MASON CITY – The Humane Society of North Iowa recently received a phone call from a distressed landlord in Forest City. An evicted tenant had moved out leaving behind eight dogs, all of whom were emaciated, malnourished, and filthy. Loving homes were found for all, except for an elderly Golden Retriever, who was later named Goldie.
Goldie had been imprisoned in an outdoor kennel for nearly three weeks. She had no food and only a limited water supply. In an attempt to avoid inevitable starvation, Goldie consumed half her tail leaving the bone painfully exposed. Despite all efforts of the landlord, Goldie was clearly in agony; euthanasia was becoming a sad last resort.
On the very day the landlord was preparing to take Goldie to the Veterinarian to end her misery, he made one final attempt to find an alternate ending to Goldie’s tragic story. This time, he called the Humane Society of North Iowa. Fate intervened. The shelter had space and resources available to help the dog in need. The landlord was told to bring Goldie over to the shelter in Mason City right away.
Goldie showed up to the Humane Society of North Iowa skinny, excited, bloodied half-tail wagging, and seemingly anxious to make new friends. At only 46 lbs, she was a staggering 20 lbs underweight. The Humane Society of North Iowa immediately scheduled surgery to have her mutilated tail amputated and she was put on a high-protein diet. Now, just two weeks after her arrival, she had successfully gained 6 lbs, her surgery is complete, her tail is healing nicely and she is ready to put the past behind her.
“Goldie’s story of survival shows us just how resilient this beautiful girl is,” said Sybil Soukup, Executive Director of the Humane Society. “She endured three dismal weeks of neglect and abandonment confirming that pets are not disposable or something you leave behind when your life moves on.”
Once Goldie makes a full recovery the Humane Society of North Iowa hopes that she will be adopted and given a second chance at the life she truly deserves. Goldie is a seven year old female Golden Retriever with a survivalist instinct, a forgiving spirit and a heart of pure gold.
The Humane Society of North Iowa is a non-profit organization that serves a 9 county area in North Iowa and operates a no-kill rescue shelter in Mason City. In the past 25 years, HSNI has found loving homes for over 7000 abandoned, displaced, and neglected animals. For more information, please call the Humane Society of North Iowa at: 641-423-6241or visit them online at: www.hsni.org.
If I were going to bash anyone I would bash the landlord and new tenant. Both should have immediately taken dog to vet. IF what Nancy & facebooker tenant say is true. HS only gave scant details. Not embelishments.
HSUS is NOT about keeping people from owning family pets. They are about making sure ALL animals are treated with dignity & respect and not abused. They are against puppy mills. Rightly so. Puppy mills commit animal abuse. They make the females breed before they’re finished nursing and live in cramped filthy cages all day / night.
Katie you need to get educated.
HSUS also tries to ensure factory farms treat animals without abuse. Some people think it’s ok to keep animals in cramped quarters 24/7. I don’t. Factory farms and puppy mills are all about making money. They don’t care about te animals rights. Animals do have rights and feel pain.
Look, I’m against puppy mills, pet stores, backyard breeders, and some factory farming practices. There are some factory farms that go above and beyond to keep their animals comfortable. I am in favor of small, ethical pet breeders who do careful genetic research and medical testing on their pets before mating them to try to avoid genetic disorders in their breed. But the HSUS is nothing more than a lobbying organization that could care less about pet ownership. The ads they show on TV are sickening because they don’t help animals like those. They would kill them. They applaud and award kill shelters and YOU are the one who needs to do some research about them and PETA. Remember that pets are domestic animals:
“We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding. One generation and out. We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding.” Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society of the United States, Animal People, May, 1993.
“In the end, I think it would be lovely if we stopped this whole notion of pets altogether.” Ingrid Newkirk, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA), Newsday, 2/21/88.
You’re quoting statement taken out of context in 1993 & 1988?! Poor examples. Try again to show me how HSUS (NOT PETA) is against owning family pets.
Wayne Pacelle would like to present himself as a moderate aligned with real welfare groups, but he is not accepted by them because his mission is very much like PETA’s. Why don’t you ask real shelters and real rescue groups how they feel about the HSUS and how much help they get from it? The answer would be ZERO and that they do not want to be connected to the HSUS in any way, shape, or form. HSUS opposes no-kill shelters and wants all strays euthanized. The HSUS tries to hide its true radical anti-pet agenda to milk dollars from a moderate animal welfare base that has rejected PETA, although their goals are the same: No pet ownership in this country. You may not want to believe it, but this is the way it is.
What difference does it make how she ate her tail or what went on? The point is GOLDIE needs a home. She’s skinny and needs love. She IS part Golden. I can see it in her. Some of you people would argue with a stump. You don’t Like HSUS so you bash the very FINE HS of N Iowa. They provide homes and care for animals other boneheads dump off to starve. They work on DONATIONS ONLY. So SHUT UP and put your money where your mouth is and DONATE. I’d take Goldie if I could. She’s smarter than most posting on this site. Esp. Katie. ugh.
