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Keep Animals Like Knox Safe From Abuse

Written by: Arizona Humane Society

Knox The first time Arizona Humane Society Emergency Animal Medical Technicians™ saw Knox, she was just a skeleton of a Great Dane weighing only 74 pounds, her ribs and pelvic bones protruding through her skin. Having been neglected for two years, she was too weak to even stand, and the severely malnourished dog could only greet EAMTs with a simple tail wag before slowly rolling over for a belly rub and the love she so desperately craved.

Luxury was a bowl of food and a dog bed in our Second Chance Animal Hospital™, and it took weeks of care and small meals every six hours for Knox to reach her ideal weight. These days, she enjoys a pampered lifestyle with daily walks, nutritious food and a never-ending supply of unconditional love in her new forever home.

And while Knox’s story has a happy ending, sadly, AHS is seeing more and more cases of abuse and neglect toward Valley animals, including a recent string of local cockfighting cases. In the past two months, AHS and the Phoenix Police Department have responded to three separate cases of animal cruelty as it pertains to cockfighting, which is considered a class 5 felony in the United States.

In response to this unfortunate uptick, and in recognition of National Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month in April, AHS and Phoenix PD recently teamed up to help educate the public about animal abuse and neglect through a recent pet health awareness press conference.

Last year, AHS’ animal cruelty investigators and EAMTs™ responded to a total of 26,756 calls for help. Of those, more than 7,600 were initial calls regarding animal cruelty which required an additional 13,000 follow-up visits by AHS EAMTs. This is a 15 percent increase from 2010-2011.

AHS is asking the public for help in keeping our community animals safe and encourages anyone who witnesses animal cruelty to please call AHS’ field dispatch at 602.997.7586 x 2073. For can also help provide our EAMTs with the life-saving supplies necessary to help rescue animals like Knox by making a small donation.