A recovered Neeko hitches his waggin' to new foster owners
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Originally published 12:30 a.m., January 18, 2008
Updated 09:49 a.m., January 18, 2008
Photo by Linda McConnell
Special to the Rocky
Neeko, a Belgian Malinois who was nearly starved to death after his owner abandoned him (left), has recovered enough to leave Aurora Animal Shelter, and is now going to a foster home. His owner is being prosecuted.
Photos By Linda McConnell / Special to the Rocky
UP Neeko gets his licks in with his new foster parents, Denise and Brian, of Aurora, who picked him up Thursday.
When rescued in August, Neeko weighed only 30 pounds.
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His coat shiny, his eyes bright, Neeko beamed, smiled and licked the faces of his foster family Thursday, looking nothing like the pathetic, starving dog he was six months ago.
Neeko is a Belgian Malinois, found in an abandoned home on Aug. 21, so hungry that he had resorted to eating part of the carcass of the other dog that had been abandoned there.
His owner, Kristy Knecht, 29, of Aurora, has been charged with two counts of aggravated animal cruelty and ordered not to own or care for animals. Her arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 20.
Neeko weighed 30 pounds when he was taken to an animal shelter in August.
Thursday, the 5-year-old weighed a robust 63 pounds, not counting the calories he lost running in circles around his new foster owners, Denise and Brian, of Aurora, who asked that their last names not be used.
News of how Neeko had been abandoned stirred hearts in the metro area and donations poured in to help defray his $10,000 in medical expenses. More than two dozen people offered to become foster owners.
The Aurora Animal Shelter thought Denise and Brian would be a good match. An initial meet- and-greet went well, the humans saying "yes," and Neeko seemingly wagging the same answer.
Denise and Brian picked up Neeko at the Animal Lodge, a subsidiary of Aurora Animal Care. Neeko grabbed his favorite toy - a stuffed hedgehog - circled around Denise on his red leash and proudly posed for pictures.
Denise said she is taking time off work to make sure Neeko is comfortable at home and fits in well with the couple's other dog, Pico, also a Belgian Malinois.
Neeko still has a sensitive stomach from his weeks without food, so is on a special diet. He eats 2,700 calories a day to keep his weight on.
Some dogs never recover emotionally from severe neglect or abuse, said veterinarian Dr. Barbara McLucas, who headed up Neeko's care. But others - and Neeko seems to fall in this category - go on to lead quite normal lives.
"Neeko doesn't appear to have any concerns about humans," she said.
Carol Rosenfield, the nutritionist who fed Neeko fluids and a diet of small, vitamin-laced meatballs in late summer and fall, said saying goodbye is "bittersweet."
She's ecstatic that he reached the point that he can go to a loving home, but said she will miss him horribly. "This is tough for me," she said.
Denise assured everyone that Neeko will have a great time at his new home, provided "he likes
ESPN. That's what Pico always watches during the daytime - mostly football and NASCAR."
scanlon@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2897
Comments
Posted by rmnreader on January 17, 2008 at 2:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This makes me sick - I think there should be stiffer penalties for animal abuse - anyone who would abuse an animal with little or not thought is much more likely to abuse a person.
Good to hear that he has no emotional scars & is doing so well though.
Posted by FloydHill on January 17, 2008 at 2:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope the lady responsible has a slow and painful death.
Posted by dawnmarie01 on January 17, 2008 at 3:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Exactly! Throw her in a jail cell and don't feed her for 2-3 months. See how she likes it!
Posted by Ginger on January 18, 2008 at 6:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have followed this story since it first broke, and I can't help but think somehow that this woman abandoned that poor dog because of a romantic relationship. Somehow, it just seems that women make bad choices in their lives because they let their hearts rule their heads. Thank God that Neeko has been placed with loving owners who will help erase all his suffering. Ms. Knecht will have to deal with what she did for the rest of her life.
Posted by fishtanksamurai on January 18, 2008 at 8:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is what passes for news these days? No wonder the country is in disarray.
Posted by kitty on January 18, 2008 at 9:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
sorry, fishtanksamuri....I can honestly say that I would rather read stories like this than horror stories of children being murdered by their mothers, fathers, sisters etc...I think it is heartwarming for people to hear success stories of victims that overcome the horrifying situtations that so many people and animals are in. Hope you have a great day! :)
Posted by wow on January 18, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's amazing he lived, and incredible that he's so happy and well adjusted after all that. I read another story mentioning his former owner, a soldier who'd been transferred and couldn't keep the dog, had given him to that woman after meeting her and her then healthy, beautiful German Shepherd. I feel bad for that man, because he went to the trouble to find what he believed would be a happy forever home for his buddy, and has probably been questioning his own judgement.
Hope the judge sentences that woman to the max jail term, and adds the stipulation that the pix of those dogs be blown up and used to adorn her cell.
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