It’s absolutely astounding that some people deliberately hurt innocent and helpless animals. This case of severe animal abuse sparked a huge wave of criticism across the internet because what happened to this poor pup is absolutely despicable, and the man who did this probably won’t even be punished.
While enjoying the sun at West Oahu beach in Hawaii, someone suddenly spotted a dog that was buried alive in the sand. She looked barely alive.
The animal rescue group PAWS of Hawaii was quickly notified of the situation and later discovered that the pup’s name was Leialoha. The poor four-footer was in terrible shape, and it looked like she wasn’t doing well even before she got buried underneath the sand. As for the heartless owner, he hasn’t been found yet, but it’s assumed that he wanted to ‘end the suffering’ of Leialoha.
“He felt he was ending her suffering by trying to end her life, instead of getting her the help she needed,” Executive Director of PAWS of Hawaii Ku’ulei Durand said to KITV4.
The dog’s life was hanging on a very loose thread.
The pup almost didn’t have any patches of hair left and was dealing with a lot of visible wounds, cuts, and ailments. The hot weather definitely didn’t help as well and it looks like Leialoha hadn’t eaten in days and was completely dehydrated.
Dr. Kelly Dowdall-Garberson from the Aloha Affordable Veterinary Services was able to quickly treat the pup after she was rescued. Even after treatment, Leialoha still doesn’t look good and she will definitely need a long time to recover until she’s back at a hundred percent.
“Severe sunburn, lesions, swollen limbs in her extremities – that is a sign of being very dehydrated and very poor care,” the doctor mentioned.
“Her skin, if you were able to smell her, is rancid because she has so many open sores that are infected.”
Unfortunately, the doctors encounter a lot of abused pets who are in need of urgent rescue. Leialoha isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last.
“20-30% of the animals we help are rescue animals. We partner with rescue groups around the island,” the doctor added.
The woman from PAWS of Hawaii thinks that Leialoha was cut with a knife moments before she was buried alive.
“The man who buried her, we were led to believe, had started to cut her,” Ms. Durand told.
Tragically, the enforcement of Hawaii’s animal laws is a sensitive subject, and it’s quite likely that the horrible owner who did this will go unpunished due to ‘lack of evidence’.
“Enforcement around animal laws is very difficult. Unless you have a video of the animal being abused, a picture and a report isn’t going to stick.”
As of right now, everyone is focusing on Leialoha’s recovery.
She’ll need around half a year to completely heal from all of her wounds, and it’s likely that she’ll suffer from lasting traumatic effects. However, all the people involved in the rescue told that the pup was already doing noticeably better after one day – Leialoha was in desperate need of some tender loving care, something the rescuers were more than happy to provide.
It’s amazing what a difference a single day can make.
“She is a tough girl, so strong and amazing. A great personality. It is so wonderful to see dogs come out of their shell, even with just a day of love.”
The local community and people online are outraged and rightfully so, but Durand hopes that people can use that anger and do some good.
“A lot of people will be upset over the condition of Leialoha and the person that hurt her. There are so many things you can do to help, like contact local rescues or shelters and see what you can do to assist,” she concluded.
As for Leialoha, she has found a loving and caring foster family who will take care of her and nurse her back to health until she’s ready to be adopted into a forever home. She also has multiple visits a week with Dr. Kelly to make sure her recovery goes as smoothly as possible.
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Honolulu, Hawaii news, sports & weather – KITV Channel 4
