Several important elements that would be required if a conviction was pursued under the provincial Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act were also absent in the case. Under the PCA Act, it would be possible only to pursue charges against the owner of the dog, not the shooter. To support the charge that the owner “permitted an animal to be in distress” it would be necessary to prove that the owner had prior knowledge when they handed the dog over to the shooter that the first bullet would not euthanize the dog as intended. In both of these cases, the RCMP determined that there was insufficient evidence to pursue a charge. While we all outraged by animal suffering, the RCMP, like the SPCA, must make decisions based on whether or not the hard evidence exists to support a charge by Crown Counsel under our existing anti-cruelty laws.

The money accepted by the SPCA from the owner and shooter to help cover the cost of the dog’s care was not “in lieu” of prosecution. The SPCA does not engage in “deals” where cruelty investigations are concerned and the RCMP’s decision regarding lack of the evidence was unrelated to any support provided for the care of the dog. The SPCA used the money to ensure that the dog received the prompt veterinary care necessary to save its life.

The SPCAs concern is for the on-going welfare of the dog. He is recovering well in foster care and arrangements are currently being made to transport him to a rescue group in Oregon which specializes in the care, rehabilitation, and training of deaf Great Danes. We are confident that the dog will receive wonderful care under the auspices of this organization and will be placed in a loving home which can provide for his special needs.

A particularly frustrating factor in this case is that the dog could have been surrendered at any time to the SPCA shelter for care. There is no reason why an owner should resort to such measures to end an animal’s life if they are unable or unwilling to care for their pet.

As a Society dedicated to the prevention of cruelty to animals, we at the BC SPCA understand the emotional response to the suffering of this beautiful animal. However, I urge the people of Prince George to channel their outrage over this situation into the fight for stronger anti-cruelty laws that make it easier for enforcement agencies such as the RCMP and the SPCA to pursue criminal charges.

Craig Daniell, CEO, BC SPCA

An email from the person who found Magnum and saved his life

Hi there,

It was the dogs in my care that found Magnum in the woods. The woodlot owner and his daughter had parked at his temporary gate, and had walked past Magnum curled up two yards from the road edge amongst a circle of spruce saplings. Magnum made no attempt to make his presence known. Had we walked past with five dogs in tow, we would have called our dogs to heel, as they often worry some critter or other in the bushes. So, we met the wood lot owner and his daughter right next to Magnum, and we paused to chat. Our dogs were circling him, one of our dogs growling with worry as she tried to see him better. This made us pause to look over, and by now, Magnum had stood up for us to see. He was as you can imagine upset and growling, his back arched and his tail between his legs. He was frozen with pain, and I wondered if he was somehow tied to the saplings (he wasn't). My partner took our group of dogs home. The woodlot owner used the phone book and cell phone in his truck and on that Sunday evening managed to get through to animal control, who with great care was able to use a tether on a pole to get the dog (no one could get near him).

Magnum is a lucky dog. Had the woodlot owner not put in the temporary gate, the shooter would have driven down into the far corner of the area where no one goes. The dog was lucky that the four of us stopped to chat beside him, and that our dogs took an interest in him. Magnum's fate, aside from other wildlife going after him, was to die of thirst. The Canadian Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act that is in use today was written in the late 1800's. It isn't illegal to shoot your dog, nor is it illegal to shoot someone else's dog (with or without their permission). New legislation that would address this just isn't making it through parliament here. Even if one accepted the individual's right to shoot a dog, I can't get past leaving a wounded dog in the bush and going home, not telling anyone, or doing anything about it. I saw the dog in the bush, and barring a bad infection, he would have, however lame it would have made him, survived his wounds had he access to water and food. He was not that badly off from an "at death's door" sort of thing - meaning the shooter had to have known he had just wounded the dog. I guess for some people, they haven't done anything wrong until they are caught. The shooter claimed to be remorseful when confronted by the RCMP (police). Where was his remorse in the days after he shot, wounded and abandoned the dog to a slow death?

Glad to see he is in good hands, and will receive the special training he needs.

Nancy