FriendBurst Blog

UPDATE:
NEW PHOTOS. While cleaning her wounds today, it has become clear that
Persephone needs to be with the vet for a while. She is healing, but
with her wound this open now and itching, she needs to be in a more
sterile environment. She is eating canned food with her meds in it. It
hurt to see her so hungry, and yet she backed away when a human came
near. She also screams when we treat her wounds so she is in terrible
pain and I know the vet can handle this. I do not have strong enough
meds to care for her pain now. She is injuring herself more by
scratching. Sorry about the bad photo…my flash was NOT working and the
light was dim.
We have created a Chip In for Persephone and will add an amount after we talk with the vet tomorrow.
http://eaglesdenrescue1.chipin.com/persephone
You can also donate via Pay Pal, listed in her story, or call the vet directly at 910-739-9411.
THANK YOU…

PLEASE HELP ME!
I
do not trust asking for help, but in recent days I have learned that
humans can and do care, though I am still very leery of trusting one. I
have shown no signs of aggression. I am a Bait Dog, VERY RECENTLY
treated as just that and I need help. I have landed at Eagle’s Den where
they have no room, but have offered me another dog’s play yard so I
would not be sent to an Animal Shelter where I would certainly be put to
sleep with my injuries. It is surrounded and hard to get to for other
animals, the safest place they could use. They have spent the last few
days trying to care for me and get me well, though I refused all food
and medicine in the beginning. Because there is a very strong odor of
blood on me, they were afraid animals from the nearby woods, or even
other dogs, might try and get into my safe place. They found a very
large collar with spikes on it to protect my neck, taking no chances. I
have been safe, surrounded by areas that would be very hard for any
other animal to get to, and the collar and leash remain on for my
protection. The collar is padded underneath so it will do no further
damage to me.
I crossed a huge milestone today. I not only ate, but
will approach Beth and Jerry at the play yard door. I still step back
when they approach me however. They are following the rules and
approaching me from the side, allowing me space and time. They clean and
treat my wounds daily, and have been told not to use dressings as they
need open air to heal. As bad as they look today, they are far better
than they were three days ago.
My future is uncertain and I am
terrified, as you can see in my eyes. There is not much to say other
than this. I never thought I would see humans help me or cry for me and I
have seen that in the last few days. I have had them approach me to
help me, not knowing my temperament but knowing I would die without
help. I have had my wounds taken care of and I have screamed in pain as
they were cleaned again and again. When I screamed, I saw a man and a
woman (Beth and Jerry) cry for me. It startled me because I have never
believed I was even worthy of a tear before. I only knew I have been
hurt so many times and have so many scars. When I arrived in this play
yard I was near death and no one really thought I would survive, but
love and care have brought me from death’s door. Today, I was given a
name, because Beth said I had been to Hell and back, my name is
Persephone.
My future is still uncertain and I can understand if no
one wants to take a chance on an old worn out bait dog that was given up
for dead. But I would so love to have a chance. I want to trust and
love, but it will take a lot of time and patience to get me there.
First, I have to heal and I need lots of help with that.
If you can
help, I know funds are very limited because of so much need, so much
cruelty from mankind. And there are many mouths to feed at the Den as
well. I also know there may be some who think I am not worth it, yet I
have learned that many angels do find me worthy of love and respect. If
you can help, the place to donate is:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=CF7XNPKP9QFWE
And
more: If you are a rescue or someone who wants to take a chance on me, I
do need a place to go. Eagle’s Den WILL NOT send me away and WILL NOT
send me to a place where I will be put in harm’s way by humans. But they
will send me to a place where I can get what I need. Until then, they
will care for me and offer all the love and care they can.
Will you
look into my eyes and try to help me… send me your comforting love and
prayers? I never knew it was possible to ask this before of humans, but
I was told it is ok to ask for help, that there are good and kind
people out there. I have a new start now and a new name. As I said: I am
Persephone and like the Greek goddess I have been to hell and back. If I
had my wish, and if wishes were true: I would wish that I had never had
to live this terrible life of breeding and being bait for other dogs. I
would wish to be able to love and trust easily, but that will be a long
time coming for me. Can you, will you show me more of the kindness I
have never known before now? I want to live. I want to know what it is
like to be loved at last. But first, I MUST get better.
Thank You
for caring enough to look at me and read this. I am lost because I do
not know how to ask for help. Help has never been there for me before.
But I am learning it is ok to eat the food and take the meds that are
given to me. I am receiving injections of antibiotics right now along
with pain meds and cleansing of my wounds which MUST be treated daily. I
have made it this far. Thank you for caring. Thank you for loving,
praying and for your donations that will provide much needed care for
me.
Persephone

Note: Once again I must turn to you for help. And I do not know where to begin or end.
THIS
DOG’S SCREAMS WHEN HER WOUNDS ARE TREATED WILL HAUNT ME FOR THE REST OF
MY LIFE!!! I cannot say more than that. I have written stories for many
dogs before, but this is the first time I have had trouble writing
because of the tears blinding me as the memory of her screams haunt me.
You can smell blood when you approach her so the wounds MUST be cleansed
and treated so the smell is not so strong. We are in the country and
watching buzzards circle overhead for the past few days has not been
fun. Forgive me for not doing Persephone’s story the justice it deserves
right now … the justice she deserves. For the first time in my life,
words fail me.
Beth

