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The Telegram - June 18, 2005
Dead Beagles found; group seeks help
A local beagle rescue group is appealing to the public to help solve what it calls the worst case of animal abuse its volunteers have ever had to deal with.
Two dead beagles were discovered May 25 just off the Trans-Canada Highway near the weigh scales on the outskirts of St. John's.
The dogs were found by a group of Aliant Pioneers during their annual cleanup. The dogs had been placed in a ditch, one on top of the other while the partial remains of a third dog were found in a garbage bag and were disposed of by the volunteers at the time of the gruesome discovery.
"We have witnessed a lot of neglect and abuse of these poor dogs but this was by far the most horrendous," says Lois O'Grady, a director with Beagle Paws.
O'Grady says her group was made aware of the dead beagles a week later and went to the site with a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer to remove the animals.
"Our representative was advised by the RNC that unless we could prove that a criminal office had been committed, they could not do anything."
Intent of finding out how the dogs had met their death, volunteers with Beagle Paws collected money among themselves to have autopsies done on the dogs.
According to O'Grady, the results indicated that one of the beagles was beaten over the head, which resulted in its skull being crushed, while the second dog's demise is even more difficult to imagine.
"The second dog's death was caused by eating the remains of another dog. He (the veterinarian) said on the autopsy report that the skull bones and the fur found in the stomach indicate that the other dog was also a beagle."
O'Grady says the autopsy reports also indicated that neither of the beagles had any body mass, which would explain why one dog ate the remains of another, the third dog likely the one where the partial remains had been found.
"They were practically starving before they came to their death," she says.
O'Grady suspects the dogs were not killed at the site, but rather killed on private property and brought to the area and dumped.
"According to the autopsy reports, we figure the dogs were there for a couple of weeks so this could have happened around the May 24th weekend. So, if somebody had three beagles in their garden and all of a sudden they disappeared, we'd ask them to please call the police and tell them or they could report it anonymously."
It's difficult to understand how any human could treat an animal so cruelly, she says.
"Why would someone do this to an animal? Are they so ignorant that they don't realize that animal shelters exist, which would take animals in and, if necessary, have them destroyed humanely? Or are they just sick individuals who have a need to fee powerful over helpless little animals?"
Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call the RNC at 709-729-8000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-363-8477.
In its rescue efforts Beagle Paws is seeking foster homes for beagles waiting to be adopted. Anyone interested in helping the organization can call 709-738-7297.
This Memorial is dedicated to two of our beagle friends who are now safely in God’s Hands.
To Petal and Butterfly
Discarded on a cold and lonely highway
Your deaths shocked and disturbed our thoughts
You are at rest now and in the company of Angels
Far form the cruel world you had to endure
We wish we could have saved you from your hunger
From the misery and despair
We are here for you both now
To help in your fight for justice
God bless and keep you both warm
Author: Lisa Wade
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