Little Joe Pictures

UPDATE 3-11-2006: We have learned that the local authorities have a name of a person who is said to be responsible for this act of extreme cruelty forced upon this helpless puppy. It has been told that the person "was trying to make the pup look more like a Doberman & got carried away". To our knowledge, no action has been taken to apprehend this person at this time.

The wheels of Lady Justice grind very slowly - especially in places where the "bubba" population is of the belief that animals are nothing more that "property" to do with as they see fit. The general attitude from most residents in Jack County, Texas, is "What's all the fuss? It's only a DAWG!!"

As for our sweet Little Joe, he is still on pain meds & antibiotic bathing of all wounds several times a day. He hurts on both ends - it hurts to sit because of the raw tail stub & his whole head hurts because of the mutilation of his ears. He shakes his head to try to rid himself of the pain & that makes it hurt even more. Thru all of this he is still the sweetest little pup ever. He is a brave boy & is ever so grateful to all who are giving him the love & attention he needs. He is eating good & all functions are normal. IF we can keep the wounds from becoming infected, then in time Little Joe will heal & be ready for the wonderful Forever Home that he deserves.

We will continue to do all in our power to see that this act of Animal Cruelty is put thru the legal system & that justice is served upon the individual who committed this act. Updates will be posted when we know anything to report.

UPDATE 3-12-2006: Little Joe continues to recover from his ordeal. He has learned that if he stays still & doesn't move his head around much that it doesn't hurt as bad. He spends a lot of time eyeing the staff from his vantage point inside the clinic where he is monitored & cared for by dedicated people who are determined to help him recover. Little Joe is on medication for pain & to ward off infection. His wounds are treated several times a day with an antibiotic spray wash to keep them clean. He is on the mend & we hope will be ready for a foster home in a couple of weeks.

UPDATE 3-15-2006: There is some good news if, in fact, it comes to fruition. As it happens, the person who allegedly did this to Little Joe returned to town and the police officer who found out who this guy is, got a signed confession from him. He obviously doesn't think there's anything to be afraid of. They issued an arrest warrant and he will be taken into custody tomorrow. Dr. Paul Lillard, the attending vet had to sign an affidavit. I'm sure there's a lot we may never know but at least it looks like something is going to be done. I won't believe it until I see it but hope springs eternal.

As for Little Joe, his hearing has been affected. The ears act as a funnel for sound and with no ears, he doesn't hear well. Sound just kind of goes over his head. At some point, I want to see if there's some way to build him at least a semblance of an ear so he can hear better and the inner ear will have some protection from debris and water. Maybe taking a fold of skin from elsewhere on his little body and grafting it. One ear has enough of the ear left that it can be tacked up after he's healed a bit.

Little Joe doesn't appear to be fearful of men. His little eyes have that haunted look though. We've seen this before in dogs that have been severely abused. Their eyes take on a round wide look when normally, they would be almond shaped. The "deer in the headlights" look describes it best. After a time, the look will go away but my heart goes out to him every time I look into those precious eyes.
Carole

UPDATE 3-19-2006: Little Joe continues to mend. Our vet says he will recover physically. It is our hope that the emotional trauma of being so brutalized by this person will not imprint on his character for life. Only time will tell.

It has become obvious that Little Joe now has some difficulty hearing. The outer edges of his ears, which would normally funnel sound down in to the ear canal, are missing. We plan to explore the possibility of reconstructive surgery or skin grafting to fashion some semblance of an outer ear to help correct this problem if we can locate a surgeon who thinks this is feasible.

Mauricio Toca Sosa, 24, has been charged with felony cruelty to animals and was being held without bond Thursday afternoon in the Jack County Jail, a jail spokesman said. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has a hold on Sosa.

Animal Cruelty is a state-jail felony in Texas, punishable by up to two years confinement and as much as a $10,000 fine. No court date has been scheduled for Sosa, Jack County officials said Thursday.

Thank you all for your prayers & support for Little Joe. Updates will be posted as new information becomes available.

UPDATE 3-21-2006:

We have learned that the State Felony charges of Animal Cruelty against Mauricio Toca Sosa will be handled in the

271st Judicial District
(Jack and Wise Counties)

Below is the District Attorney who will decide whether or not to take the case of Little Joe to the Grand Jury. Please take a moment to send a polite letter / FAX / email or make a phone call condemning the actions of Mr. Sosa and asking that he be put on trial for animal cruelty. The next Grand Jury is due to meet on April 7th so time is of the utmost importance if we are to help persuade DA Jones that this crime needs to be punished. A GOOGLE search turned up the following contact info:

District Attorney
Jana Jones

271st Judicial District
Wise County Courthouse, Suite 200
Decatur, Texas 76234
940-627-5257
940-627-6404 (Fax)
districtattorney@co.wise.tx.us
Texas law allows an owner to do many things to an animal he owns but TORTURE is a criminal offense.   Anyone who doesn't believe this little pup was being tortured while this man repeatedly cut away at his ears needs only to look at these pictures & mentally listen to the screams of pain & terror that Little Joe must have cried out while he was being mutilated. Thank you for your interest in Little Joe & for seeing justice enacted for the torture & mutilation done to him.

