Some of you may know that for the past couple of years, I've been involved in a lawsuit surrounding a dog that I bred and owned, Ch DM Dots N' Dashes aka Dash. Back in 2006, I added a Junior handler onto his papers so the boy could have a good dog to show; a dog that was easy to groom. I rue the day that I tried to do something nice for the kid, because it sure did cost me in the end.
To aid the boy in working with the dog, Dash wound up living with the family in Amarillo. The younger son did a good job with him, showing him to many group placements. He helped Dash become the #4 Greyhound in breed competition in 2007.
The boys started their winning streak in Garden City, Kansas in 2007, when judge Lester Mapes awarded them a Group 4. Up until this past spring, 2008, the boys were on a roll and they were quite the team. Tyler took Dash to two of the Eukanuba National Championship shows and he also presented him on the green carpet in Madison Square Garden at the Westminster Kennel Club show. It was one heck of a ride for the boys. However, when Tyler branched out into showing other breeds, Dash was supposed to come home. It didn't happen.
C.C. pressed me to sign over ownership to her son, Tyler, the Junior handler who showed him to many wins. I gave her a contract with stipulations. She agreed to the contract and then promptly broke it. I requested she return the dog and she refused. I filed a lawsuit and the judge ruled in my favor. However, rather than awarding me my dog, he allowed her son to keep him and awarded me $11,000 + attorney fees + interest at 5% and told her to put me back on the dog's papers as co-owner with full ownership rights and privileges. As of this update, she has ignored the court's judgment, which came down in the spring.
A couple of weeks back, I sent her a certified letter requesting she take Dash to a vet at my expense . She never picked up the letter and it was returned to me. If she had not ignored the letter, perhaps, this situation could have been averted or, at least, ameliorated. I suspect Dash's demise is due to end stage kidney disease. I lost 3 other littermates this year from this affliction. I am working with a geneticist to find the problem and have requested, several times, that she have him tested and submit samples to the geneticist. She ignored the requests, which were made in the interests of not only my dogs, but the entire breed. There is no history of kidney disease behind these dogs. We do not know from where it came or why it is happening. Dash has sired a litter. At this time, none of them have shown any signs.
Late on Friday, 27 August 2010, C.C. Hockett, now going by the name Alberta "C.C." Evans, sent me an email telling me that Dash was dying.
> From: CC
> To: jato791@yahoo.com
> Sent: Fri, August 27, 2010 10:04:09 PM
> Subject: dash
> elaine, it is approx 1045pm cst. dash is on the couoch w tyler. he is jaundiced, pale in the mouth and he i s not eating. he is
> lethatrgic and withdrawn, tyler is w him and we are here wi th him. it is only a matter of time im afraid. regardless of anything else
> tyler loves dash as we all do so i am letting yoou know what we are facing. i dont see him making it through the night. if he does it
> will be a big surprise. but beyond that I cant see any way to help. it has happened suddenly in the last two days. ive talked to his vet
> and at this point there is nothing we can really do. im not writing to fight w you. just to let you know what is going on here tongiht.
> tyler wants him to pass at home with family. I lost E-vac a few months ago. every day I was home she hung on. the one day I left
> home to run errands when I got home she was gone. I will not let dash be alone. he is the old man of the house and important family
> member and we love him.
>
> cc
I sent her an email begging her to take Dash to a vet to be humanely euthanized and also to have the samples sent to the geneticist. I told her how important it was, how he was the only one in the litter missing from the samples. It was useless.
End stage kidney disease is painful and no animal should have to go through it. Permitting an animal to suffer to satisfy the desire of a minor child, now a teenager, does not teach them how to treat animals humanely. And, I believe that letting an animal suffer, in pain without veterinary attention, is abuse.
She refused to take him to a vet in her final reply. Her guilty conscious about the kidney disease testing got the best of her, in part, as she replied, "I didnt email to get I told you so or anything else. I shouldve left well enough alone. i just thought I would let you know. i wont bother you again."
Thank you Dash for the memories. I love you and miss you terribly. I always have. God speed and cross that bridge with wings on your flying feet.
