A teen was walking with her mom yesterday in Memphis when they heard a dog crying but couldn’t see the dog. They called police. It was determined that there was a dog trapped in a drain pipe. A crew from the public works department dug up the street to access the area of the pipe where the dog was trapped and then “they managed to reach in and get the dog out.” Yay public works crew! Then the professionals took over:
The dog was scared, though, so Memphis Animal Services had to use control poles on him[.]
The untrained public works folks reached in and pulled the dog out. But when the professional animal handlers from MAS got the dog, they had to string him up in a chokepole. TWO chokepoles, actually. Because one chokepole couldn’t possibly do the job. And of course a leash was out of the question – the dog was scared. Scared dogs require chokepoles. Two chokepoles. It’s always good to calm a frightened pet by stringing a metal noose around his neck. Two metal nooses.
I do love the caption on the photo above. If anyone wants to adopt the demon dog that was pulled from the bowels of hell and required TWO chokepoles for professionals to get him onto the truck, come on down to the pound and apply!
My stars, I bet the poor dog was like, “Put me back in the drain please.” I hope they don’t kill him after “rescuing” him.
MAS to the rescue! What a joke! This poor dog! I want to see MAS’ professional training manual. What chapter will you find place two choke poles on a terrified dog that has been trapped in a drainpipe? The untrained people that used their hands must not have read the manual….thank goodness.
They aren’t even using the chokepoles correctly. One of the loops is in his mouth.
I’m sure you’re not seeing what you are seeing, as is the usual sitch with anything involving MAS. Remember, these people have been trained and re-trained in humane handling and anyone who calls them out over their abuse is just a poopyhead.
They need to learn from the AC officers who raided that rapper’s home. They used 1 catch pole, and a leash, then a piece of paper, to test if the dog would bite or not. Which it didn’t EVEN when scared, so the lady was able to pick him up and carry him off. (oh and he was a Pit Bull)
I hope the local news station was all over this… and were the ACO’s named for this heroic feat?
MAS response will be The ACO’s will need retraining even thought they were just retrained . (And didn’t learn a thing) That statement is getting so old from them.
You think they will have a RESPONSE?
I’ll have what she’s having.
In a perfect world Mas ACO”s should take care of the Belfast City Council members and city council deems them dangerous and they all get their just deserves from each other.
I really do wonder if ANYONE tried a slip lead, or if chokepoles are still the first weapon of choice out in the field. Safe to say no one crouched down, side to the dog, with a cookie in hand and said, “Here boy! Come here and get a cookie! Good boy! We’ll name you Piper!”
Clearly, one of the ACOs got a loop into the dog’s mouth, but instead of removing it as he should (because that can do a lot of damage just through the dog struggling), they opted for a second pole on top of that.
Poor decision-making skills abound. How much of the dog’s panic was *induced* by the actions of the ACO’s? Looks like instead of defusing a situation, they ramped it up. Yay team.
Funny how the untrained, irresponsible public was able to handle this dog without devices, but the professionals weren’t.
The dog is not at the shelter,but with a rescue group after getting checked out at the animal emergency center.
Oh thank you Jesus !!!!! Cus, you know, they would kill that dog. Not even give him a chance… but death might be better than staying at MAS, for even one frightening night…. he looks like a sweet dog. Glad he is safe, now.
I was called to the scene and was there for the entire 4+ hours that it took to get the dog. The two sets of legs featured in the photo belong to Mario Chiozza (one of the most kind rescuers we have in Mphs) and John Robinson (ditto), NOT to MAS workers. The (newly hired) MAS officer who responded, jumped into the 10 foot gully and grabbed a shovel and then a sledge hammer to help Mario and John, already covered in sweat and blood. The three men worked for hours until the backhoe arrived.
After hours of work, the dog “Greenline” was pulled out, not by a city worker but by Mario Chiozza. Greenline was carried out of the gully wearing a leash which by the time he was up and out to safety, he had chewed in two. He was in a rather scared, injured and testy state as you can imagine. “Greenline” was having none of it. A Vet on scene, with an emergency team on stand-by, immediately took his vitals, stating he was going into shock and needed treatment, STAT. Mario, the ACO and John tried to move Greenline and as heart-breaking as it was, determined they had to use the catchpoles for the dog’s safety. One noose ended up in his mouth and instead of upsetting him more, the second (owned by Mario) was looped around and under his leg and around his neck. He was never for one second lifted by the catchpoles. They were only used to keep him from leaping to the ground while he was carried to the truck. They were not tightened. The MAS officer transported Greenline to the emergency medical team waiting less than five blocks away at AEC on Summer. After Greenline left the scene, Mario turned to me and said it broke his heart to use the pole. I said, don’t worry, everyone here understands. That dog needed medical attention and in the long run, that is what mattered.
The MAS officer and the two rescuers did not take one action that would have hurt this dog. They acted in a way that I would have wanted my dog to be treated.
