LEXINGTON, NC......Sweet SADIE is a 12 year old Pitbull Mix with a BURST Tumor on her back that was left abandoned for 4 days tied to a tree without food or water.  You would think that first sentence would be the worst that could happen to this wonderful dog but it isn't.  Her life went downhill from there.  We were contacted several weeks ago from a person that helps abandoned animals.  Her Uncle lived next to the people that had Sadie.  The original Owner had died six months prior and Sadie went to the Son.  The original Owner loved Sadie and took very good care of her.  According to the Uncle, the Son and his Wife abused Sadie and did not want her.  The final straw was when the Son was sent to jail and the Wife tied her to a tree with no food and water and abandoned the property.  The Uncle called his Niece and she picked up the dog but couldn't keep her.  We were too full to take in Sadie but I did want to help her.  I told the Niece I would donate $200. paid directly to the vet of the rescue that took care of her and removed the tumor.  The e-mails went back and forth and eventually she found someone to take care of Sadie.  I had already spoken to the vet where she was going to let them know what I was willing to do and what the funds were for.  The funds were for Sadie only and if they needed more to save her they could call me back.  I got a phone call from the Clinic where Sadie was taken and was told that Sadie was there but the person that brought her in was there to have her PTS.  She wanted my funds to do a wellness appointment for her new little puppy.  I thought there had to be some confusion so I asked to speak to the young girl that had Sadie to make sure this was the same dog.  It was the same dog and she wanted her PTS.  I told the Clinic Mgr. the funds were not for that and to get her to sign the dog over to them.  After an hour of back and forth conversations, she finally relinquished the dog.  All this person cared about was her NEW little puppy.  She apparently knew the Son that had the dog and convinced the girl to let her have Sadie so she could love and care for her.  The reality is that she saw the dog on Craig's List and saw a way to get money for her new puppy and get rid of Sadie.  This happens every day in this Country.  People think they are doing the right thing when in turn they are handing an innocent animal over to someone that could care less about the animal.  All they care about is the money and then they torture the animal or use him for a Bait Dog.  This is why you have to check people out thoroughly and then follow up to make sure the animal is being taken care of.  Out of Sight and Out of Mind seems to be the norm these days, all the while an animal is either already dead or being tortured.  I would rather have Animal Control called and have an animal HUMANELY put to sleep than to have something happen that is far worse than death.  When you rescue an animal, rescuing does not end when the animal is handed over.  It continues until you know the animal is safe.  Some people DO NOT adopt from us because we require them to stay in touch with us the first month weekly and then it is each month FOREVER.  If we do not hear from them during that time, we can go get the animal back.   SADIE is a beautiful sweet dog that has a lot of Life left in her.  Her tumor will be removed, all of her medical will be done and then once we get the  tumor biopsy back, we will treat her if she has cancer.  I didn't plan on taking her into our Rescue but I did want to help her.  Helping her ended up being fighting for her Life.  The people involved in this think I am too harsh and too strict.  When an animals Life is at stake, I am an unstoppable Bulldozer.  We all know all too well the torture Baby Doe endured.  Someone posted Baby Doe on Craig's List and never looked back at what was happening to this dog.  The torture was so bad, this baby had to be PTS.  Think before you hand an animal over to anyone.  Get References and if you are still not comfortable, Do Not hand the animal over.  Dogs are so trusting, they would never dream someone would harm them.  When Sadie happily walked into the vets office she thought she was going to be taken care of, not be PTS.  Sweet Sadie is in our hospital now being loved on and treated for her abuse.  The good news is that she is ALIVE to be nurtured back to health.  She really is one of the sweetest girls that someone obviously loved very much.  She is now ours to love and nurture and that is exactly what is going to happen