Andrea Rosebrock 
Day after day little Minnie, an 8 yr old female Basset Hound, sat waiting. Hungry, thirsty, abandoned till the days numbered 24. She waited for the owners that left her and moved away in mid-March.
Finally, after almost a month, a neighbor called the Humane Society concerned about the dog.
After almost a month?! It took that long for someone to be concerned about this dog who no doubt cried piteously?! Are people really so blind, deaf and stupid that it would take that long for someone, anyone, to realize that something was wrong with a dog pacing and howling in a yard, the house abandoned?
Minnie lost almost half of her acceptable 35 lb body weight! Malnourished, dehydrated, almost a walking skeleton as you can see by the picture to the left.
[Humane Society's Animal Cruelty investigator, Lil] Blomlie immediately took the dog to a local veterinarian, who administered subcutaneous fluids to provide rapid rehydration. She speculated the dog managed to get some water from rain puddles.
That night, Gail Leichliter, then the shelter director, now executive director, of the Humane Society, took Minnie home with her.
“I slept on the floor next to her, feeding her during the night. She was too weak to chew, so I made a high protein paste and administered it with a syringe. As weak as she was, she still wagged her tail,” Leichliter said.
Animal abandonment of the type Minnie endured is a first-degree misdemeanor and punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and one year in jail.
“We are aggressively pursuing several leads,” Blomlie said. Because the case is still an open investigation, she could not discuss details.
“It will be up to the State Attorney’s Office to decide if charges will be filed, and if the suspects are located out of state whether or not they will be extradited,” she said. “Proving this type of crime is very difficult because the defendants often claim it was the fault of another party that the animal was abandoned.”
Minnie is not yet ready for adoption, according to Leichliter.
“She needs medical and dental care as a result of the malnourishment, that will cost several hundred dollars. Unfortunately, we get in critical cases all the time and have to decide how to spend our limited funds on the most urgent needs.”
MINDFUL OF MINNIE
Anyone wishing to make a donation to help with Minnie’s medical care can send a check marked “Minnie’s Fund” to the Marion County Humane Society, 701 N.W. 14th Road, Ocala, FL 34475 or call 873-7387 to make a credit card donation. (Ocala.com)
Minnie is one of the lucky ones! She was found in time. She has a rough road ahead of her to recover then hopefully she will find a wonderful loving home. But ask yourself, could you, day after day, listen to the cries of a dog so desperately in need? Or would you care enough to make the difference?
Let me know, I’d love to hear and I’d also love to hear what you think should happen to Minnie’s owners? They told the neighbor that someone was supposed to come for Minnie. Wouldn’t you think if this were the case, they would care enough to at least make a phone call to check on her welfare?
Who’s Saying What