A Major Success Story: Sarge

Our group takes great pride in writing a brief introduction to the following entry on our blog.

This is a story about compassion and commitment, patience and love.

It involves a dog named Sarge, who, eight months ago was taken from an attic, where he had been chained with his mouth bound shut, and left to starve. Miraculously, this dog survived. And, more miraculously, so did his faith in people.

But the real story begins, as it does with every dog, when Sarge was adopted.

In presenting Sarge's story, we would like to thank the following people:

Berkeley County Animal Control for rescuing Sarge.

The staff of Martinsburg Animal Hospital for their exceptional care and treatment of Sarge.

The WHAG NBC-5 news team, who did a follow-up story on Sarge.

Cindy and Rusty, Sarge's adopters, who saw in Sarge the beauty and potential of a good dog.

Part One

This is the Petfinder listing we wrote for Sarge, whom at that time we had named "Abe."

Abe - one year old - male/neutered - mixed breed, possibly Great Dane with secondary breed possibly pit bull* - 50 pounds (should weigh much more) - brindle short coat with white head and socks

The remarkable aspects of Abe's story all reside in the character of Abe himself. He is joyful, trusting, gentle, and filled with hope. We cannot account for Abe's abiding faith in people, but we are happy to play a small part in justifying it.

The unkindness done to Abe is evident, and unspeakable. Thanks to intervention by concerned citizens, and the decisive action of Berkeley County Animal Control officers, Abe is safe and making a wonderful recovery. He receives a daily hydration therapy to engender healing of the degradation to his face, inflicted by deliberate cinching of his muzzle with chain, rope and tape, which resulted in tissue loss to the bone. Sadder yet, he was stored away in this condition with a bowl of food and water always present, although he was unable to open his sealed mouth in order to eat and drink, resulting in a slow process of starvation.

Abe's muzzle is healing thanks to diligent medical treatment, and while still emaciated, he is slowly beginning to gain weight. His recovery will take time, but one would be hard pressed to meet a more willing or cheerful patient.

In fact, Abe's nature is one of profound sweetness; in his thankfulness to be warm, well treated and fed, Abe's eyes shine with joy. His abject gratitude for decent treatment is all the more touching in that he accepts kindness with the open innocence of a puppy. He delights in his newfound friends of all species; his days are now filled with wondrous opportunities to take walks, eat frequent meals, be hugged, and regard a vast number of interesting people and animals with his tail wagging madly - all this a far cry from the attic in which he was kept with his mouth bound shut.

Abe's rescue and recovery are the first steps towards his real story, which will only begin when he is adopted.

We recognize that times are hard right now for many families, and yet we cannot imagine a better fellow to rally around than Abe - a dog who has known incredible despair and pain, but has not allowed them to change his better nature, nor shake his belief in the better nature of others.

Abe's fortitude and goodness are examples that deserve our support, and, we hope, the support of an adopter who recognizes in Abe the full measure of a great and forgiving heart. Not to mention a wonderful dog, who, by the way, is housetrained and knows how to "sit".

Part Two - The Present:

The following are photos and an update from Cindy and Rusty - Sarge's adopters.

Sarge, AKA Butter Bean, has been with us for 5 months now. During that time he has gained about 10 pounds and is at his perfect weight. His wounds are healed and the darker patterned pigmentation has recently returned to the scarred area but has no hair there. We put triple antibiotic ointment on his scarred area due to the tissue fragility and dryness. He also wears 60+ sunscreen on his muzzle any time he goes out.

He attended basic training at Petsmart. We then enrolled him in another basic training class with Aja at Mutt Magic, who is very experienced in the bully breeds. At the end of 8 weeks under her instruction he achieved the AKA Canine Good Citizen status. He will start intermediate in 3 weeks and will work toward his Therapy Dog status. We are hoping there will be a place for him at a hospital like Walter Reed.

He lives with Molly, a 70 lb. great dane/greyhound mix; Logan, a 6 lb. Yorkie and 3 indoor cats. He has shown no aggression but had to learn how to be a good big brother to his new brothers and sisters by learning to wait his turn, not jump or chase or hog Mommy and Daddy.

He has a lot of energy. He loves to walk on his treadmill 3-5 miles when we can't get out for a walk. He will touch the treadmill with his nose and then look at me until I get it ready for him. If the treadmill speed is not fast enough he will look at the control panel then look at me and bark until I make it faster.

He is overcoming his need to chase trucks and trying to eat the vacum cleaner when it's on. He does tend to have some obsessive compulsive traits but keeping him busy helps him to stay focused. He has also gotten better with his dog aggression issues while out walking. He loves to be in the back yard and does "border patrol" around the perimeter. He is very attached to both of us and doesn't like for us to be out of his sight. He is rolling full belly up for rubs and I finally got to that good tickle spot.

It's hard to believe that we've accomplished so much in just 5 months! We have a lot of plans for our future. We would never have been able to get this far without Susan and Heather. I feel like I got new friends on top of getting this wonderful dog. I hope this is helpful in writing about his forever family who loves him so very much. He is sleeping next to me as I write this, snoring softly, on his very soft bed. He occasionally lifts his head and looks at me with very sleepy eyes, then goes back to sleep. Ahhh, the life.