In Defense of Animals is pledging a $500 reward for information leading to the identity of the person or persons who brutalized Lady, a family dog in Grenada last month.
Cole and Selby Turner’s dog Lady, a Labrador/Blue Queensland Heeler mix, went missing for two days only to be found attacked causing her to be put down.
“I hadn’t seen Lady the past couple of days, which wasn’t unusual,” Selby Turner said. “It had been hot, so I just figured she was at my dad’s house down the road in the garage cooling off. On the night before we found her hurt, I was getting ready to go to bed and went to call for her and saw her in the yard. It was dark, but she was lying down, so I went over to pet her and talked to her. She seemed fine and didn’t seem like she was in any pain.”
On the morning of June 24, friends of the Turners arrived at the home to find Lady in the yard in grave distress.
“The next morning when my friends came over to get their vehicle they saw Lady in the yard and she looked like she was trying to use the bathroom like she was constipated and when they went over to help her out, they pulled a stick from her bottom,” Selby Turner added.
Lady was rushed to Veterinary Associates where Dr. Ann Reece took her in for immediate X-rays and examinations as soon as she arrived for work that morning.
“When we arrived at the vets office a little after 7 a.m., Selby Turner said. “We knew the doctors didn’t show until around 9, and as we waited I just sat there and cried. We pulled a 10-inch stick from her rectum. There was nothing she could have eaten and definitely nothing she could have accidentally sat on.”
Dr. Reece found numerous issues and immediately called Mississippi State University School of Veterinary Medicine where they told the Turner’s to bring her in. Lady suffered internal injuries and severe rectal trauma. Even with extensive treatment, Lady would not recover.
“She had air in her abdomen where there shouldn’t be air,” Turner said. “Her bowels were completely lacerated and she had so much internal damage that the surgery would cost us anywhere from $5,000-$7,000. Even after the surgery, she would have issues going to the bathroom and would just have no fair chance at life. The best option was to put her down. I felt so bad for her, but I knew this was for the best.”
According to the Turner’s, Lady’s size and power could have stopped a single assailant from harming her. The abuse she suffered would likely have required two or more aggressors in the vicious act.
“This is an absolutely horrifying case of animal cruelty and we hope whoever is responsible for inflicting unimaginable suffering on Lady is identified and held accountable,” In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals Campaign Director Doll Stanley said. “This kind of behavior cannot be tolerated in society. We’ve championed tougher laws to protect animals from cruelty, like Buddy’s Law, and are grateful to lawmakers who have pushed them through, but they’re only strong if they’re enforced.”
Under the Mississippi Dog and Cat Protection Act, an adult offender would be charged with a felony and could incur severe penalties. With the passage of Buddy’s Law, youth 12 and under are mandated psychiatric evaluation and counseling as of July 1, 2022. The horrendous cruelty to Lady escapes the mandates of Buddy’s Law as the law was not in effect at the time of her torture. Action can be taken to expose her violators and work within their family unit to get needed help.
“We made flyers and went and hung them around Futhyville,” Stanley concluded. “This is just horrific and someone needs to be punished for this. If this was a child, we need to get them help. Animal abusers pose a severe public safety risk.”
Anyone with information leading to the person or persons who harmed Lady can anonymously contact the In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals campaign office at (662) 809-4483.
