When we returned home that night about 9:15 PM, there were two calls on our answering machine from Ms. _____, at 7:48 PM and 8:08 PM, asking if Odie were all right and where he was, and requesting that I drop him off at her house. She phoned again at about 9:21 PM, but I did not answer the phone. Her messages have been saved for review by the ACO if needed. She phoned twice more, starting at 9:51 PM, and we had two hostile conversations. I advised her that I hoped the ACO would file charges against her for animal cruelty and for failure to obtain veterinary care when necessary to prevent suffering, and that I would not return the dog to her. She continued to deny performing the amateur castration attempt. She then stated that he "came back from _____ Street with the band on him," referring to Odie running away about a week prior to her daughter's boyfriend's house on _____ Street in _____. She denied knowing who had applied the band to the dog's testicle. She sometimes continued to deny doing it herself and other times stated that she didn't remember doing it. When I asked her why she hadn't removed the band immediately when she noticed it, she replied that she "didn't notice it until the next day and by then his balls were already red". I told her it was impossible that she would have not noticed the band immediately, as the dog would have been pawing and chewing and biting at the affected area. I advised Ms. _____ that I was sick of speaking with her and that if she called me again, I would notify the police. Post-Op The following day (03-21-08) at approximately 3:30 PM (we had a previously-existing appointment for one of our dogs at 3 PM that day), Odie was discharged from the veterinary clinic and brought to our house. I was instructed to administer Keflex 250 mg. twice daily, pain pills as needed, and to apply antibiotic ointment to the wound 3-4 times daily. On Friday, March 21, Ms. _____ did not telephone me or bother me. On Saturday morning (03-22-08), starting at 8:39 AM, she phoned me twice. We again had two hostile conversations, with her asking for the dog back and me advising her that she wasn't capable of caring for the animal. I advised her that he needed antibiotics and pain pills every 12 hours, and ointment applied frequently to his wound, and that she wasn't competent to do this. I advised her that if she continued to harass me, I would take the animal to the pound and release him to the ACO, where, by virtue of the facility being unstaffed most of the time and the environment being urine- and feces-ridden, Odie would receive suboptimal care and the wound infection would likely worsen. She stated that she didn't want the police involved. Later that morning I phoned the _PD and asked dispatcher _____ when Officer _____ would be on duty. The dispatcher advised that she would be on duty at 2:30 PM that afternoon. I asked him to have the officer come by my home so that I could speak with her regarding an act of animal cruelty. I advised him that the dog was safe at this time and that the ACO was aware of the situation, but that I did not want the dog's owner repeatedly phoning me and would like Officer _____ to advise Ms. _____ to leave me alone and to deal with the ACO. I first encountered Odie last summer (2007) when I heard a small dog yapping repeatedly in the neighborhood and went to investigate. I found a yellow Cairn terrier tied in the back yard at _____ with a too-tight choke chain collar wrapped tightly twice around its neck and the collar further secured with a plastic twist tie. The dog's hair was rubbed off its dorsal neck. I took the dog to my home and removed the twist tie and collar. I applied a loose cloth collar, fed and watered the dog, applied a tube of Advantage, and returned the dog to his yard. Two days later I went to Ms. _____'s home and advised her what I had done. When I told her the dog's collar had been too tight and was almost impairing its breathing, she replied, "That's what my sister keeps telling me". After that, I advised Ms. _____ on several occasions that the dog needed fresh water and food daily and needed shelter. The dog was being left tied outside much of the time with no dog house or water. I related to her the _____ Humane Care for Animals statutes. I loaned them a polyurethane dog house. My husband and I checked on the dog frequently and noted that Ms. _____ was doing better at keeping the dog supplied with water, albeit usually dirty and debris-filled water. Within a few months, Ms. _____ had begun taking the dog into her house more frequently. I loaned her some "bellybands" to assist in housebreaking the dog. Since Ms. _____ does not drive, several months ago I took her dog to the _____ Veterinary Clinic for his rabies and parvo-distemper vaccinations (she paid for the vaccinations). I brought the booster shot back from the clinic with me so I could give the booster myself and not have to make a return trip to the clinic. Ms. _____ advised me that she could give the dog the booster shot with no problems. After reportedly giving the booster several weeks later, she brought the vial of sterile water to my home to ask what to do with it. Upon questioning her, I discovered that she had failed to dilute the vaccine in the vial of distilled water and had given the dog the undiluted vaccine. During the summer of 2007, Ms. _____ stated to me that she had previously castrated her male cat by wrapping a rubber band around its testicles and that she was considering neutering Odie in the same manner. She stated, "That's how poor people do it". I cautioned her against such a course of action and advised her that amateur neutering attempts were rarely successful and generally resulted in infection and pain to the animal. I advised her to call the humane society to see if funds were available for neuter assistance. Later she again twice broached the subject of neutering animals by banding the testicles. I warned her that she could be arrested for cruelty to animals. Odie frequently escapes from his home and yard and visits our house. We let him into the back fenced yard to play with our dogs. He usually barks at our door until I let him in the house, or jumps up and down outside the window until I see him and let him in. He is always hungry, so I feed him. Once a month I apply Advantage flea treatment to him. Before I began giving him flea medicine, he was heavily infested with fleas. On four occasions, he has stayed at our home all night. His owner did not come looking for him. Ms. _____ told me in the past that sometimes Odie has run away and been gone all night. Usually after his visits to our home, my husband returns him to his owner. Occasionally Ms. _____ will come to our door to retrieve him, or enter our back yard if he is outdoors. She had our permission to enter our yard at any time to retrieve him. She frequently mentions that he needs a bath and his nails trimmed, but she never does it. Ms. _____ told me in February 2008 that _____, her S/O, had told her that they could not afford to feed the animals and Ms. _____ needed to get rid of all of them: Odie, the two cats, and the geese in the back yard. She borrowed $20 from me to buy feed for the geese. It has been my observation that Ms. _____'s alcoholism and sometimes noticeable confusion, memory loss, and difficulty in organizing her thoughts render her incapable of properly caring for any pets, or of making sound judgments as to their welfare. Her poor financial condition and lack of a job make providing veterinary care an improbability. On 4 May, Holly Crotty writes: It looks like Odie will be making his way to Decatur on Friday. The lady who wrote the court report is going to drive him to me.

CONTINUE WITH ODIE'S STORY
HERE