Channel 3 barely did a report, Channel 5 stated that it was ASPCA workers who did the work, and obviously the Commercial Appeal did not get it right either.
I am happy to criticize MAS when they do something wrong (which is most of the time) BUT in this case, the animal control officer did everything right. And I am sure Mario and John would agree.
Thank you for the correction, G. Can you tell us please which rescue group Mario and John are with?
Just to clarify, the Commercial Appeal has not issued a correction to its story. The information presented by an anonymous commenter here can be interpreted as readers see fit.
Mario is with The Savior Foundation.
I would believe the anonymous commenter (who I know to be trustworthy and was actually AT the scene for 4 hours) rather than a story that was fed to The Commercial Appeal by someone who didn’t know what they were talking about.
That is your choice, Also Anonymous Commenter. But the Comm. Appeal reporter appears to be standing behind his piece and I simply wanted to clarify for everyone that someone who went to journalism school has put his name to this version of events, got it approved by editors and has issued no corrections. I feel it is important to provide this context.
As for the more important issue, the poor dog, he got scared after being stuck in a pipe and dug out and when he needed comfort he got one chokepole through the mouth and another around the neck. There is no set of circumstances on this earth that justifies this mistreatment IMO.
Mario is with The Savior Foundation, he raises money to provide Vet treatment for those who can’t afford it and rescues and treats and then rehomes the most needy of those animals in Memphis. He is an amazing man who has our respect. John Robinson is with Collierville Animal Services, and is known for stepping up to the plate when there is help needed. I don’t know one person in Memphis who does not respect, rely and depend on these two men.
Come on, G. Gordon. There are lots of people who don’t respect, rely and depend on those two men. Wharton, Rogers, Hooks, Hall, Tower, …the list extends through the city.
Obviously, I was referring to the decent people and actually meant to say “animal” people.
Trust me, as afraid as the dog was, the “professionals” will kill him, because he may favor a “similar” resemblance to a somewhat somehow kind of sorta “pit bull.” Poor dog doesn’t stand a chance. You can count on it.
Poor little guy. So glad to hear he is with a rescue, because he’d stand no chance at MAS.
Is there any story on how “Greenline” got into the drain pipe? Drain pipe from where?
I am just tickled he got to a rescue group, rather than die at MAS.
Turns out he IS at MAS. Just saw this comment on Facebook:
Mario Chiozza: Summer ave. released this dog with out me knowing after treatment the next day to MAS.He is at MAS hoping for rescue or somebody that has a way to check on him their. we need a rescue to take him or at least check on him at MAS!
Oh Great.. so now there will be another Mario situation… Better act fast…
So why can’t Mario with The Savior Foundation get him out of MAS? After all the trouble that others went to to save the dog, how can they all just let MAS have him when they’re just going to ignore his health needs and then kill him?
Steve Shular is the Public Affairs Officer for Shelby County. Why in the world would Steve Shular release this picture to the Commercial Appeal? There were tons of pictures taken and he releases this one. Is he trying to scare people out of helping other animals? Does he just not care about dogs that need help in Memphis?
Steve Shular (who had his own agenda to make Memphis and Shelby County look good) is the person who fed the story to the CA. If the reporter (and his editor) were gullible enough to buy everything Shular said instead of interviewing the very people involved in the rescue, then so be it. It was suggested to the reporter at the site that he interview Mario, but he never did.
Why no video of the rescue if reporters where there? Anyone have a link to a Facebook or web page where there is news about this rescue from the pet rescues point of view, or updated photos and vet report?
Here is an album of pics on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.393283177400802.98759.100001573695676&type=3
Jody Callahan, the reporter from The Commercial Appeal, WAS NOT AT THE SCENE. He wrote the article based on what he was told by Steve Shular, spokesman for Shelby County government.
http://wreg.com/2012/07/10/dog-rescued-from-drainage-ditch/
Those ‘City workers’ sure do look a lot like Mario and John!! When did you guys start working for the Public Works Dept?
This guy is going to need a lot of help.
This is a very brief video clip but the dog looks unwell. Why is he being housed in a stainless steel cage instead of a run?
Agreed. I wonder if he got fluids yesterday as he looks dehydrated. I know there’s a bowl of water there, but a stressed and unwell dog may not drink.
Safe to say that if any of us had care of this dog, he would be in a warm, quiet place with something soft to lie on.
I wonder why he was discharged from the vet?
He is in a quiet room off of the clinic.
I have video of some of these rooms at MAS. They are “quiet” because no one goes in there to clean cages or feed the animals. I hope this isn’t one of those rooms.
is this video shot at MAS?
Yes Dot.
Greenline #243552 is still not listed on Pet Harbor? Why??
Is Greenline going to be posted on FB? If he is, please be sure to tag me so I can help get him networked
Because PetHarbor is not kept up to date or complete. There are animals listed there that are long dead and living animals in the shelter never listed.
Why this is, I cannot say.
the shelter in Caswell County, NC does the same thing… there’s a dog listed for adoption that I adopted 2 years ago… duh