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News
Latest News Items:
Subscribe to Newsletter -- Wednesday October 1st, 2008
PHOTO CONTEST HAS STARTED -- Wednesday August 6th, 2008
MMBR's Calendar Photo Contest is under way. FREE ENTRY. HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR BOXERS and Win Prizes too.
Look for the link on the home page
2008 Mackinaw Trip -- Thursday May 8th, 2008
MMBR is again going to Mackinaw Island for the Epona Dog and Pony Parade and Event.
We are encouraging past adopters to contact us if you are interested in attending the trip. The trip is planned for June 13 thru 15, 2008.
Contact us for details.
Hope to see you there
ARREST IN DUNN CASE -- Thursday March 27th, 2008
2 People Accused Of Starving, Killing Dog
Dog Was Named Dunn Madra By Those Who Rescued Him
POSTED: 2:05 pm EDT March 27, 2008
UPDATED: 3:13 pm EDT March 27, 2008
GLADWIN COUNTY, Mich. -- On Feb. 21, Steven Suiter, 31, of Gladwin, took a starving boxer dog to Gladwin County Animal Control.
He allegedly told them he had found the dog as it was in a serious state of starvation.
Animal control staff got the dog to eat, and a few days later someone from Mid-Michigan Boxer Rescue picked up the dog and took him to a vet in Lansing.
The rescue group named the dog Dunn Madra, which means “brown dog.â€
Boxer Rescue put his picture and a story about him on their Web site asking for any information about the dog, or if an owner recognized him to come forward.
Dunn Madra died in Lansing on Feb. 28. The necropsy on the dog indicated that it had been starving for 20 days.
A local newspaper, the Gladwin County Record, ran a story about the dog and after receiving tips from the public, state police and animal control determined that the man who originally took the dog to animal control was Madra’s owner.
Police arrested Suiter and his estranged wife, 31-year-old April Suiter, of Hazel Park.
She was living with Suiter when Madra was starved.
Both are charged with killing or torturing an animal, a five year felony, and animal cruelty, a 93 day misdemeanor.
Vote for Echo/Help Rescue -- Tuesday March 18th, 2008
Please vote for Echo and help us to win $10,000 for Mid Michigan Boxer Rescue!
http://www.bissell.com/redirect.asp?page_id=47161&Pet=1552
Please cross post as well.
Thank you
Reward offered! -- Wednesday March 12th, 2008
Reward offered to locate owners in suspected animal neglect case
Michelle Graves / Reporter
Last updated: Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 03:26:47 PM
The abandoned dog dubbed Dunn Madras by rescue workers is examined by a Lansing-area veterinary clinic. The emaciated canine died Feb. 28 after a Boxer rescue group picked the dog up from the Gladwin County animal shelter. The dog was brought into the shelter on Feb. 21 after it was found near Gladwin.
A view looking down on Dunn the abandoned dog’s emaciated body.
GLADWIN COUNTY — Officers from Gladwin County Animal Control and Clare County Animal Control are conducting a joint investigation in an attempt to locate the owner of an extremely emaciated stray dog which was recently brought in to the Gladwin County Animal Shelter.
“We will be sharing information to determine where the actual crime took place,†said Taylor. “We’re taking any leads and information.â€
An adult male Boxer should weigh approximately 70 pounds, but Dunn Madra (as he was named by rescue workers), an approximately 6-year-old brown Boxer found roaming the south end of Gladwin Feb. 21, weighed just 35 pounds.
According to Taylor, the animal was brought in as a stray on Feb. 21 and released to Mid Michigan Boxer Rescue on Feb. 28. The rescue group immediately took Dunn to a Southside Animal Hospital in Lansing where he was thoroughly examined.
Dr. Joyce Heideman, a veterinarian at Southside Animal Hospital, said that when dealing with an animal as severely starved as the one found in Gladwin, certain steps must be taken when providing the animal food.
In Dunn’s case, the ongoing lack of food had caused his body to progress into a catabolic state.
“His body had started consuming its own tissue,†said Heideman. “I could see and feel his ribs, the bone on the top of his head, bones on his rump area – pretty much all bones were sticking out.â€
Familiar with the dangers of providing too much food after a prolonged period of starvation, Taylor said the shelter was careful not to give the canine a whole lot of food all at once.
“You do have to be very careful – you can’t over-feed a starving animal,†said Taylor.
When he first arrived at the shelter, Taylor said Dunn was given a half can of food and water twice a day, and by the time the rescue group picked him up he was eating a full can of food three times a day, drinking water and going to the bathroom.
The animal shelter has two local veterinarians who visit once a week, and Taylor said one of them looked at Dunn and agreed that he should be kept under general observation and needed to gain weight.
Despite the best combined efforts of the shelter, the rescue group and the veterinary clinics, however, Dunn died late on the night of Feb. 28.
Necropsy findings show that the Boxer was severely emaciated and had a loss of muscle mass throughout most of his body, and he had no body fat at all. In addition to the signs of starvation, the dog also had a severe infestation of fleas.
As a result of the flea infestation, Dunn was also very anemic and had a skin condition because of the fleas. Heideman said a typical adult dog will not be anemic because of a flea infestation, usually only 3 pound cats are that severe.
“At just one glance I saw 15 fleas,†Heideman said. “There were easily 500 fleas on that dog.â€
Heideman estimated that it would have taken at least a month for Dunn to get in the condition he was in, and she thinks that at the very least he had fleas for two weeks. In the end, Dunn’s official cause of death was cardiac arrest.
“Starvation, anemia or a congenital heart problem could have caused the hypertrophy found with Dunn’s heart ventricle – that’s a condition where the walls thicken around the heart,†she said. “He just couldn’t get his blood moving.â€
Even though the signs of animal neglect seem obvious in this case, Taylor asserted that it can still be difficult to obtain enough information to prosecute.
“We have to have evidence or witnesses for this case to go anywhere; it can be a hard prosecution,†Taylor said.
Hoping to spur leads, Heart of Michigan Animal Rescue is offering a reward to anyone who can provide information that leads to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for Dunn’s condition and subsequent death.
Heart of Michigan is also taking donations to be applied toward the reward.
To report a lead, please contact the Gladwin County Animal Control at 989-426-4579.
To donate money towards the reward, please contact Heart of Michigan Animal Rescue at 989-246-1846.
MACKINAW LILAC FESTIVAL -- Tuesday March 13th, 2007
Join members of MMBR along with adopted dogs and their new owners at the Epona and Barkus Parade
Saturday June 16th, 2007 12:00 PM until 01:00 PM
Location: Mackinaw Island Mackinaw Island MI
Join us for the Epona and Barkus Parade on Mackinaw Island! It is held during the Lilac Festival at one of the most beautiful places in Michigan
LOTS OF EVENTS -- Tuesday March 13th, 2007
Check out our "EVENTS" page to see all of the exciting events that MMBR is participating in. Help us to spread the word about rescue and educate the public on the importance of training and spay/neuter of pets.
We are 501(c)3 Approved -- Monday January 1st, 2001
We are a federal 501(c)3 approved Rescue Group.
That means your donations are tax deductable so PLEASE, consider us when looking for a charity to donate to.
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