Walter

Adam is the local rep for Dogs Deserve Better, a national anti-chaining group. A week ago he got a report of a seriously ill and emaciated chained pit bull. He made three attempts to get the owners to contact him. Finally, we resorted to reporting it to the Animal Control Officer we work with. She went out yesterday and told them they had two options. One - surrender the dog immediately. Two- face serious charges and we would seize the dog anyway.

They surrendered him immediately and we picked him up right after work. He was the most emaciated dog I have ever seen and to boot he was carrying around a 40-pound abdominal mass of fluid. He kind of looked like those African children who are all bones and big belly. He couldn't even walk or support his weight, and his breathing was very labored and shallow. We took him home and waited an hour to see if our rescue vet's plane would get in from Houston (she was out of town). She was delayed, so we took him to the urgent animal care clinic.

They saw him right away and almost immediately called us back to speak with the vet. We knew it wasn't good. He had massive heart failure and treatment would extend his life only a very short time and the quality of life would not be great. His condition would deteriorate regardless.

We opted to euthanize him, and we were there for his last breath. It only took about ten seconds. He just went to sleep very peacefully. He was very much loved by us. We named him, took him as our own, and showed him true love and affection in his final moments. For Walter, there were worse things than death. Rest in peace, Walter. We will never forget you. We will continue on in your memory, so that your loss is not in vain.