I’ve read 5 stories about this dog now and while some share a few of the same details, some give totally different scenarios of this dog and the other 7 who lived at that property. I think it’s great that the shelter took the dog in and had her taken care of by the vet. That’s not the problem I have with what I’ve read. The problem is the discrepancies I’m reading.
HSNI version: The dog was left on her own in a crate for 3 weeks with no food and limited water. She was so hungry she ate her own tail. The other 7 dogs were taken by the shelter and re-homed. WHY was “Goldie” not taken by the shelter at the same time as the other 7? Why was she left there for an additional 3 weeks with no food and limited water?
Landlord version: When he was able to enter the property, 7 emaciated dogs were in the house and re-homed. (He doesn’t say who took or re-homed the others.) He says he took “Goldie” to the vet, the vet felt she should be put down, he decided not to and took her home where he tried to take care of her. According to HIS version, Goldie had a tail injury but did not start to chew it until AFTER he had taken her home and was feeding her. Again, why were the others, also claimed to be emaciated, re-homed so quickly and Goldie stayed there? The landlord said he didn’t know how long she had been thin. (So where is HSNI getting the 3 week time frame?)
New tenant version as posted on HSNI facebook page: Landlord knows her and asked her to move into the house after the eviction. She said Goldie stayed there after she moved in. She had a tail injury and in spite of feeding and watering her, she began chewing the tail. (Both her version and the landlord’s seem to agree about the tail chewing starting AFTER she was already being fed by them.) According to the new tenant “Goldie” was not gaining any weight in spite of them caring for her. It was at that time that they called HSNI to come and get her. She also states that the evicted tenants had re-homed the other 7 dogs themselves BEFORE they left the property. Her version is that “Goldie” was the only dog left behind. To me, that scenario makes the most sense. If those other dogs were removed AFTER the eviction, it makes NO sense that “Goldie” was left there with no one caring for as HSNI makes it sound. This lady also said she thought “Goldie” started “eating” her tail because she was hungry but not gaining weight on what she was feeding her.
Note: A dog will start chewing an injured tail to try to relieve the discomfort it’s causing (itching, burning, pain, etc.). The chewing releases endorphines that help with the irritation.
IF the other 7 dogs had been left in the house for 3 weeks with no food or water (as I also saw stated) those dogs would have been dead if they were also crated. Very few mammals can go past a week at most with no food and not much past 3 days with no water. In 3 weeks the dogs would have cannibalized each other to survive and only the strongest would have still been alive at the end of the 3 weeks if they were loose in the house.
While I think it’s wonderful to have shelters and rescues who take in animals in need, I have no respect for being less than honest with the facts of information used to try to gain sympathy to place them in homes. Give the FACTS you know. The dog was emaciated, but she did NOT eat her own tail to survive. They don’t know how long she had been in that condition so why invent a timeline? Isn’t enough for people to know that she was not properly cared for and that she needs a good home? If only the facts were given there would not be so many different stories concerning this dog and Sybil Soukup and others would have no need to get defensive about the questions asked. If only facts were given the only questions would be from people wanting to know how to help and when she would be ready to go to a new home.
@Nancy-I certainly hope that HSNI didn’t mislead the public on this issue. It would be so unnecessary as most people care about animals. They would certainly lose a lot of credit if they did. They do good work out there and really don’t need to lie about it. I think the National Group did mislead people during the last election with some of their statements.
I agree. That’s why I’m questioning what I’m reading. Goldie’s story needed no embellishment. She’s a dog who didn’t get proper care and was abandoned by her owner. Those are facts and should be enough for people to care enough to give her a good home. I’ve researched vet sites about eating tails and I can find nothing to back up this claim and it doesn’t fit with what the landlord and new tenant claim..that she didn’t start chewing her tail until AFTER they started caring for her. Both said she had a tail injury prior to chewing it. If they were feeding her, WHY would she need to eat her tail for survival? It doesn’t make sense. Chewing her tail due to an injury to it causing her pain/irritation DOES fit with what I researched. I’m sorry, but I’ve read too many stories posted by HSNI that have embelished the truth this past year, that Sybil Soukup already has no credibility with me. This story just was more blatant than the others and much easier to point out things that don’t fit as fact.
Who cares if you like or dislike Sybil. It’s not about Sybil. It’s about the DOG. No embelishment was done imo. The pics speak for themselves. Maybe Sybil was going on what she was told. I’m betting you run a puppy mill and don’t like HSNI or HSUS. Your paranoia is what negates your credibility.
The Humane Society of North Iowa does good work. The Humane Society of the US is a horrible organization that is against pet ownership. Only 1% of its income goes directly to helping pets in shelters. Please peruse this web site for the truth about the HSUS and where donations are spent:
http://humanewatch.org/
Read this for the truth about Wayne Pacelle’s stances on cases involving rescue cases and kill shelters:
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/?p=6583
I think the dogs name is Roxie. See if it answers to that.
