Whatever Happened To...
An update on past news
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COURTESY OF KAUAI HUMANE SOCIETY
This Airedale mix was one of 17 dogs found starving at an Anahola, Kauai, property in December.
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Some neglected dogs find new homes
Question: What ever happened to the dogs found dying by Kauai Humane Society officials after the animals were left by their owner on his Anahola property?
Answer: Last December, Kauai Humane Society officials found 20 pit bull and Airedale mix-breed dogs at the home of Steve Cummings. They were left without food or water for 16 days. Three were dead, and 17 others were nursed back to health by the Kauai Humane Society and later by Cummings.
All suffered from serious malnutrition, and several were near death when found.
Cummings pleaded no contest to 20 counts of animal cruelty and was sentenced to six months in jail in August. He said that leaving the dogs unattended was a tragic mistake and a miscommunication between Cummings and a relative.
The dogs were turned over to the Humane Society in August.
Kauai Humane Society Director Dr. Becky Rhoades said yesterday that several were euthanized and the majority were adopted.
The last one, Punky, found a home Thursday.
Thanks to a transfer program with the Honolulu Humane Society, about a half-dozen were placed on Oahu.
Several of the dogs with behavioral problems could not be placed and were not safe for the community, Rhoades said. They were euthanized.
Rhoades said Humane Society officials worked hard to train the hunting dogs so they could become good and healthy companions.
This update was written by Star-Bulletin reporter Tom Finnegan.
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