UPDATE 3-22-2006: Little Joe has gone to live with a good friend & her family while he continues to recover from his wounds. This update info is from his foster-mom:

He is doing fine and is getting along very well with Lucky. His tail is getting better and he doesn't yelp as much and the scabs are coming off what is left of his ears (which is not much) and they look as good as you can expect. He will be a pretty good size Rottweiler just by looking at his feet and he has a good solid build and wonderful coloring. He sees the crate we have for him as his "safe" place when he is startled or he hits his nub of a tail and he runs and gets in it. He is coming out of his shell more every hour it seems but if you aren't careful he still hits the ground into a crouch on his belly. He is very velcro and unsure of himself and when one of us goes outside and he can't see anyone, he will whimper until I call out to him from the kitchen. He is crated at night and does well after he settles in. He is playing with toys and plays with Lucky also. Lucky is being so wonderful with him and I am so proud of how well he has done with Little Joe. He loves to "hug" you and crawls all over you giving kisses freely. I think he was starved for real affection and can't seem to get enough of it now. He is 50% housebroken, you have to be very mindful of when he last went. He will hump Lucky and us if given the opportunity so he is learning the down command slowly - easing into verbal commands so we don't frighten him. He thinks he is a lap dog and always wants to crawl into your lap. He is fine with the cats, more scared of them at this point. He has a wonderful bark that he has shared with us. Evan and Ashley have been very good with Little Joe and he is responding better than I thought he would to the chaos that is my house. He is also responding well to our love and touch but he will need a lot of understanding and work to heal the mental wounds completely.

UPDATE 3-24-2006: Little Joe, his Fostermom & family will all be meeting Saturday with Mr. Eamon Riley, a Certified Master Dog Trainer & Behaviorist, in Wichita Falls, TX. Mr. Riley will evaluate Little Joe & give us his opinion on the next course of action we should take to help this little guy back to a good quality of life, both physically & emotionally. News reporters from the WF Times Record & the local TV Ch-6 plan to be on hand as they have been following this case from the beginning. We hope to have new pictures of LJ to post here later this weekend.

Please continue to send your emails, phone calls, faxes & snail mail comments to DA Jana Jones at the contact addresses above. We have no way of knowing at this time if there actually is enough hard evidence to bring this case to trial but in light of the fact that Mr. Sosa has allegedly made a statement to the effect that he was the person who mutilated this puppy, we can only encourage her to pursue this case to the full extent of the law.

Thank you for all the support, prayers & monetary donations that have been offered on behalf of Little Joe.
UPDATE 3-28-2006: Little Joe is being loved & cared for in his fosterhome where he continues to heal physically. The scabs on the mutilations of his head are coming off, leaving the scars where his ears should be. His tail stump is still very tender & causes him to cry out in pain if he sits wrong or if he touches it against something.   It will be quite some time yet before he can run & play like a normal puppy should without causing pain when the injured parts of his body are touched by anything.
His meeting with Mr. Riley went very well. Little Joe is a very intelligent & willing pupil. His Foster-Mom says: "Eamon is very pleased with how far he has come and is in agreement that his training has to be done properly. He should never be put on a choke or pinch training collar, but he doesn't need one. Little Joe does not pull hard on leash (he's way better than my Lucky) and usually doesn't want to be too far from me anyway. His house training is coming along well, he is better on his puppy nipping, and loves toys.

I am truly humbled and amazed that he is as well adjusted as he is....his spirit is just phenomenal. He is teaching me unconditional love and what true faith in someone is....he trusts me implicitly and boy is that something to live up to! For as much as I am helping him, he is helping me to be a better person. There's that saying "I want to be as good as my dog thinks I am" or something like that....well there is a lot of truth in that. May we all be as good as our dogs think we are or at least try."

Little Joe continues to recover from the mutilation inflicted on him.
UPDATE 5-17-2006: Word is that Mr. Sosa has been NO-BILLED by a special Grand Jury convened in Jacksboro by DA Jana Jones. No other details are known at this time. Watch for more as it becomes available.
This decision points out the serious problems with our Animal Cruelty laws.   One only has to look at the pictures of what was done to this puppy to know that there is a grave difference between what is right & what is legal.