I found this analogy very interesting! I copy & pasted this comment from a woman on the globe gazette facebook page. I think she might be on to something.
Betsy Fickel
RE: Goldie’s Story. First off, I would say this dog is not a Golden Retriever, it may be a mix of some sort. This story does leave me with some questions as reported. If the dog was at the shelter for 2 wks., why would the tail stump still be bloodied? If the dog was kenneled outside all that time, where/how did it get its limited water? There’s no snow. If the seven other dogs remained in the apartment, how did they survive with no water? Dogs remaining unattended that long would created quite a mess, not to mention smell or even be alive without water. There’s more questions, but the article regarding this story as it appeared in the Des Moines register did answer some of those questions, but certainly created more.
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/01/25/starving-golden-retriever-eats-own-tail-after-abuse/viewart
Was there embellishment going on? You, the public decide. Read with critical thinking, please.
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Neglected dog eats own tail in hunger, but survives due to stranger’s kindness
blogs.desmoinesregister.com
An abused, starving dog near Mason City ate half of its tail in a fit of panic after being caged and neglected for three weeks. Goldie, a 7-year-old golden retriever, was ….
Like · · Share · Friday at 8:01pm
1 share.
Nancy Glick Like you, I have more questions than answers after reading the article 4 times. It said during the eviction process the other dogs were removed and adopted out. Why was this dog not removed when the others were? If the dog has been at the shelter 2 wee…See More
Friday at 8:47pm · Like · 1..
Betsy Fickel Tail repair appears to be interesting. Perhaps the tail was shaved down that far for surgery, but the pic makes it appear bone is exposed? Can’t feature a vet letting bone be exposed but sure looks interesting. I would think most vets would amputat…See More
Friday at 9:29pm · Like..
I wonder why the landlord waited so long to do something? The story says the tenant was evicted and they left the dogs behind. Once that happened, someone should have contacted Humane Society then.
I would like yo know who the tenant was. I wanna go find this person. Or the landlord should turn them in to the police
I’m glad this dog was rescued but I noticed on the Humane Society’s face book page how much they are ‘cuing’ over the fact that the globe gazette, Des Moines register printed their article but not once did they mention NIT. Not to mention there are other dogs who have had a bad life that need adopted also.
How rude!
Some supporters of the humane society were bashed on here last fall. They probably aren’t too anxious to “coo” about NIT.
Bashed? Do you have a link on this?
Are you going to answer me Katie? or cant you provide me this “Bash Link” your referring to? I could be mistaken but I don’t remember anyone bashing the Humane Society.
Maybe NIT should stop posting anything about the Humane Society but why take it out on the Animals,right? I bet they do it for the animals only and don’t really pay attention whether someone gets bashed or not. If you cant stand the heat stay out of the kitchen.
Let me take a wild guess as to why the Humane Society never mentioned NIT article. Maybe it has to do with “I don’t want to be caught/fired associating with NIT”. I have seen it more than once with city employees around MC its sickening! GROW THE F UP.
I love NIT and will continue reading. Thanks NIT!
I’ve seen and heard this from some city employees as well Anonymous It is very childish. It almost seems like something you see on tv where the whole town is ran by crooked officials. Oh wait, we do have some crooked creeps dont we!
I can’t find the link because I don’t remember the name of the article. It was about a group of locals who protested Cong. King because of his stance on animal rights. Some of the protesters were associated with the HSNI and people on NIT bashed them for protesting. I’m sure I’m not the only person who remembers this.
I found the article your referring to. There’s only 8 comments and I see no bashing, try again.
BTW Katie, two NIT staff members were out there protesting WITH Sybil/ HSNI that day. Why wasn’t KIMT staff out there protesting? Why wasn’t the Globe staff out there protesting? after all, the HSNI are friends with the Globe, right?
Hopefully NIT staff is reading this and knows I called you out and hopefully they don’t do no more articles for HSNI.
Heres your article Katie
http://northiowatoday.com/2012/11/04/stop-the-king-of-cruelty-rally-held-saturday-in-mason-city/#comments
Publius pretty much threatened to sic the IRS on the HSNI because they participated in a political protest. I guess I should have used the word harassment instead of bashing.
The only article on here that mentioned a person by name where nothing negative was said was about the guy who donated his kidney a week or so ago. He must be a saint if no one on this site had a bad thing to say about him. Maybe he should run for mayor or council. 😉
You make no sense but then again you never really do Katie!
I agree Smoothy……what the Hell did that Dog ever do to deserve that treatment! I hope they find the people who did this.
Send the previous owner to North Korea.
put the offender in a cage and let them eat their tail or feces for a way to survive,
Pretty sure that’s how they live in North Korea.
what about the names of the renters
Why not publish the name of the landlord? He deserves some recognition for his compassionate care in saving Goldie.
What a damn shame. People can be cruel.
If I could have a dog I’d take Goldie in a minute.