# This just broke my heart :(



## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I received an email from one of the rescue voluteers today where I help out, I'm just blown away but the completely lack of empathy on the part of people, please read and share with as many people as you can, something needs to be done. 
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Please forward this email and post it on blogs/facebook/websites to help prevent more animals from suffering and dying as Ray did.
Please take time to call/email/write letters (contact info below)! Without YOUR support more animals will suffer! We must demand change and justice for what happened to Ray.

Ray's Story & Our Plea for YOUR Help:

Ray was a very sweet and loving dog who had been left chained to a tree with no access to shelter and no evidence that any food/water had been left for him. There was a dog house near Ray, however, the entrance to it had been blocked by a bucket and much of the house was buried in dirt. An animal rescuer, Kathy Hynes, discovered Ray chained to the tree and, over a period of 1-2 weeks, would check on Ray and not once noted any evidence of food or water left for Ray. On March 9, Kathy knocked on the door of the home neighboring the property where Ray had been left and spoke to the neighbor. She, too, was upset about the emaciated dog living on a chain next to her home and offered to help. Together, they got a ladder and climbed up high enough to take photographs of Ray (attached to this email). 

Ray was living in filthy conditions in his own feces and urine. He had scabs and wounds on his neck from where the chain had been cutting into his skin. Kathy and the neighbor lowered a bucket with dog food and water on a rope over the fence so that Ray could eat and drink. They then went to the magistrate to have a cruelty charge drawn and magistrate Jacobs agreed. A court date was set for March 29 at 9:00 am and a warrant for one of Ray's two owners were issued (the name of the second owner was not known at this time).

On March 10, animal cruelty investigator, Ralph, was informed about Ray. One day after meeting with the magistrate, animal control removed Ray from the property where he had been chained. Ray was taken to Hoke County Animal Shelter in Raeford, NC (Animal Control / Shelter : Hoke County, North Carolina). At this time, they also checked on a white dog on the same property that stays locked in a garage. They did not remove this dog, but required that the dog be taken to a vet within 72 hours. 

On March 11, Kathy offered to take Ray to her vet & pay for his vetting, but was told she could not do this by the shelter manager after he spoke to the animal control director. She was also not permitted (after offering) to bring in drontal plus, an excellent dewormer, for Ray. She was told he needed to remain at the shelter.

On March 14, Kathy saw Carl, the shelter manager, in Walmart and is told by him that Ray saw a vet on March 11. Kathy learns Ray tested positive for heartworm disease and that ivermectin is going to be brought to the shelter for Ray to treat it. Kathy asked questions about Ray's lab work, appetite, any medications he may be on, etc., and learns he has been vomiting. She is told she needs to talk to Jimmy, the animal control director. 

On March 21 or 22, Kathy speaks with Christy who works at the shelter and is told Ray is throwing up, but that he likes going for walks and is very sweet. 

On March 28, Kathy is told by Christy that Ray is still throwing up, but not as much as he was throwing up previously. Kathy asks if Ray has been to the vet and is not answered.

On March 30, the second rainy day in a row with temperatures in the 30s and 40s, Kathy goes to the shelter at 11:10 am. She is told by Jimmy that the shelter is closed except for dropoffs. She asks if she can see Ray and give the dogs some treats she brought. Jimmy told her to go ahead. Kathy sees two small dogs shivering and soaking wet in the runs and another 10 dogs also shivering and soaking wet. This area has a roof over it, but it is open on the sides and in the front of the runs and rain and wind is able to enter the runs. The back of the runs has the main building behind it. The runs are on cement and do not have any dog houses inside, only a 3' long by 1' wide metal grate that is about 2" above the cement for the dogs to sit/lie on. The wind and rain were both very strong and the dogs were cold, wet, and shivering. While this is happening, Jimmy is walking with the hose hosing down the runs with the dogs still in them! The dogs have NO WAY TO ESCAPE from the wind, rain, or hose water. 
Ray is one of the dogs in these runs and he is shivering and emaciated. 

Kathy explains to Jimmy that all animals, especially Ray, need warmth and shelter from the wind, rain, and cold temperatures. She explains that Ray, due to being emaciated and lacking proper body weight to help regulate his temperature, is at an even greater risk of developing hypothermia. Hypothermia can lead to organ failure and even death. She suggests moving the more frail dogs inside and placing stacked white igloos that she saw in the runs. Jimmy says he will take care of it. Kathy then offers to foster a couple of the smaller dogs who were shivering in the runs. However, each time she offered to help, she was told she would need to speak with Carl on Monday. Kathy takes photographs of some of the dogs who are shivering in the runs before she leaves.

