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In Memory of Candy Sangster 1935 - 2003 |
| by Grace Joffe |
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When I read the call for help on one
of the Doberman Lists I was on, I immediately called the man to
make sure he was on the up and up about the job he had and the
awful story about his girl having diabetes and his vet wanting
$1400 to put her on an insulin program. I then called a few people
listed in the DPCA membership directory. The only one who cared
enough to help was Candy Sangster. She called the vet before I did
to lead the way to a smooth relationship between the vet and me.
She called the dog’s owner several times to guide him in giving
the shots. Candy was a diabetic with two senior female Dobermans and one rambunctious male. It was in Nov.2001, that Candy fell in her kitchen and broke both legs. She was in the hospital eight months. Judy Bingham, a Doberman breeder in California, picked up the dogs and took them to handler Moe Miyagawa, who housed them for the duration of Candy’s hospitalization. Knowing her situation, this was all gratis. After Candy came home, I called each Sunday. She was ecstatic to be home with the dogs. Most of you do not know Candy. The book of Doberpeople’s prose and poetry, “We’ve Been Blessed,” is dedicated to her. She helped our poster girl, Dutchess, come back to life and was one of the original 13, long before we were SND, who donated to her vet bill. Both she and her husband contributed to the breed. George Sangster was a well respected judge. When he was on an assignment many years ago, Candy was alone and was going into diabetic coma Their dog, Jet, knew that Candy was not sleeping and was able to get the attention of a neighbor who called 911. Jet won the 35th Ken-l Ration Dog Hero of the year (1989). The whole story of the dog, the way it appeared in Dog News, will be in the beginning of our SND book. No more pain sweet lady. Enjoy being with all your doberangels. Because of her love for Dobermans and what she has done for SND, I am asking that if you can, to please contribute in Candy’s memory. |
| Justice for Hope! | |
Hope, the day she was found by animal control |
On Thursday, December 12, 2002, SND first learned about Hope, the victim of a horrible animal abuse case. The following is an excerpt of the first post from Kimberly Capella-Gowland of Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue, concerning her new rescue. “It is with a mixture of rage and sadness that I write this post. Since I am so overwhelmed with emotion, I decided to bring this poor soul to the attention of the rescue community. Please grab a Kleenex, this story is not for the weak at heart. |
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I received a call today from an animal shelter in Mississippi.
They had responded to a complaint of “a smell of something rotting”
from a neighbor. When they arrived at the home that was the source
of the smell, they discovered the rotting corpse of a male Doberman.
He had literally starved to death. With him, was “Hope.” She was seen
drinking her own urine and eating her own fecal matter. She was
confiscated by animal control. She was released to me today, 10
days after pick up. “Hope” is approximately 2-3 years old, blue,
with cropped ears and has obviously been bred. I gave her the name
“Hope” because it is all she has left, and she never gave up on HOPE.” Ms. Gowland worked diligently in gathering police reports and following up on the case. She also consulted the Animal Legal Defense Fund for legal assistance in the case. Shortly before the case went to trial, she was subpoenaed as an expert witness and could no longer speak out. Late in the afternoon of Thursday, January 9, 2003 the Rescue organization learned that Hope’s case would be tried the following Monday. At that time, the prosecution was only seeking a $500 fine for one count out of a possible 8 counts that could have been charged in the case. Things were not looking good. Looming in the back of everyone’s mind was the chance that Hope would be returned to her original owner, Tremena Miskel, a seventh grade special education teacher. It was at this time that the Louisiana Assistant Director of Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue, Lindsay Grissom made a widespread plea. She informed SND and other groups that the case was going to trial and that the situation appeared bleak. Upon the news, the community of animal lovers rallied to action. News of the upcoming trial was posted to numerous list groups and message boards and countless emails went out. As a result, the prosecutor, judge, mayor, and city manager of Gautier were bombarded with faxes and phone calls demanding justice. After the trial, Ms. Gowland proclaimed success, “On January 13, 2003, the Gautier City Court Judge found Tremena Miskel guilty of the offense of animal cruelty, including the Mississippi law that prohibits depriving a dog of necessary food or drink. Judge Gary Roberts ordered her to pay the maximum fine of $1000, serve 10 days in jail, and pay restitution to Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue in the amount of actual expenses (which Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue estimates to be about $1350); ordered her to forfeit ownership of the surviving dog [Hope] to Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue; and permanently enjoined her from owning or having custody of any animals in the City of Gautier in the future. The 10 days of jail time and $500 of the $1000 fine were suspended, conditional upon Ms. Miskel paying the fine in accordance with a payment schedule to be set up with the court and upon her committing no crimes of any sort during a probationary period of one year.” |
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| The case received a great deal of media coverage, with articles published in The Mississippi Press, The Sun-Herald, and The Picayune Newspaper. As of this writing, these articles can be accessed from the Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue web site at www.gulfcoastdobermanrescue.com. Excerpts from the original police report and numerous pictures of Hope are also on the site. Hope has fully recovered from the neglect and abuse that she suffered. As a result of all of the media attention, Gulf Coast Doberman Rescue was bombarded with people wanting to adopt Hope. She has now been adopted by a wonderful family, and is living a life of leisure as a much loved Dobie! |
 Hope after 10 days at the shelter and 7 days in rescue |