Dear Pet Owners,

On Monday March 28th, my adult son’s Siberian Husky slipped off his chain and was hit by a car. He had wandered from his home about ½ mile to the seen of the accident. I am writing this letter to inform pet owners what could happen if your pet gets loose.

The poor gentleman that hit “Chase” did all he could to avoid the accident. The gentleman, “Ted”, immediately took Chase into his vehicle & went to the Animal Hospital. When he was trying to get Chase into the hospital a woman whom we do not know her name stopped to help. Chase was conscious and in severe pain. When the women went to help Chase bit her in the face. My son feels absolutely terrible about this and hopes she will be ok. Chase only bit her because he was in such pain, he did not know what he was doing. From what we are told the bite did break the skin but did not require stitches or medical help. We hope this is true and the woman is fine. Chase would have never ever bit anyone; he was just the biggest baby ever, he was a wonderful dog. We are very sorry that this happened to the woman helping out; we know she meant well and we thank her for her help.

Once inside the hospital Chase was examined and they figure that a rib punctured his lung and was filling with fluid, Chase was in terrible pain & gasping for breath. The Doctor made the decision to put Chase down as he was suffering terribly.

The following events took place and that is the reason I am writing this letter, we want all pet owners to know that this could happen to them.

My Son was called and notified that his dog was hit by a car and had died. He went to the Animal Hospital to find out what happened and was given Chases choke chain, and the name and number of the man that hit Chase. Of coarse my son was devastated. This dog was like his child. Later that day my son was tracked down by the City Police where he was informed that the woman was bitten by Chase. The Police were less than kind through the whole situation, they went to great lengths to track my son down and were much less than kind simply informing my son of the bite than hanging up on him. We were then contacted by the Animal Hospital about Chase having been vaccinated for rabies. Chase was taken to the Vet yearly and had all shots updated and had proof of it which my son took to the Animal Hospital. While he was there he asked if he could see Chase. They said yes & led him to a room with numerous kennels all filled with barking dogs. There lay Chase on a cement floor next to a couple other deceased dogs. This was unbelievable conditions to say good bye to a beloved best friend. Why could they not put Chase in an examining room for a few minutes so my son could say good bye in peace? This just seemed cruel; we didn’t know it was going to get much worse. My son wanted to have his pet cremated so he could have the ashes and informed them at the hospital of his wishes.

Later that day my son contacted Ted and thanked him for taking such good care of Chase during his last moments and again we want to thank Ted, you did a great deed and we thank you very much. Ted even offered to pay for half of the vet bills but my son told him that was nice to offer but it was his dog and he would take care of it. We still never heard about the woman that was bit but apparently it is “standard procedure” in our county to involve the police for a dog bite, we are not disagreeing with this. The part we strongly disagree with is the fact that even though we proved that Chase was updated on all his shots, because he did bite someone that in Chippewa County it is “standard procedure” to …cut off the dead dogs head!

Are you a pet owner? Do you love your pet? Maybe like you love your child? Picture this, his head cut off!!!

They cut off his head and had to send it away for rabies testing! What good is it to get your dog vaccinated against rabies? Even though we had proof of the vaccine, we told them to check with our vet and get proof if they did not believe the paperwork my son provided but no…they cut off his head. The ashes do not contain Chases head. They do not return the head after the testing. Think about your pet. What part do you kiss, hug and look at most? His head! What is the body without the head?

My son has been traumatized over and over again. Not only did his dog get loose and hit by a car, the police tracked him down calling all over town looking for him, treating him like a criminal, only to hang up on him, his beloved dog was treated like a bag of garbage sitting in a corner at the hospital and now we have a pile of ashes that do not include his head.

My son wanted me to write this letter to inform all pet owners to please watch your pet closely he does not want anyone else to ever have to go through this. So now go and give your pet a big hug and a kiss and tell them how much you love them. My son can not do this ever again to Chase.

Clint Robinette
Danielle Robinette

I am sorry for your loss. No matter what the circumstances it is never easy to lose a dog.

There are a few things from your story that I can explain though. It would not have been normal procedure to have the head tested if your dog had not been in grave condition. Under normal bite circumstances, your dog would have been required to be under quarantine for 10 days, either at the vet or in your home depending on the animal control officer or state laws. Even though your dog very likely DID bite from a pain response, the test must be perfomed to rule out the possibility that this woman will come down with rabies. It is a fatal disease. The shots are very pricey- around $3500 for a series for someone who has been exposed- and around $1200 for the 3 shot set preventative.

Unfortunately, the only way they can test is with brain tissue. As horrible as that is for you to think of it is a sad reality. Even though the dog was vaccinated, because of his condition and need to be put out of his misery, this needed to be done. Vaccination is not fool proof and that is why they are testing your dog. Even vaccinated animals must be quarantined.

Again, my condolences on your loss. I hope my explaination is helpful. Unfortunately I know all too much about rabies. My roomate is the animal control officer here and 4 years ago I ran a rabies quarantine for 9 exposed horses after a lesson horse brought up from NY exposed about 23 children to the virus.

Standard procedure for a bite from a stray, mandated by law in some states. I'm guessing that the dog wasn't wearing any tags, which also contributed to the problem.

While I feel bad for what the owner went through, I also have strong feelings about *not* having dogs on chains. If the dog is restrained full time with a chain, it's barbaric and cruel beyond words. Sorry, a chained-up dog in the backyard with a dog house isn't a pet, it's an animal evolved for pack living that's confined in basically solitary confinement. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
If the dog is just placed outside on a chain for it's "outside" time, it's a poor substitute for a well fenced-in area, and leads to bad things like this story happening.
As cruel as this may come across at a time like this, events like this go to show that if you can't provide a safe area of confinement for your dog, you shouldn't own a dog - just common sense.
And if the dog is being walked on a chain, do I really have to mention what a crummy leash those make?

The saddest part of that story is that it sounds like it was most likely preventable with just some simple common sense. And the dog paid for the owners mistakes with it's life. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

As upsetting as this may be, after the dog is dead, it's just a body. It's no longer the dog. Point is, they did what they had to without malice involved. If you put much emphasis on things like this it will certainly increase your anger and sorrow. I've had dogs I loved dearly whose graves I can no longer visit. Some my Dad threw away in a garbage dump because there was no other way to dispose of a pet in that area of my childhood days (everywhere was cemented; there was no such thing as cremation or pet cemetaries). I don't know where my best friend Kiche, who died last year, was buried. They thought it was a joke when I asked them where.

Anyway, remember that poem?

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die

Long ago when one of my past dogs died, I read this poem and wept like a child. But it is a comfort now. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />



There is one best place to bury a dog.
" If you bury him in this spot, he will
come to you when you call -
come to you over the grim, dim frontier
of death, and down the well-remembered
path, and to your side again.

" And though you call a dozen living
dogs to heel, they shall not growl at
him, nor resent his coming,
for he belongs there.


" People may scoff at you, who see
no lightest blade of grass bent by his
footfall, who hear no whimper, people
who may never really have had a dog.
Smile at them, for you shall know
something that is hidden from them,
and which is well worth the knowing.


" The one best place to bury a good
dog is in the heart of his master."



By Ben Hur Lampman from the Portland Oregonian Sept. 11, 1925

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> As much as I am told that I am tough and hardcore, poems about our beloved friends always touches a soft spot in me.

OH MY GOD! that is horrible. i cant even amagine what your son went through they can take brain tissue and then give what is left of the head back for cremation.
again i am sorry for you and your sons loss