On April 1, Kathy tried calling the shelter twice, once at 11 am and once at 1 pm and nobody answered. She tried again at 1:33 pm and Christy answered. Kathy asked Christy about the dogs she photographed on March 30 AND offered to foster and was told they are all gone. Three were killed and one she was told was adopted. She then asks about Ray and is told he is not doing well. Kathy requested he immediately be taken to a vet and offers to pay 100% of his vetting costs. She is told by Christy that she will need to speak to Jimmy to see if that would be ok. Kathy asks to speak directly to Jimmy and is transferred to his voicemail where she leaves a message offering to take Ray to her vet and pay for all of the costs. Jimmy never returns her call. 

Kathy drives to the shelter and is told Ray was just taken to Raeford Animal Clinic. She drives to the clinic and asks to see Ray and is told they must first get permission from Jimmy. The vet at the clinic allows Kathy to lay down with Ray. He is on a blanket with one heat lamp pointed at him. At this point, Kathy was crying and asked if lab work was done and if a warm blanket and IV fluids could be provided. They start to run the bloodwork and the vet says he will speak to Kathy when he receives the results from the bloodwork. Kathy even offers one of her dogs to donate blood to Ray because his blood count was very low and she is told she cannot do that. Kathy and the vet review Ray's lab results and goes home.

On April 2, Kathy is told by the vet on duty for the weekend over the telephone that Ray is dead and that he died early that morning. Kathy requests to see Ray and is taken to his body in the freezer. She gave him a kiss and informed the staff that she wants a post-mortem examination done and that she will pay for it. She asked that her request be passed on to anyone involved with Ray. 

Kathy has all of Ray's medical records to validate the information below:
Weight on March 11: 52.5
Weight on April 1: 49.6 (Ray LOST weight after being taken by animal control on March 10)
Documentation by the vet states that Ray was vomiting at the shelter for DAYS
Temperature on March 11: 101
Temperature on April 1: 91.8 (the normal temperature for a dog is around 101-102, Ray was suffering from HYPOTHERMIA)
Documentation states that on March 11 a fecal exam was declined
Heartworm positive
Notes for April 1 state marked dehydration, vomiting for days, emaciated, and weak
WBC 20, RBC 2.1, BUN 49, ALB 2.1

Note: Hypothermia may cause organ failure and a low RBC will affect circulatory blood volume. One way dogs get low RBC is through worms (like whipworms) that Ray was never treated for when he arrived at the shelter. 

Currently, Kathy Hynes is requesting a post-mortem examination and also asking the county to TERMINATE JIMMY CARTHENS' from his current position as director of Hoke County Animal Shelter.

Please support Kathy Hynes and SPEAK UP FOR RAY and the countless other animals that are currently and will eventually be at Hoke County Animal Shelter in NC. Kathy had offered to donate $475 towards his care to a rescue (with Pit Bull experience) who could take Ray once he was permitted to leave the shelter. Unfortunately, Ray left one horrible situation of unimaginable cruelty and neglect, living his life on a chain without food, water, or shelter only to go to another at the Hoke County Animal Shelter. Ray died a horrible death. His already emaciated body lost even more weight after being taken to the shelter and became hypothermic after being exposed to cold weather and strong rain and wind without adequate shelter. Ray never made it to a no-kill rescue. Ray never knew what it was like to be loved in a forever home. Ray should NOT have died this way.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Please take time TODAY to make a difference for the animals still living in Hoke County Animal Shelter. Make a call, write a letter, share this story on your websites with your friends and family...the animals need your help!

PLEASE CONTACT:
Hoke County Commissioners (Hunt, McNeill, Powell)
Pratt Building
Main Street
Raeford, NC 28376
Commissioners : Hoke County, North Carolina

Write and call local papers in NC (two are listed below):
News Journal
119 West Elwood Ave.
Raeford, NC 28376
910-875-2121

Fayetteville Observer
Whitfield Street
Fayetteville, NC 28306
800-323-4848
email: [email protected] and [email protected] and [email protected]

County Attorney (write and call):
Mr. Fields
112 E. Edinborough Ave.
Raeford, NC 28376
910-875-4065 

Kathy Hynes
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 413-464-5859
Home: 413-629-3480

Please forward this email and post it on blogs/facebook/websites to help prevent more animals from suffering and dying as Ray did.
Please take time to call/email/write letters! Without YOUR support more animals will suffer! We must demand change and justice for what happened to Ray. THANK YOU!


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

I don't know if this will be allowed to stay on here but reading this makes me very angry....

There's a special place in hell for people who treat animals like this.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Sadly, and unforgivably, it is often the people who pose themselves as "animal lovers" who are in fact the cruelest of all. 

