Second Chances

It is very difficult to write this story without being judgmental, but we have to remember that giving an animal a second chance at a healthy life and love is the goal of the Humane Society of Manatee County. This is what each dog and cat deserves and thanks to the generous support of our donors and grantors, we are able to fulfill this promise to the best of our ability.

Some people have a different take on the purpose of owning a dog or cat, and that is to make money by breeding them as often and as long as possible. When they are no longer able to produce litters, the animal is of no use to them and they are discarded like a bag of trash. We’ve all seen those sad commercials of the dogs lined up in pens, paws never touching the ground, crammed into a space like sardines in a can. While London may not have been in a puppy mill with thousands of other victims, she was definitely a commodity to her owners. When she developed pyometra, an infection of her uterus which left untreated meant she would die a slow painful death, her owners brought her to the HSMC Veterinary Clinic.

London was an adorable 7-year-old miniature poodle who had been bred her entire life, litter after litter. Surgical removal of her uterus would mean she was done with motherhood and the “cash cow” would be useless, without surgery she would die. When given their options, the owners decided they were unwilling to spend any money on this precious dog since they “couldn’t get it back out of her”. They would take her home and let her die.

The medical and shelter staff was not about to let this happen. They convinced the owners to sign the dog over to HSMC, she was spayed immediately and never has to worry about being used as a puppy machine again. Once London has recovered she will be placed in the Second Chance Adoption Center, where she will find a new family. Cases like this are covered by the Angel Fund, funded completely by donors, for medical cases in which the owner is unable to pay or in this case, is unwilling to pay. You saved London’s life. Thank you.

* Update* London has been adopted into a loving home and will now live the life she deserves.