Video via KATU.com
As we know, there is a fierce custody battle over Obie the Obese Dachshund. Yesterday in court, a judge decided that Obie is to stay in his current foster home with foster mom Nora Vanatta - he will not be returned to Oregon Dachshund Rescue (ODR) - for now. A lack of paperwork and contracts seems to be at the center of the decision.
ODR will continue their efforts to get Obie back, as the case will go to full litigation, possibly even a trial.
While we feel that Obie is getting the best of care with his foster mom, and that he is probably better off with her for now, we do understand some of the concerns that ODR has. While we don't see that the national television shows that Obie appeared on were "sensationalistic," we were honestly a bit shocked that Obie was allowed to travel across the country in the condition that he was in - something that ODR may have originally agreed to. But ODR was not aware that he would be traveling in cargo on the long plane rides. This may not have been the best decision for Obie.
In the meantime - all of this will work out in the courts, and we ask that dog lovers everywhere relax and take a deep breath. Comments such as this one on ODR's facebook page are simply uncalled for: "You and your sleazy, ambulance chasing lawyer should crawl back into the hole you came out of."
Let's just remember that the Obie's well-being is really what's important right now. He's actually pretty lucky - folks are fighting over him to give him the best of care - all dogs in need should have such a dilemma.
Keep up with Obie on his Facebook Page.
Related: Dachshund Drama: Obie The Obese Dog At Center Of Custody Lawsuit
10 comments:
We were originally in favor of Vanetta keeping Obie, but lost faith when we learned that he traveled cargo. Now we are rethinking our position. Thanks, Joey and Rowdy, for your voice of reason in this mess!
I personally wouldnt fly a young healthy dog, let alone a dog that has been introduced to a rescue and bounced from home to home then throw into that mix being MORBIDLY OBESE.
I'm relieved the other side of the story is coming out. You're correct, people should calm down. May I also ask people to research and support their own local dachshund rescues too!
J-Man & Rowdy:
Great job with all your Obie posts. Thanks so much for all the information. It's a great reminder to take a little extra time and have things in writing from the start.
Your friend,
Tootsie
People seem to forget that ODR not only agreed to Obie flying cargo, but that one of them was actually with Nora and Obie on the flight! And please! Did anyone expect a 77 pound dog to fly in the cabin? My dog weighs 11 pounds and she barely makes it!
Admittedly, we'd never let our precious doxie fly cargo: especially now that she's 19. Hell, we're simply not traveling overseas because it would tire her too much and the last time we took her over, two years ago, she was jet-lagged for two or three weeks! And we now restrict our traveling to places where we can drive, because she enjoys that.
However, I have friends who have larger breeds of dogs, and they travel in cargo quite often, and I've never heard any of them having a problem. It seems to me most airlines are trying hard to make sure animals travel in good conditions.
BTW, we even considered taking a cruise ship to cross the Atlantic, figuring it would give our doxie time to adapt to the difference in hour. Yeah, well, it turns out that they don't allow dogs at all inside the ship. They travel in kernels and exercise on the deck, and that's it. No way our beloved princess is doing that!
To get back to Obie: it seems that apart from his incredible weight, the dog is in excellent health. So he probably wasn't more at risk than any other dog when traveling by air. Or human.
And to anyone having doubts as to where he should be: look at Jennell's expression when she says "I think we'll take it a little bit further." I rest my case!
kennels, of course....Word doing its thing...
As to the NYC trip, I do not know whether ODR were aware that Nora had been advised against flying Obie or not. Yes I beleive there was an ODR person with her and that person did most of the looking after Obie in NYC other than the high profile photo ops. I am just so tired of this being hyped on FB etc. as Nora as the heroine and ODR as the villain. Is this a personality contest between Janell and Nora or about full disclosure of Obie's welfare and status. Not to mention the paypal funds that could if properly used as almost any of us would do coulsd care for Obie and many many more faceless dachshunds in serious need of rescue and vetting. I really tire of this Reality TV driven age we are in. What i hope for here is a fair hearing of both sides and i believe there are points on the ODR side that were never considered and a fair outcome for Obie for his entire life and for dachshunds in need who could be aided by Obies celebrity. i applaud dahshund love most of the dialog here has been relatively mild. Please keep an open mind as this unfolds. Thanks.
The ODR has started come off to some in the community as less of a rescue organization and more as a way for someone to get paid to have pets. I hear countless stories of people who have previous dachshund owning experience being turned down for the silliest of reasons. from being single and working part time out of the house to not having a yard (the person was someone who already had a doxie, worked from home and was already used to going on/to walk/dog park) In fact they turned us down because we only wanted two males in the house. We were told in no uncertain terms that Dachshunds could not coexist in a single gender household. We were told that it would be nothing but constant fighting and that under no circumstance would we even be allowed to let our pup have a play date with other males to see if he was compatible. I am happy to say we found a small male puppy from a breeder who completed our home. Abalard and Macintosh have lived together in harmony for over a year now without the horrific future that Janelle promised us would happen.
Cargo traveling is no place for a well dog, no less a sick one. Terrible decision. Makes me wonder.
A lot has been said against ODR, who openly admitted they did not have the resources to properly treat Obie (who had another name, changed by Nora to further his fame as OBese) so they put a plea out for help. WHAT would you have them do? Ignore his need for help? THAT is NOT what a true rescue would do with a dachshund in terrible need of help. But NOWHERE did they ask for someone who would exploit Obie for profit, risking his health in doing so. It is the risk to his health that causes ODR to fight to regain custody from a "foster home" . There would be NO fight if Nora had not collected untold amounts of donations and made countless thousands of dollars through her retail store, selling Obie merchandise. The foster home would simply apply to adopt Obie and if that foster home was the best home for the dog, the adoption would be finalized. The problem is that Nora has risked Obie's life in MORE than one way. She is not making decisions that are in his best interest, and no legitimate rescue would allow this to continue. No signed contracts? What about verbal contracts? Unbelievable! Here is something that has not been reported. I founded Dachshunds Only Rescue. I too have a morbidly obese dachshund. Someone tagged Nora on my first post with Coco's picture. At that time, ,gee, I was a little too busy to know who Nora was or much about Obie, but I did know that whomever had him was making a big splash and was profiting from his suffering. Nora commented, asking only ONE question about Coco. " How much does she weigh?" You go figure out why that is all she wanted to know about the dog, while IN THAT ORIGINAL POST, I spoke out AGAINST the Purina dog food company and "whomever" was exploiting Obie. Only after I answered her question did her fans start attacking me.Then she posted that she owned Obie, adopted him sight unseen, not knowing how heavy he was. Unfortunately, I have many dachshunds in rescue who need new homes. I put THEM in front of the drama and deleted the entire post, before the custody battle started. I deleted the evidence of what I am saying here, but some people saw it and if called to testify, would have to tell the truth. This is a nightmare for Obie and I pray for him every night. I am so grateful for the help of my foster home who is helping me restore Coco to good health, I wish ODR had been as lucky with their foster home search.
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