Fu Manchu and Martha

I was speaking with a fellow rescuer yesterday who shared a horrible experience with me. He had saved a little bulldog from a certain death. Her ears were consumed with growths, what looked like polyps gone insane. He raised a chip in to administer the surgery and the little dog died during the surgery.

Beautiful Fu

He still owes $1500 for the bill. I hear this story over and over. How many animals are being subjected to high priced vet treatment never to see the light of day again? Hearing this one story reminded me of Fu Manchu, my beautiful black chow chow saved from the mean streets of Dallas, Texas only to die at the hands of a careless vet.

The opening chapter of my book Pit Bull Nation is the story of Fu. It was some 20 plus years ago and I'd not even begun to entertain the idea of rescuing, especially not pit bulls.

Fu was a bedraggled street dog who roamed the neighborhood we lived in. The story was he'd been turned out by a crack dealer and was surviving on whatever scraps the neighbors threw out for him to eat. Fu decided to belong to Scott. That's how it always has been with us. We didn't pick out a rescue. They seemed to always find us.

Fu began to sleep on our front porch and we began to feed him. This was back in the day when I knew nothing and was at the mercy of vets. The first time Fu and I visited the vet, I actually believed the Science Diet which lined the walls was a healthy choice for nutrition. This vet was actually a kind hearted soul who was honest about not keeping up with the latest trends in pet care.

Fu was diagnosed with heartworm, cherry eye, a horrible skin condition and, of course, needed neutering. We began the old-style heartworm treatment which at the time, entailed a shot of arsenic and a 50/50 chance of survival. During the next several months, Fu underwent his treatment like  a champ. He even made it through the invasive, painful and dangerous heartworm treatment.

Back in those days, I fed what was recommended and Fu at store brand kibble. He was vaccinated and given all of the toxic drugs for fleas and parasite prevention. I didn't know any better. Now, I cringe at the thought of all those nasty things I subjected my dog to.

I was working part time at another vet to save up money to move to California and discovered employees could have their pets' teeth cleaned at a reduced rate. The day before Fu's appointment, I gave him a three and a half hour spa treatment. His former bald, scaly and oozing patches had cleared up and he sported a lustrous coat of shiny black fur. He truly looked like the majestic chow chows who'd once been bred to guard ancient Chinese emperors.

I remember being in the middle of learning how to prepare a stool sample when I heard the frantic announcement the next morning at the vet office. It was one of those moments in your life when you know something horrible has happened and you keep doing some mundane chore in hopes that it will just go away.

They came to get me from surgery and took me upstairs to see my dog lying dead on the table. The vet had given Fu a huge shot of sodium pentothal to prep him for surgery. It immediately killed him. There was no bringing him back. He was dead and gone.

What happened that day started me on a long hard path which eventually led to rescuing pit bulls. Over the years, I've looked for alternative and healthy answers. I have been most pleasantly surprised and have been able to give some animals a much better life.

Today, if we acquire a heartworm positive animal, that animal is fed a healthy organic raw diet and treated for the heartworm herbally. An animal with tumors or growths is treated with a gentle detox, quality organic raw diet and homeopathy to deal with the tumors and/or growths. Amazingly, most of the tumors and growths encountered have been related to over-vaccination. A good detox is the first step toward regaining good health.

Misha living a healthy cancer free life

Misha is a poster girl for clearing the system of tumor causing vaccination residue. Misha continued to grow a nasty 'meatball' looking tumor on her face. The vet actually removed it twice and finally threw his hands up in surrender. After re-vaccinating her one more time for the road, the vet gave up.

Misha was treated homeopathically and given a thorough Waiora detox. That was nearly three years ago and guess what? Misha is 'meatball' free...the tumor has never returned. Misha is lucky enough to live in a part of the country which defers rabies and other vaccinations for sick and old animals. This should be the standard everywhere. It is criminal to force loving pet owners to kill their pets just to abide by an unnatural law.

Martha on a happy day

Some of the animals, we can't save due to years of over-vaccination and toxic drugs. I saw Martha at PetSmart five years ago. She was sitting in the corner of her cubicle and her eyes were a mess, inflamed and crusty. According to the notes, she had been diagnosed as allergic to corn.

When I met Martha that day, I thought based on some vet's notes, we could help her transition out of those problems with homeopathy and a healthy raw meat diet...what cats are supposed to eat. What began was a five year long battle. Over the years, Martha saw five different conventional vets, each armed with toxic antibiotics and drugs. She'd already been vaccinated at least five times and the true source of her issues.

Martha

Over the years, her problems escalated to ear issues and then a tumor. One vet even had me bring her in weekly to manually dig the tumor out, removing subjugated pus which had gathered. She sent me to a big money 'specialist' who wanted to remove Martha's ear canal to the tune of $5K along with biopsies and sonograms. Vet 'specialists' like this are big money businesses Martha and I were finding out.

