April 7 - a starved and near death 3 yr old German Shepherd is brought to the emergency veterinary, as revealed in this story from Orange County California:
Somewhere in a lonely back yard, a young dog lived chained to a tree without food, water or attention.
He waited for that food, and when it didn’t come, he ate dirt. Eventually the dog laid down and he didn’t get up.
But still, he didn’t die.
An anonymous Good Samaritan stepped in April 7 and rescued the German shepherd from sure death. The animal, not much more than skin and bone, wailed in agony on the way to get help.
The dog was taken to an emergency animal hospital in Orange County where a horrified veterinary technician called friends at German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County.
The dog’s owner, Kimberly Nizato of Bellflower, was arrested April 16 and charged with one count of felony animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of failing to provide care. Nizato met her bail requirement and will be arraigned May 12 in Bellflower Superior Court.
She was fired from her job Wednesday as a full-time kennel attendant at Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Irvine.
Courage continues to rehabilitate with the help from a foster caretaker with GSROC.
He has gained 20 pounds since he was rescued.
The April 24 peaceful protest, "March for Courage," in Bellflower, Calif., has been officially canceled due to fears the event would turn into a volatile situation, according to sources at German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County. " People in this community are angry, and want to know why a person working as a tech at a vet hospital wopuld do such a thing?"
It began as a way for a limited number of GSROC volunteers and others in the rescue community to silently protest animal cruelty as well as shed light on felony animal abuse suspect Kimberly Nizato, 26, and the near-starvation case of her dog, Courage the German Shepherd. But once word of the event got out in various media circuits and cross-posted online, the once-peaceful walk began looking more like a lynch mob.
"I very much regret this has happened because we could have done a lot of good," said march organizer and GSROC volunteer Shawn Hollub. "Unfortunately, I'm not comfortable lending my name [to this event anymore]. We don't want a mob scene. We want a peaceful walk in honor of Courage."
Follow Courage's recovery at Courage Lives
I want to know why she did this. The only way my dog would be starving, would be if I was starving. Even then I would be out begging food for her. I just don't understand why she would do this to her dog.
ReplyDeleteShe worked as a as a full-time kennel attendant at Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital! She was therefore trained to respect and care for animals. Why would she let this happen? I can't imagine the cruelty! A misdemeanor? Let off on bail? This was a blatant act of cruelty and it's a miracle that poor dog survived. Thoughts of tying her to an ant hill ) preferably red ants and spraying her with honey comes to mind,...
ReplyDelete"The dog’s owner, Kimberly Nizato of Bellflower, was arrested April 16 and charged with one count of felony animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of failing to provide care."
ReplyDeleteRead again, one charge was a felony, she will pull prison time if found guilty unless let off on probation. I read somewhere how many years, but can not remember now. I still want some answers from her, no excuses, but real answers.