Special Notice # 318 Ok
From Arnold, Jefferson County, Missouri

"There was an error in judgment, a lack of
common sense. In hindsight, she should've brought
the dogs out or left the van running."

Unquote

There are probably some people who think dogs
can only die in this manner during the day
when the sun is up.

But her story also does not add up for me.

Bill Zardus

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dogpark-National-News/message/1673
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpanielWorld/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Missouri-Dogs/


http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/191EDA\
28F711396D862575DF005870EC?OpenDocument

By Kim Bell = KBell@ post-dispatch.com
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
06/24/2009

UPDATED 8:30 P.M. with additional comment, detail throughout

ARNOLD, Mo. -- Seven high-priced show dogs, including
one of the top Akitas in the country, are dead after
being left by their handler for several hours in a hot
van in Jefferson County. Police say Mary Wild, a
24-year-old woman who was caring for the dogs, left
them in a cargo van early Monday and went to bed
after returning from a dog show in Iowa.

The dogs likely died of heat stroke, a veterinarian
said, although autopsies are pending. The purebreds
included three golden retrievers, a dalmation, a
Siberian Husky, a Malamute and the top-ranked Akita
named Jersey.

"I've never seen such a horrific act in my lifetime,"
said Dr. Laura Ivan, the veterinarian in House Springs
whose office Wild brought the dogs to on Monday. Ivan
is now caring for the lone surviving dog. "This was
not intentional, but a horrible, tragic accident."

Wild, who is paid to handle the dogs at shows, did
not return repeated phone and email messages from
the Post-Dispatch requesting comment. She told
police that, after returning from her Iowa road
trip, she started to transfer the dogs in kennels
into the garage of a home on Kroeck Drive in Arnold.
But it was so hot, she later told police, that she
instead decided to leave them in their portable
kennels in the van.

She told police she put six electric fans in the van
to keep the dogs cool. She also left a door open to
the van and the van's windows partly open, said Capt.
Ralph Brown of the Jefferson County sheriff's office.
The van was apparently parked in the driveway, Brown
said.

She left them in the van about 1 a.m. Monday and went
inside the home to sleep. She told police that, three
hours later, she went outside to check on the dogs.
They were fine, she told police. Then, about 6:30 a.m.,
all eight dogs were in distress. She found five of
the dogs breathing, but not responsive. The other
three were clearly in distress, but could at least
raise their heads.

She tried reviving the dogs, by hosing them down,
then took them to a veterinarian in House Springs.
Only one of the eight survived.

Jersey's owner, Monica Colvin of Lebanon, Ill., was
still shaken Wednesday when she recounted how she
learned about her dog's death. She was traveling to
California and got a phone call late Monday afternoon
from Wild.

"She did not give me the full story," Colvin said.
"She said she (Jersey) got hot and she'll be okay."

The next day, Jersey died. And only Wednesday did
Colvin find out about the other dogs' deaths.

"She should've gotten those dogs into a cool
location, in her kitchen, her own bedroom, I don't
care where," Colvin said. "The dogs' safety should
be paramount."

In the first six months of this year, Jersey the
Akita had won enough points at dog shows sanctioned
by the American Kennel Club to be considered the
top-ranked female Akita and the fourth-ranked Akita
in the country, her owner said. Such purebred dogs
are worth thousands, possibly tens of thousands of
dollars, said Ivan, the veterinarian.

Jefferson County Sheriff Glenn Boyer's office and
the county's animal control division are investigating.
Their report will be turned over to the county
prosecutor. Brown said Wild was a reputable dog
handler who had been entrusted to care for the dogs.
"This is a very sad case," Brown said. "The lady
probably thought, in her mind, heck it's hot in
the garage, the some of the dogs were probably
already asleep."

Brown cautioned others with dogs: "Take every
precaution during this high heat and humidity. If
at all possible, take them inside."

The veterinarian, Ivan, said there is a discrepancy
about the times Wild gave police. Ivan said Wild's
first call to her cell phone was at 9:08 a.m.,
followed by a 9:20 a.m. call to Ivan's office. Wild
arrived at the vet's office at 9:30 a.m., and Ivan
got to the office fifteen minutes later. Rigor
mortis had already set in on some of the dead dogs,
Ivan said. Jersey and another dog were still alive.
The Akita died about 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Ivan said the Akita died of brain damage when the
blood cells heat up, the body rejects them.

"It can get to be 120 degrees inside a van," Ivan
said. "With the humidity, it's certainly a suffocating
effect. Dogs aren't able to sweat. They pant, but
not enough to release the heat in the brain."

Their body temperature could have exceeded 108
degrees.

"It only takes five minutes for heat stroke to
happen," Ivan said. "If the brain heats up to about
108 degrees, you only have a few minutes to lower
the temperature and restore oxygen to the brain. The
blood, essentially, is boiling."

James Taylor, the county's animal control manager,
said his investigation should be completed this
week. About Ivan's statement on the temperatures
of the dogs' bodies and inside the van, Taylor
said: "I agree with the vet on that assessment."

Taylor said he could not comment on his investigation
beyond that point.

Ivan said the crates were stacked on top of each other
inside the cargo van. The cages had water dishes, but
the dishes were empty by the time the vet's staff saw
them.

"There was not an intent, obviously, to kill," Ivan
said. "There was an error in judgment, a lack of
common sense. In hindsight, she should've brought
the dogs out or left the van running."

------------- End of Story -------------