Posted August 28, 2000

It sickens me to write this memorial because this precious one did not have to die. I can hardly bear to look at her picture. I am including Marne among the CSAC memorial dogs because she did not deserve what happened to her, and her story is representative of far too many like her. Her death was cruel and completely unnecessary.

Marne was euthanized at an overcrowded shelter because she developed a common and highly curable upper respiratory infection, better known as kennel cough. There is no isolation area at the shelter, and kennel cough is contagious. There was no one immediately present to rescue Marne when they discovered her cough one evening -- no one to take her into foster care or anywhere else. Evidently the shelter staff were either too overworked or overwhelmed or simply could not be bothered to try to find and get her to a veterinarian who could isolate and treat her. 

I was contacted  by someone at the shelter to help Marne, along with another unfortunate arrival, Pocahontas. I am happy to report that Pocahontas found a wonderful home very swiftly as a result of my urgent posting, but she did not have kennel cough. I learned the morning after I'd posted Marne that she was not so fortunate. She was dead probably before the majority of my readers ever saw my plea on her behalf. 

I cannot tell you the dismay and heartsickness I felt. I was so angry, I could barely speak. Marne had been in Pennsylvania, not far from many of our Maryland volunteers. If we had known she had a problem, one of us would have gone there to get her. We would have taken her to one of our many vets who have isolation areas at their hospitals and treated her with the requisite course of antibiotics until she was well enough to go to a forever home. 

We have seen and dealt with kennel cough many, many times. Dozens of our successful adoptees have come to us with it -- and often far worse. It happens. It should not mean a death sentence, especially for a beautiful, young, vital girl like this. I could have guaranteed her a happy life in a loving home. It's just not fair.

I cannot calculate all the things that went wrong with Marne's situation, all the human error, all the wasted time, all the poor decisions that circled it. Nothing causes greater rage in me than unnecessary harm. I see it every day, but I will never get used to it. What happened to Marne is inexcusable. Yet it goes on every day all over the world. 

Marne really did not have to die. She would have been healed in our care or in the care of any responsible veterinarian -- if only someone at the shelter had gone the extra mile for her -- and she would now be happily placed in a loving home. In truth, I cannot blame the shelter staff. Like many shelters, they are so overwhelmed with thousands of unwanted and discarded animals on a daily basis, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to go to bat for one. I am certain that Marne was not the only victim that day. I bet many died and didn't have to.

The problem for Marne was her family who abandoned her in the first place. The greater problem for all the animals and for us as a society is our throwaway mentality. And we call this civilization. It is a terrible thing when loving, sentient creatures are treated like inanimate garbage. That was Marne's fate. If only we had known about her sooner.

God bless you, precious Marne. You died mercilessly and needlessly far before your time. I write your memorial in the hope that your death will not be entirely in vain, that some of us learn a lesson from it and try to change things for others who can still be saved. 

Please, let's fight to see that it doesn't happen again, at least not if we can help it.