Our laws suck.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

SerenityFL said:


> There's a special place in hell for people who treat animals like this.


I agree. You worded it perfectly.


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

Sickening. Absolutely sickening.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I think whoever employed this narcissist needs to lose their job as well.
Jack off's like this get off on power, they are so pathetic and lacking in other areas of their lives that they have to hurt weak, vulnerable animals like this to feel good about themselves.
Words fail me.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

Sad story. I didn't want to even read it because they all have the same theme...people abusing animals. 

I had a similar story about a Dog that lived behind my house on a chain 24/7. I tried the Animal Control route... tried to do the "right thing." Even had a friend go to the door of owners with a story about how she had a dog growing up like their chained Dog and wanted so BADLY to have another...even had her offer them $100 cash for the Dog. They wouldn't give him up because he "meant so much to them."

Long story short, he wasn't on that chain much longer and was resting very nicely in a warm home shortly after... on the other side of town in an undisclosed location 

summary. don't throw me off, Mods. But Fu%C$$ the law.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Uno. I know that there are a few of us in NC who will take action.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

it almost seems to me like it was done on purpose just because it was a pitbull. A lot of the animal control places automatically put down all "dangerous" breeds with no regard to the actual temparament of the dog which includes pits, dobermans, rotties, german shepherds, akitas, chow just to name a few. Very few animals make it out alive. From my experience I would only call animal control as the last resort, definitely not if I want the animal to make it out alive, because it honestly feels like they are out to kill as many animals as possible instead of saving them. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but very few and far in between.


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

I am torn between hating animal control and understanding that it must be a wicked nasty job. Dealing with the scourge of society and how they treat animals on a daily basis has to be one emotionally tolling job. 

That being said, they still have a job to do and doesn't excuse them from doing the right thing. 

My city established a leash law where your Dog cannot sit on a leash for more than a certain number of hours per day..... its laughable because I still pass homes where Dogs are sitting on chains all day. 

F'ing people. I'm getting angry so I better bow out...all of it just pisses me off. I'd vote for the death penalty to those letting Dogs sit on chains all day... but I'm pretty extreme.


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> it almost seems to me like it was done on purpose just because it was a pitbull. A lot of the animal control places automatically put down all "dangerous" breeds with no regard to the actual temparament of the dog which includes pits, dobermans, rotties, german shepherds, akitas, chow just to name a few. Very few animals make it out alive. From my experience I would only call animal control as the last resort, definitely not if I want the animal to make it out alive, because it honestly feels like they are out to kill as many animals as possible instead of saving them. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but very few and far in between.


YIKES! This is soooo not true! At least not in CT. It definitely seems to vary by area. The south is terrible with that sort of thing but there are still a lot of animal control employees down there who bust their bums to find placement for urgent dogs. Two of my dogs were adopted from southern high-kills, and a lot of rules were broken so they could have the maximum amount of time to be adopted, and when that didn't work, they were transported up here. A lot of big cities have a hard time keeping dogs for long because their number of intakes are SO high. At my office we don't euthanize unless it's medically necessary or the animal is a danger to the public. There are a lot of shelters that do the same. 

I absolutely agree that there is never an excuse for neglect and abuse in what is supposed to be a safe haven for these animals. But that's a sick bastard thing, not an animal control thing!


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

Unosmom said:


> it almost seems to me like it was done on purpose just because it was a pitbull. A lot of the animal control places automatically put down all "dangerous" breeds with no regard to the actual temparament of the dog which includes pits, dobermans, rotties, german shepherds, akitas, chow just to name a few. Very few animals make it out alive. From my experience I would only call animal control as the last resort, definitely not if I want the animal to make it out alive, because it honestly feels like they are out to kill as many animals as possible instead of saving them. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but very few and far in between.


The first part of your post, about automatically putting down certain breeds and how because this was a pit bull, they didn't want to do anything about it, went through my mind. And listen, I completely understand that Animal Control is overwhelmed. The numbers of animals they go through is absolutely staggering. It cannot be an easy job and I'm sure some people get jaded after awhile. I'm sure sometimes they feel hopeless. I'm sure sometimes they think, "This animal will never get adopted." I'm sure some animals are harder to place than others and so they try to make room for those they know have a better chance of being adopted. I'm sure this is a job that can really be depressing.

Having said that, in this particular case, I just don't see a valid excuse. The woman offered to pay for everything, offered to foster the dog, offered all kinds of things to help save this dog. Why on earth wouldn't they allow this? Are the laws so strict for them that they are unable to help animals when someone is offering to help them? Or is it that this guy just didn't care? At the very least, surely they are allowed to accept the offer of the money for the vet bill? SURELY? Right? Tell me that the law doesn't bind their hands so tight they can't take that donation for that animal.

