Elizabeth Bailey
A young puppy who touched the hearts of the community with her sad tale passed away just as further information about her short life came to light.
It was reported that Hope, a young beagle puppy, was thrown from a vehicle on County Road 60 Southwest on Monday, Sept. 14. However, this part of her story has been shown to be a falsehood.
Little Hope was found in a cornfield near the home of Robin Hawkins on County Road 1200 South in Alert by her daughter Katrina, who heard the sounds of a whimpering puppy from the yard. To Hawkins, it seemed someone had discarded the pup near a barn in hopes someone would take her in.
Her small face was already misshapen by an unknown cause, and the Hawkins family cared for the pup as best they could for five or six days, Hawkins said. With many animals already in their care, the Hawkins family was ready to take the pup to the shelter when a friend’s son took up the task of nursing her back to health.
Camilla Little, mother of Blake, said her family took the puppy home at about 10 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13. Blake gathered up straw, Little said, to make a warm bed for her and gave her food and water before heading to bed. Little, who has raised many dogs of a variety of breeds, felt the shape of Hope’s face and her labored breathing were signs of a birth defect or deformity. She was prepared to help her son raise the pup as a hunting dog.
In the morning, the puppy was given free run of the yard, where the family had two chocolate labs to keep watch. Blake offered more food and water and was planning to give the puppy a bath and further care upon his return from school.
However, when school let out and mother and son returned home, the puppy was gone.
Little and Hawkins were shocked to see the story told in the Sept. 18 edition of the Daily News, as both had offered the young dog care. In the time they had known the puppy, she had been treated with love and had been fed and nurtured. To them, the idea that the pup had been abused in such a terrible way was unfathomable.
According to Little, her neighbor admitted taking the puppy from her yard explaining she thought it was a stray. This same woman, according to Animal Control Officer Mike Wenning, is the one who called in a panic to have him meet her at the shelter. She gave him the puppy and concocted the story of the small beagle being thrown from a vehicle. The animal shelter has decided not to pursue false reporting charges in the best interest of the puppy, therefore, the Greensburg Daily News will not disclose her name.
From the time the young puppy disappeared from Little’s yard, she was in the care of the Greensburg Decatur County Animal Shelter as well as Animal Medical Hospital in Greensburg. She was examined by Dr. Hank Martin, DMV, on the day she arrived, and he found no broken bones. Still, her injuries seemed consistent with some kind of impact to her head.
She was put on antibiotics and given pedialite to prevent dehydration as well as soft, canned food to make it easier for her to eat. The puppy was friendly and responsive, despite her breathing problems, throughout her first week at the shelter.
However, on Tuesday morning, staff arrived to find her weak and seemingly dehydrated despite their efforts to that point. She was rushed back to Animal Medical Hospital where intravenous fluids and medication were administered to help return her to health, veterinary assistant Tammi Ryle said.
Ryle said Hope was very dehydrated upon her arrival at Animal Medical Hospital, and despite antibiotics given up to that point, infection was apparent in her sinus and nasal cavities.
For the veterinary facility, the presence of swelling and infection marked an injury rather than a deformity, Ryle explained. Since there was infection but no blood upon the first examination, she noted, the injury was not likely to be fresh when she was brought in.
Ryle explained that the condition of small, young animals can deteriorate rapidly, and dehydration can set in at a fast pace. Despite the best efforts of Hawkins, Little, Animal Shelter staff and the Animal Medical Hospital, the young dog did not survive.
“It’s unfortunate,” Ryle said. “She really fought.”