Crawling back to my regular homeopath where I should have taken Martha originally, Martha began treatment which would have cured any animal not beleaguered with years of vaccinations and drugs.

Martha

Sadly it was too late. He treated Martha for the next four months, but we lost the battle yesterday morning when Martha left this life.

Today, I'm taking Martha to be cremated. Her ashes will be placed next to Fu Manchu and the others who are resting and happy in a beautiful place...a place without pharmaceutical companies, veterinarians and cash registers, nasty kibble for food.

There is a better world for our animals. It's a crime that they must die to get there.

Hoarding for Dollars: Reprint of the article unfairly pulled by dog lawyer

In two days, a month will have passed since the Spindletop raid, a day which will be remembered with horror by animal lovers and rescuers across the country. Almost 300 dogs thought to have been placed with large stipends in a supposed 'refuge' were seized by the HSUS and Montgomery County officials covered in filth, urine, vomit and feces.

According to KHOU, "Many of them are in cramped cages – so cramped they can’t even turn around. They’re living in their own waste. Many of their cages have been shut for so long, we know these dogs haven’t even been out of their cages," Katie Jarl, with the Humane Society of the United States, said.

"You cannot exist living in your own urine and feces. I watched dogs – we were doing a walk-through – drinking their own urine. A lot of them had absolutely no water, food dumped on feces," Dr. Tim Harkness of the Houston Humane Society said."

Leah back in the day posing with some of her favorites

Even after almost a month, many questions still lie unanswered. What kind of individual manages a hell hole like Spindletop? In my own quest to understand, I have to believe that Leah Purcell traded in her gift with animals and the ability few on this earth possess for money. In her case, greed trumped the opportunity to save lives.

What went wrong? What causes a person to veer from being an internationally known advocate to a con artist cum rescue? Reports of her wide scale 'fundraising,' for lack of a better term, are still rolling in. Animal lovers have donated thousands and thousands of dollars in the names of dogs supposed to have been sent to Spindletop.

Many of these dogs are currently being sought by individuals and rescue groups who trusted Leah Purcell and believed the wording on her website, now closed....at least for rescue business.

These days, one hears much too often, the business of rescue. In my own case, every penny since Reunion Rescue was founded has been spent on the animals with full records published with the IRS and for public viewing on Guidestar.org. Amazingly, Leah Purcell and Zandra Anderson's attack team of 'trolls' have questioned my impeccable rescue and financial difficulties. All records are public knowledge and I have no secrets to withhold from the public or these players who seem to fear even publicizing their real names....could that possibly be a fear of disbarment? Or even worse? Of discovery of criminal activity?

Reunion Rescue and the rest of the true animal loving public would like to have some answers to our questions. We would like to know where the dogs are? In a few days, the unclaimed dogs at the holding center will be once again without rescue. After these animals have survived a fate worse than death in the most high kill shelter, reportedly stuck in filthy crates for days, weeks, months and many allegedly not being fed for days on end, they are still hoping for someone, a good person this time, to step up and help them.

What went wrong?

Facebook page Montgomery County Texas Canine Seizure Case has instructions for 501(c)(3) rescue groups to help save those unclaimed survivors. A suggestion for members of the general public would be to contact your local groups and offer foster care to help lighten their load and free up necessary space for one or two of the Spindletop refugees.

Below is a reprint of the article unjustly pulled based on fabrication by the dog lawyer, Zandra Anderson. Each false claim she put forth to the Examiner is answered in depth and truthfully in the following three blogs:

http://doggirlpitbull.blogspot.com/2012/08/spindletop-dog-killers-try-to-shut-down.html

http://doggirlpitbull.blogspot.com/2012/08/texas-dog-lawyer-rebuttal-2.html

http://doggirlpitbull.blogspot.com/2012/08/rebuttal-texas-dog-lawyer-part-3.html

"https://www.facebook.com/VictimsOfSpindletopRaid

Willis, Texas: As the dirt begins to settle over the Willis, Texas Spindletop Refuge dog raid, people across the United States are begging for answers. Pet owners and rescuers who trusted Leah Purcell and Spindletop Refuge to take their pets for a high price are now struggling to prove the dogs belong to them and to try and get them returned. The public network is questioning whether or not Leah Purcell will face criminal charges.

According to a statement from Constable Tim Holifield of Montgomery County regarding the case, this will be a long process. Information is being gathered regarding Leah Purcell and the Spindletop affiliates and employees to decide how to approach the grand jury. Information about the Spindletop operation along with proof of monies paid to James Brewer and Leah Purcell can be sent to:

Tim Holifield tim.holifield@mctx.org

So many questions lay unanswered. What about the 38 dogs who died a horrible death in the Morgan Building, their mass gravesite filled with rotting and decomposed bodies. These were dogs Leah Purcell and James Brewer continued to collect money for their boarding and care. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are estimated to have been obtained through Paypal and other means from across the nation.

