April
2006
(LOUISVILLE)
-- Three young children are being honored by the Louisville Kennel
Club, after they saved the life of a dog left for dead. Unfazed
by the horrid conditions, or that the animal abandoned was a pit
bull, these three "canine heroes" learned there's more
to a dog, than meets the eye. WAVE 3 Investigator Eric Flack has
their story.
Ten-year-old
Nick Peak, 11-year-old Wyatt Medley, and his 6-year-old brother,
Tristen, like to watch out for their neighbors.
"They're
always rescuing something whether it be a salamander or a bug,"
says Wyatt and Tristen's mom, Robin.
So
they boys weren't bothered when the animal that needed saving was
a pit bull named "Bush."
"It
would take a kid to do it honestly," said Lindsay Simmons,
a Vet Tech at Stonefield Veterinary Associates in Louisville, which
is now caring for Bush. "Because they don't know the hype,
they don't know all the misconceptions."
The
boys heard the call for help a couple weeks ago, while clearing
brush behind their southwest Jefferson County homes.
"It
sounded like a screeching kind of bark," Nick remembered.
They
followed the howls to a chain link pen four doors down.
"The
dog seemed kind of friendly," Wyatt said. "So we went
in and there was poop everywhere."
Bush
was starving. For food, water -- and attention.
"He
was excited," Nick said. "He was jumping all the way up
and touching the roof," Wyatt added, touching his hand to the
tin roof of the 5-foot pen.
Bush
had been abandoned for weeks. His owners moved out and just left
him behind.
Knowing
the breed, and its reputation, the boys decided their options were
limited.
"If
the pound would get it, they would kill it because they don't accept
those dogs," Nick realized.
So
Nick, Wyatt and Tristen decided they would take care of Bush. The
water came from a nearby creek. The boys snuck food from homes.
For
two weeks, the boys cared for bush behind their parents' back. But
the dog was still losing weight -- from worms as it turned out.
So the boys finally came clean, with just one request: don't let
them put Bush to sleep.
"I
mean if I didn't already have two dogs and two cats myself we would
probably have the dog," Robin Medley said.
Instead,
she called her councilman, who called the Louisville Kennel Club,
who called Stonefield last Friday.
"We've
all fallen in love with him," Simmons said as she held Bush
in her lap.
For
sure, Bush, about as calm and docile a pit bull as they come, has
a fan club.
"He's
really awesome. He loves everybody," Simmons said. "He's
a happy boy."
Dr.
Curt Oliver and his staff nursed Bush back to health. All he needs
now is a good home.
"And
after what he's been through," Dr. Oliver said, "he deserves
it."
You
don't have to be a doctor to figure that out.
"We
hope it gets a good home and nobody treats it like it used to be
treated," Wyatt said.
If
you are interested in adopting Bush, call Royalton Kennels at 502-239-7317.
For
their efforts, all three boys were given memberships to the Louisville
Zoo for kindness to an animal in distress.
Copyright
2006 WAVE 3
|
