My deepest prayers that Hugo can now rest in peace. :(

This kind of unchecked human brutality towards innocent animals, that occurs SO FREQUENTLY, tears away at my soul.

There seem to be so many mentally disturbed, psychotic, ignorant, and/or just plain evil humans in this world torturing, neglecting, hoarding, experimenting on, caging, or exploiting
animals. Maybe it is just because I am an animal advocate, and read about this incidents more than most..But the fact is, why are these incidents accepted AT ALL??

WHY this is allowed and accepted, in every part of our society (reflected by the LACK of legal consequences for this criminal behavior) astounds and horrifies me.
What kind of species are WE that we turn our backs on such malevolence and brutality to our fellow living creatures?
We need to have laws which make ALL abuse or neglect of animals a criminal act; punishable by significant jail time.

The person who starved this beautiful dog should not only be given appropriate jail time (10 years seems about right), but NEVER be allowed to be near an animal again.

May God/dess help us humans. We are so far off "the path", I wonder if WE can be saved....

Thanks, KP, for this story- and for letting me vent. ;)

Im just so mad I have no words. Speachless!

I think that people who neglect their dogs should get harsher punishment and not be allowed to have animals anymore. My question is what did the neighbors do when Hugo was crying for help. They couldn't throw a piece of bread to a starving dog. People who abuse their animals and people who do nothing about it are pissing me off.

The outrage on this page gives me hope. If we care, we can be agents of change.

KP- great work speaking out on behalf of abused animals. There will be an extra star in your crown when you reach heaven.

How can people sit by and watch this happen?

We all need to take a good look around and see just what is going on, and then we need to SPEAK UP

And this chaining HAS TO STOP. Chaining dogs up outside is torture. We all need to SPEAK UP to our legislators and demand laws that STOP CHAINING 24/7.

If someone can't bring their dog inside, they need to find a new home for the dog. Torturing a dog is not the answer.

(And the AKC supports torture like this to dogs. They support chaining 24/7. They oppose anti-cruelty laws.)

omg did he end up dying? those sick ppl should never ever be aloud to say day no they should be treated like they treated that poor puppy it makes me sick,:"(

This kind of stuff makes me sick. As a Veterinarion Technician student i see many cases of neglect... including my own old breeder beagle that i rescued! She was neglected and thrown out in the streets when she was with her previous owner. It sickens me how people discard breeder dogs so easily. There is a place in New Jersey that tests vet equiptment and meds on old breeder beagles and then kill them, when they can adopt them. I think that there should be protesters at this facility. Save the BEAGLES!!!!!!

that is horrible. mark twain says it best: "Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it."
but one thing i must say, and i don't mean to sound critical of you, because you are doing the greatest work... but why would you support leaving a dog chained outside. i do understand some families prefer outside dogs for whatever reason but, why not build a fence, it is so much cheaper and kinder to the dog. and instead of Hugo sitting in his dog house, starving... maybe he could have been outside viewable to the neighbors, so they could have called humane enforcement officers? this information is directly from the website Dogs Deserve Better in regards to your doghouse sponsoring: "Dogs Deserve Better provides fencing at $150.00 per fence, getting dogs off chains and keeping children safer. This same amount would have fenced 780 yards, allowing even multiple dog families to be together and no longer isolated.

So far this year, at least 337 doghouses have been sponsored since their [PETA's] e-mail went out, by kind people who only think they're helping. That's $69,085 dollars,[that could be] buying 138 educational billboards, 1381 spay/neuters, or 460 fences."

(now, i'm almost positive this isn't going to be accepted to be posted, because i have said this once before and it is ignored. but just think about doing the right thing next time. chaining is never the answer, and better doghouses do not help the issue at hand.) thank you.

>>>KP's Response:

Hi Alana,
I understand what you're saying, but you can't force a person to accept a fence. You won't believe it, but many people won't even accept a free doghouse! I guess it hurts their pride.
Also, I think it's debatable whether a doghouse or a fence is more important. Many of these North Carolina dogs don't have ANY shelter at all, literally. Nothing, except maybe a tree to lie under. Some might have an old car to squeeze under or a piece of plywood. I think if you asked them about it when cold rain is pouing down, they would say they prefer the doghouse.
And no one can accurately predict which dogs are going to be starved to death by these throwbacks. When PETA delivered the doghouse in 2006, there was no sign posted saying, "This dog is going to be starved to death." We deliver 100s of doghouses every year, and most of the dogs, while neglected, thankfully aren't starved to death.
KP

