Release Oliver Now! Demand an End to the Abuse of Pitbull Breeds by the HUMANE SOCIETY, Now!

To Whom it may concern,

I am writing this email today hoping to inform you on events that have taken place concerning the situation, involving my beloved companion, Oliver. On Thursday, August 22nd, 2019 Oliver was taken out of his loving home due to illegitimate instructions given to me by my landlord and the Williams County dog warden. The information presented to me on this day left me with no options other than surrender of Oliver, that turned out to be false. I was told that since my landlord did not want my dog on the property, I had to surrender him to the Williams County humane society. The dog warden did not tell me that I had the option to refuse. If I was given this information, I would have never surrendered my dog. I would have refused 100% and then proceed to allow my landlords the option to evict. The dog warden seen that I was unimaginably distressed, emotional, fearful, devastated, and feeling absolutely helpless being left with no other options for my dog, Oliver. I was told that I could come and see Oliver as much as I wanted to during his 10 day quarantine. I was told that Oliver would be up for adoption after the 10 day quarantine. I was told that Oliver would be taken care of.
Oliver is one year, one month, and four days old. I have had Oliver since he was four weeks old, not even old enough to be away from his mother technically. I took Oliver hoping to save his life from his previous owners due to their circumstances of not being able to care for him. Oliver was bottle fed formula by myself until he was able to consume soft dog food. I took Oliver to the Defiance Veterinary Clinic for his vaccinations and deworming. Oliver was a very happy, healthy, loving puppy in his home environment. He was never caged, beat, or away from me his entire life. Oliver's behavior at the Williams County humane society is not his normal behavior. Oliver was thrown into an environment totally foreign/unfamiliar to him. Oliver is only around people I am around. He has never been around strangers without me with him. Being around a whole new set of people/staff, Oliver was terrified and only produced a behavior he was driven to produce due to his natural animal instinct. Oliver was protecting himself in the only way he knew how at that time. Again, this is not Oliver, this is Oliver behaving due to his environment.
On the following day, I went to the facility to see Oliver. Before I even seen Oliver, and his current condition, I asked to speak to the dog warden. I asked her if there was any other way possible to do the quarantine so that he could be with me. She said absolutely not! She then went on to state that this dog was the worst dog, top two, that she had ever seen in her career. I was shocked. She then stated that there was absolutley no way that Oliver would be adopted or released to anyone. Again, I was in disbelief. She stated that if I had not surrendered Oliver that I would have been in alot of trouble. This is when I realized that I must have had the option to not surrender Oliver. When I asked her about this she said too late, you already signed the paperwork, he is no longer your property. This made me very emotional and I felt as though I was not given all of my rights as Oliver's owner the previous day. I stated that I was going to seek out legal avenues to correct the wrong doing on this case. The dog warden then stated that if I tried to fight her in court she would win because she has never lost a case in 18 years. She stated that she requested an emergency euthanasia and that she would just cut Oliver's head off and send it to the health department instead of waiting the 10 day quarantine. Is this how the dog warden talks to a very emotionally distraught dog owner regularly? The dog warden told me that Oliver would have went for the other staff member's and her throat if he had the chance. The dog warden stated that he had ripped a bunch of his teeth out and spewed blood everywhere when the tried taking him out of his cage for a transfer. The dog warden then asked me if I would go into Oliver's cage and try to remove the tooth that was stuck in his bottom lip. I agreed happily to try and assist my dog's comfort in any way. When I was taken back to where Oliver was being held by another staff member, she said that I had to agree not to hold the facility liable for any injury I may attain due to going in Oliver's cage. I agreed and told her that I was positive that my dog would not bite me even in his current state of pain and agony. Oliver was extremely happy to see me. I went in and tried to assist the tooth out but it was still attached very deeply in the gum. I noticed an extreme amount of blood in and around the kennel. Oliver was currently still bleeding from a number of places in his mouth. There were numerous broken teeth that I observed.I also observed the excessive amounts of hair falling off of his coat. The pale of water was also bright red, due to the blood coming from his mouth. I was allowed to sit with Oliver as long as I wanted to that day, and I did. I sat and just loved him. I held him, I cried with him, I talked to him, I kissed him, I prayed for him. I asked the staff member if the vet was contacted to get medical attention that he desperately needed and she confirmed that that had been done. The staff member told me that the vet was coming to sedate Oliver so that way his tooth could be extracted. The following day when I had arrived to see Oliver with the children, I was told I could not go into the cage due to too much risk. I was confused due to the fact that I had been allowed to the previous day. I told the staff that I would only go in, not the children, and I would assume all risk by entering the cage. This was also denied. I asked why? I was told that I had no rights to Oliver and what they said goes. I asked if it was ok to change the rules and regulations day to day, again I was confused on how this was ok. The staff member then asked if I wanted to be removed from the facility? I said of course not, I will ust sit on the other side of his cage. This is what the children and I did. In those few moments we fed Oliver pieces of kibble that we could reach through the cage, and he ate them! We took some toys from the floor and tossed them over the cage to Oliver, he started to play with them! Oliver was so happy at that moment. A different staff member came back to our area and asked to speak to me. The children and I walked away from Oliver to talk and the door was closed behind us. We were no longer allowed to be with Oliver. We did not even have a chance to say goodbye. I have not been able to see Oliver since. Imagine how this affected Oliver, the children, and myself. Its unimaginable pain and heartbreak.
Oliver has been isolated. Thick, heavy blankets have been placed on his cage. Oliver was kept in an environment that caused his injuries after staff observed the damage he had caused to himself. Oliver should have been placed somewhere to further prevent injury. Oliver should be given every chance to thrive, not die. The staff have not done proper procedures or care for Oliver and that is not ok.
I am willing to do whatever it takes to deal with this new behavior Oliver has expressed. Training, therapy, muzzled while outside the home, and whatever else is advised by a licensed professional in this area of expertise.
The Oliver that went in to the Williams County humane society is not the Oliver that will come out. I will love this Oliver more than ever before. Oliver is only going to improve starting with being reunited with his family that loves him very much. Oliver has suffered enough, and Oliver deserves to be released immediately to my custody. This is Oliver's first nipt, and that should not condemn him to death.
Oliver is loved by alot of people, and alot of people have and will keep checking in on him and his condition. This will not just go away, even if Oliver succumbs to his injuries/depression while in the care of the Williams County Humane Society. Oliver deserves justice.
I want to take the time to thank you for your valuable time. Oliver is very loved and needs to be with his family. This is not every detail that has happened thus far. There is so much more. Please feel free to contact me by email at anytime. heather_plassman@yahoo.com. Again, thank you for taking the time to read this lenghtly email.


Sincerely,
Heather Liechty