PLN 7-1 (13)

I have recently read and interesting article posted by Julie Poppen titled Dog who nearly starved to death scampers to recovery which discusses a tragic but also miraculous story about a dog (Neeko) who was abandoned by his owner and almost starved to death nine weeks ago. Neeko was found near an abandoned home with another dog who sadly had already passed away. Neeko weighed only 30 pounds and lived only because he ate parts of the dead dog that was with him. His owner, Kristy Knecht, will appear in court on Wednesday and is charged with cruelty towards animals. Fortunately for Neeko, he was found just in time and brought to the Alameda East Veterinary Hospital by an Aurora animal care officer. Once Neeko arrived, the journey back towards health was sluggish. In a period of nine weeks, he astonishingly gained sixteen pounds after being feed a carefully planned diet to prevent him from eating too much or gaining bad weight (like fatty weight). Nine weeks after Neeko was found on the brink of death due to starvation, the feisty Belgian Malinois jumped for a tennis ball and attempted to run through a parking lot Tuesday. "That's a dog who couldn't walk — or even sit," said Lauren Immel, spokeswoman for the VCA Alameda East Veterinary Hospital, as she helped show off the dog's remarkable progress. It shocks me to even imagine someone neglecting their animals. I have a cat who I dearly love and it saddens me to think what it would be like to see my cat starving to death. I don't know how Neekos owner could just abandon her dog like that. Many of my classmate own a pet and hopefully take into consideration that they are living creatures and need attention, love, food, shelter, and water. There are animals around the world being abused and abandoned by their owners which should end! It is cruel to purchase a pet that you know you are not able to take care of. The picture above is Neeko after nine weeks of attention and care.