The way i see it, is if your goin to have a pet, you better take care of it. You got the pet it comes with responsibilities! Just like a human you have to have food, water, and shelter to live. Its the same way with animals. They didnt come into this world and want to be treated like crap! People like that should never EVER be around animals!!

as i read about hugo i felt my heart breaking once again.cruelty and neglect to any defenseless creature should be returnded to one whom bestowed it. maybe then people might consider their actions before they carry them out
the punishments issued today aren`t working

What I want to know is why an organization like Peta, who puts on demonstrations & pickets & other things out in public, allows things like this to happen ???? The people who go out & tell us things that happen, many times know that they are happening or will happen, so why just stand there & watch it HAPPEN !!!!! This poor gog is just one example. The one that I have been Thinking a lot about lately, is a little bird named Angel. In this tale, & video ! Angel is at some supply house for Petsmart & a worker there is trying to force-feed this poor little bird with a syringe & water. The cries from this poor bird made my blood boil & this is on TAPE !!! What the @@@@ !! If there is someone there seeing this , STOP-- IT !!!! don't just tell us the bird is dead !!! Damn ! Do something ! That is what you are telling us to do ! Get--- Involved !!!

>>>KP's Response:

Hi Alan,
I totally know what you mean. It's horrible. But the role of the undercover investigator is to gather evidence so that we can stop the same thing from happening to future birds just like Angel. If the investigator had blown her cover in order to save Angel, then there would be no evidence to show to the world and no possibility of shutting these animal-abusing places down.
KP

Wow, It's dumb that the jerk who did this only got 120 days jail time, 5 years probation is supposed to make up for it? Animal cruelty should be up there with child abuse, Animals are like little (or big) people too, they deserve to be treated with the same love and respect human beings get. It's ridiculous that poor Hugo had to suffer and eventually die because somebody couldn't take 5 or 10 minutes out of their day to feed the poor thing or maybe even play with him. I think that when people adopt or take in animals, they need to do a little more thinking about how much responsibility animals are to keep, and you can't just expect them to take care of themselves.

Well, I see Peta doesn't have the nerve to print my letter. Big surprise ! I have a sponsor of Peta for many years & suould be able to say what ai think, even if it is not being a "yes man" !

>>>KP's Response:

Alan,
I did publish your comment, and I also responded to it. Are you sure you can't see it?
KP

WE NEED TO ALL WORK TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN IN OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS TOO. UNTIL THEY MAKE IT A FELONY TO ABUSE,NEGLECT OR STARVE AN ANIMAL TO DEATH SO THAT THEY HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS HUMANS THIS WILL CONTINUE TO GO ON. ANIMALS ARE CONSIDERED PROPERTY AND UNTIL THEY ARE CONSIDERED PART OF THE FAMILY THIS WILL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. IT MAKES ME SICK THAT NO ONE GOT INVOLVED IN THIS POOR DOG'S LIFE, LIKE FEEDING HIM SINCE HIS WORTHLESS OWNER COULD NOT BE BOTHERED WITH TAKING ON THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF TAKING CARE OF POOR HUGO. IF ONLY SOMEONE COULD HAVE GOTTEN HIM OFF OF HIS CHAIN SOMEHOW WITHOUT THE OWNER SEEING IT THEN HE WOULD AT LEAST HAVE HAD A CHANCE, BUT SINCE EVERYONE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD SEEMED TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY HE IS NOW DEAD. I AM STILL CRYING ABOUT THIS ARTICLE EVERYTIME I READ IT I AM SICKENED. I FEEL AN EYE FOR AN EYE, WHATEVER YOU DO TO AN ANIMAL YOU SHOULD GET BACK TENFOLD IN RETURN, I AM SURE THEN THAT WOULD REALLY CUT DOWN ON ANIMAL ABUSE THEN. GET INVOLVED FOR THE SAKE OF AN ANIMAL OUT THERE LIKE POOR HUGO, THE WORLD IS JUST LOADED WITH PEOPLE LIKE HUGO'S OWNER AND IF WE ALL WORK TOGETHER WE CAN HELP CHANGE IT FOR THE BETTER.

I think that all animal abusers should go through the same thing the innocent animals did. I also think, that if someone knows of abuse and doesn't do anything about it, they should be punished too. If they couldn't get to the animal themselves, then they could get ahold of someone who can!

I want to puke! That poor excuse for a human in Lewiston, North Carolina should meet the same fate as what he did to HUGO. After reading this sick account of starvation, I am actively pursuing the no account humans who treat a dog with anything less than respect. MY only consolation in this case is that "they will be judged."