No matter what, those dogs should never have been left to be rained on and freeze. Isn't that what Animal Control does? Ensure that dogs have proper shelter? Doesn't that apply to them, as well? 

Maybe the guy has worked there so long he just doesn't care. Well then, it's time he finds another job because the moment you realize you no longer care, you are dead inside. Don't make an animal suffer for it. This is entirely inexcusable what happened to this dog after he was "rescued" from the yard. That is not rescued. Would have been better to take the Kevin Bradley approach.


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

I will tell you from experience that some municipal shelters are NOT permitted to take monetary donations from the public. Of course, I can't say whether or not that was the case in this situation, but it definitely doesn't sound like proper measures were taken to ensure this poor dog's safety or well-being. Very sad. 

If shelter employees end up so burnt out that they no longer have compassion or the desire to help the animals in their care, it's way past time to move on.


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## SerenityFL (Sep 28, 2010)

RachelsaurusRexU said:


> I will tell you from experience that some municipal shelters are NOT permitted to take monetary donations from the public. Of course, I can't say whether or not that was the case in this situation, but it definitely doesn't sound like proper measures were taken to ensure this poor dog's safety or well-being. Very sad.
> 
> If shelter employees end up so burnt out that they no longer have compassion or the desire to help the animals in their care, it's way past time to move on.


Then those laws need to be changed. I don't understand why they would not be allowed to take a donation. Beaurecrats and red tape....always causing problems. I still stand by what I said earlier though, the dogs should have had proper shelter. That is Animal Control's JOB! 

I'm figuring they thought that this was a pit bull, it's not going to get adopted, maybe they can't adopt it out in that county, who knows..maybe the dog would have been put down anyway. Most of the time, those animals don't get a lot of time. Here in Miami, cats that are not kittens, almost instantly they are taken and put down. (By the end of the day.) Kittens are up for adoption for a very short period of time. Dogs are given 5 days for the owners to have a chance to come claim them. Then they are put down. 

Let's say that all of this is true. Those dogs still should not have suffered during their last days. Practically freezing to death is a very unpleasant way to go....and after what these animals have already been through...show some fricken compassion for crying out loud.

Also, the owner of this dog....I hope he gets more than a smack on the wrist. I'm about sick to death of hearing them get a small fine. They need to be jailed for this. Look at that photo....that is disgusting that someone let an animal starve like that.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

So sad to read~So very hard to read. But we all need to know what needs to be done and how we can actually help in certain situations such as this . This is something that needs addressing. Had a case here where the person(owner of the care facility) was taking in animals (people animals they couldnt care for themselves)and could not properly feed them also. She had a place very close by In another town and she had a designated recuse sight and she insisted she was taking care of the animals that were brought to her but couldnt afford the food. Finally though things were taken care of. So sad when its the people you think that are actually helping these animals who are needing help themsleves.


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## Boxers&Pom's Mom (Jan 17, 2011)

I just posted in Facebook. So sad. It happen all the time. When I was looking for a Pomeranian, I contacted few shelters and they never got back to me or told me that they will not do well with my Boxers. Two months later they are still at the Shelter. I think the Bureaucratic in those places causing it. 
Come on! if you are going to run a place like that were lives are in risk, do it well or find another job. 
I see my girls in their comfortable beds or my sofa warm and cozy in this raining day and think in all those poor creatures that don't have a home.
When we humans going to learn that we must be good with all the other animals? Sometimes I ask God that the day I die I want to go were the animals goes instead of what man goes.


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

SerenityFL said:


> Then those laws need to be changed. I don't understand why they would not be allowed to take a donation. Beaurecrats and red tape....always causing problems. I still stand by what I said earlier though, the dogs should have had proper shelter. That is Animal Control's JOB!
> 
> I'm figuring they thought that this was a pit bull, it's not going to get adopted, maybe they can't adopt it out in that county, who knows..maybe the dog would have been put down anyway. Most of the time, those animals don't get a lot of time. Here in Miami, cats that are not kittens, almost instantly they are taken and put down. (By the end of the day.) Kittens are up for adoption for a very short period of time. Dogs are given 5 days for the owners to have a chance to come claim them. Then they are put down.
> 
> ...


Believe me, I absolutely 110% agree with you! I am in NO WAY defending what these people allowed to happen to that poor dog. I just don't want people thinking that all ACOs are out there happily killing animals for the hell of it or that there aren't many of us who go above and beyond every single day to try and do anything in our power to help animals, regardless of species or breed!


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Boxers&Pom's Mom said:


> I Sometimes I ask God that the day I die I want to go were the animals goes instead of what man goes.


I will be there also!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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