How much did Zandra Anderson, Texas Dog Lawyer, know? She continues to post on Facebook that Stella, on of the identified 38 dead dogs is 'adopted'. What is the position of the Texas Bar Association on members of the bar insinuating themselves in a criminal investigation with knowledge of criminal activity? We understand she needs to make a good living, but this is extreme. Surely there is money to be made in some other branch of legal representation.

The process of reclaiming our dogs has been long and arduous. Calls to the HSUS and Animal Farm Foundation to check status muck up the process and slow down the ability for the representatives to function.

If anyone has information they would like to submit regarding a dog thought to be part of this investigation, please send all proof of identification such as photographs, descriptions with unusual markings and scars, receipts for payment, rabies and other certification, Petfinder and Facebook pages to:

tim.holifield@mctx.org

info@animalfarmfoundation.org

The official site to learn about any updates regarding the case is:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Montgomery-County-Texas-Canine-Seizure-Case-July-2012/377304362336833

Please contact this page to keep up with current updates and progress reports.

The HSUS is heading the process of making certain all of the dogs confiscated in the raid are getting proper care, many for the first time in years.

According to the HSUS, the first round of microchipped dogs are being scanned with attempts to reunite them with their legal owners. The dogs without microchips will be addressed in the next stage which has currently been undertaken. Submitted proof of ownership is presently being compared to physical identification of the dogs. As this process is being completed, dog owners are being notified by email so that they may reclaim their pets.

The last and most heartbreaking other than those of us whose dogs were killed will be the identification of the dogs no one claims. The HSUS and Animal Farm Foundation is asking that personal applications not be submitted as this will cause undue confusion and none of these dogs will be released to the general public.

Several rescue groups in other states have already contacted the HSUS and Animal Farm Foundation to take the dogs no one claims. If you are an individual who would like to adopt one of these dogs, please contact your local 501©(3) pit bull rescue that you trust and support, hopefully one that is active in pulling dogs from your own shelter. Suggest to your group to become involved and submit an application with HSUS and Animal Farm to be considered. News about this process will be released much later down the line and published on the official Montgomery County Texas Canine Seizure Case Facebook page.

Pit bull and other rescue groups are urged to submit their offers to Animal Farm Foundation and HSUS to be considered as rescue for the unclaimed animals. Some of the California groups already claiming to be taking the Spindletop dogs have a history of euthanizing 'problem' dogs which came from Katrina and other disasters and fighting rings. Efforts are being made to try and create a safety net for the unclaimed dogs.

Victims of the Spindletop Raid may post their photos and updates to the Victims Facebook page where more good news is appreciated.

https://www.facebook.com/VictimsOfSpindletopRaid

The people at Spindletop have their own dogs back and have reopened their doors for boarding. Many of us were fooled by this operation and trusted Leah Purcell and those who work with her and represent her. Some of our dogs died a horrible death like Reunion Rescue's Stella. Many others are yet to be found. Hopefully, others will read our story and not entrust their pets to the killing field of Spindletop Refuge.

Cindy Marabito: I have written several articles about Spindletop and Leah Purcell. I have been taken in as have so many hundreds of others. I personally feel guilty for any dog I helped people send there and must live with that the rest of my life. Stella had her ears butchered off and was chained up to a vacant lot in the hot Houston sun. I sent her to Spindletop where she was robbed of her life. Her face will haunt me until the day I die.

I'm receiving a ton of hate mail beneath my article posted on the Victims of Spindletop Facebook page. Nothing anyone can say, though can make me feel more guilt for having written articles to try and help the dogs who were sent to Spindletop. I have almost $10,000 in receipts for the Reunion dogs that suffered at Spindletop. To consider the dogs we could have saved with that money is incredibly hard to bear.

Please share this story and follow the American Pit Bull Examiner for details about this situation.

Cindy Marabito of Reunion Rescue writes the American Pit Bull Examiner stories to save lives. Every click on a story donates to the animals

Reunion Rescue: http://www.reunionrescue.com

American Pit Bull Examiner:

https://www.examiner.com/american-pit-bull-in-national/cindy-marabito

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Author - Pit Bull Nation

Pit Bull Nation is a tell all book about rescuing pit bulls from death row for over twelve years.

Order Pit Bull Nation: http://www.pitbullnationonline.com

Now available in e-book and print."

So to all two or three stragglers feebly attempting to defend former rescue turned hoarder for dollars, please research your material before posting. 

"Condemnation prior to investigation is the height of ignorance." If these are the heights you aspire to, then you've arrived. We still have questions and will afford due process while awaiting answers. God willing, justice will be served and all the Spindletop marauders will get a a big old plateful.