This
is Anna. I haven’t commented much about the incident in Chesterfield,
SC. I found out about what happened yesterday when Beth called me as I
was leaving class for the day. As she told me what happened, a wave of
nausea hit as a flood of painful memories replayed through my mind of
another dog that was used for “target practice.” The person that did
this was a family member that I will not name publicly simple because
there is nothing that can be done. It happened nearly 9 years ago. And
the most that would have happened was he would have been order to pay
for “damages to property.”
It was a nice warm spring day. Jazz, my
youngest daughter’s puppy, followed the 1st grader across the field to
play with her little cousin. My brother came outside with a pistol and
started firing at the puppy IN FRONT OF MY 6 YR OLD DAUGHTER, HIS 4 YR
OLD SON, AND MY STEP-SISTER. I pulled up shortly after it happened.
Learning what happened, I confronted him. “WHY?” I asked.
His response was “I was mad”
In shock at the nonchalant shrug he gave before walking away, I shouted out “So, IF I GET MAD, I CAN SHOOT YOU!”
Talking
to my (step-)sister, I found out that he had fired several times as the
dog was running away. He continued to fire as Jazz ran by HER trying to
get to the woods. We couldn’t find Jazz and assumed he had gone into
the swampy area and died.
About two weeks later, I was getting ready
to take the girls somewhere. I have never been so glad that my youngest
had a habit of hiding her shoes so well that she couldn’t find them. I
opened the door to go outside. About 5 or so feet from the bottom step
was Jazz. When he lifted his head, blood spurted from a hole in his
neck. I could hear the sucking sound as air was pulled through the
bullet hole in his side. Another hole was caked with dirt but blood
still oozed. The look in his eyes screamed, “Please, please make it
stop. I’m so tired and it hurts really bad.” Then he sank to the ground.
Quickly
I went back into the house, as one of the older girls was getting to
the door. I told her to NOT to go outside, to keep her little sister in
the back part of the house. She started to ask why, but I cut her off
with one word. JAZZ. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO YOU OR YOUR SISTERS COME
OUTSIDE UNTIL I COME IN AND GET YOU.
The girls had all had a hard
time dealing with the fact that their uncle shot Jazz, the youngest
especially. No way did I want her to see him like this. Nor did I want
her to see what was getting ready to happen. I have no idea how he
managed to survive, but he came home to die. He and I both knew that was
what he was there for. Of that, I have no doubt. Otherwise, I would not
have taken the pistol from my drawer to answer his request.
As I
walked back outside with tears streaming down my face, blood spurted as
he looked up. The sucking sound of his breathing seemed a loud as a
sonic boom. He looked at my hand, and then he looked back up at me. As I
walked toward him, those deep brown eyes filled with pain brightened
for just a moment as he let out a sigh as if to say “thank you,” before
laying his head down one his front paws. Tears still streaming, I
whispered, “I’m so sorry, baby.” The sound of a .45 rang out. His pain
stopped in a millisecond.
NEVER and I do NEVER in my life had I wanted to shoot someone until that day.
I
am well aware that there are some who will feel hatred for what I am
posting. That is their right. I know within myself that I did what
needed to be done for Jazz. It was one of the hardest things I have ever
done. And I have to live with it.
It takes a very sick individual to
shoot as a dog for fun, for “target practice,” or because they are mad.
How do you get justice if the person who commits such an act fully
believes he is within his rights? He has done nothing wrong in his own
mind. It’s okay because he was “mad”.
I was talking with my youngest
daughter and my father last night after I got home about the
Chesterfield shootings. My youngest daughter seemed to have trouble with
the idea that someone who worked with an animal shelter could do such a
thing. She knows there are times when animals are put to sleep, but it
was the manner in which this happened that got her upset. I tried to
explain to her that while most people who work with animal shelters
don’t commit such horrendous crimes, there are some people who go to
work in places like animal shelters, elderly homes, or other places
where there are living beings that cannot speak for or defend
themselves. They prey on those they view as weaker than themselves to
feel empowered.
She said that there should be something that can be
done to try and keep those people from being able to work at animal
shelters in the first place. SHE IS RIGHT!
There are ways to screen
for this predatory mentality. Background checks can be required that
include looking at local, state, and federal criminal offenses. This
doesn’t mean that a person with a speeding ticket or failure to pay a
parking ticket couldn’t work there. HOWEVER, if the person committed a
VIOLENT OFFENSE, it would not make sense to have them working at an
animal shelter.
Yes, what happened in Chesterfield is TERRIBLE!.
YES, SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR THAT INCIDENT. This is a suggestion
that we find out if our local shelters screen indications that a person
may feel empowered by exerting pain on another living being. We need
also need to look at finding a way of reducing the chances that this
will not happen again there or anywhere in the United States. There is
no way to be 100% sure that it would weed out 100% of the individuals
likely to do these things, BUT it can PREVENT some of those individuals
for working directly with animals that have already been abuse,
abandoned, or neglected.