We are proud to announce that Scarlet has made a full recovery and is in search of her new family. Scarlet has been renamed Letty in honor of her new life. The name Letty in Latin means “joy and footloose.” It describes both her personality, spirit for life and the joy she will bring and find with her new family.

For those of you not familiar with Scarlet or her story, in December 2010 Scarlet was neglected, abused, malnourished and left tied to a tree to die until a good Samaritan found her and brought her to the Kitsap Humane Society. Prior to this, she had been stolen from KHS in August. 

“She’s been dreaming of a better life as she ‘runs’ and makes little woofing sounds while sleeping,” Letty’s foster mom said. She tends to fit in 11-12 hours of sleep per day and does her fair share of snoring while getting some R&R. She is the quintessential love bug – full of wiggles and tail wagging. Letty loves to be outside while others are working in the yard, but doesn’t like to be out long; she gets cold and has to go in to warm up. Letty is a smart girl who loves to train and knows basic commands such as sit, down, up, off, wait, take it, and leave it. She does know and respond to her name (Letty). Mealtime is her favorite and she will celebrate by dancing around, but knows she must sit and wait before her bowl will be put down. And at the end of the day, although she’ll sleep in her doggie bed, she prefers to sleep in a bed cuddling along side of you. 

Letty’s story is not only about the abuse and cruelty she endured, but a larger societal problem that animal lovers and non-pet owners should stop and take notice of. In 1997, Boston’s Northeastern University and the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals conducted a study that found 70 percent of all animal abusers have committed at least one other crime and that 40 percent have committed violent crimes against humans. Domestic violence victims whose animals were abused saw animal cruelty as one more violent episode in a long history of indiscriminate violence aimed at them and their vulnerability. Investigation of animal abuse is often the first point of social services intervention for a family in trouble. To learn how you can help, join KHS in April to support Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month. Stay tuned to learn how you can help pets like Letty in need of a voice, but also the members of our community.

For more information on Letty, please refer to her description on www.petfinder.com. We will be selective in finding Letty her new home and finding the best match for her. It is important to note that Letty’s new family must be open to follow-up with our Animal Control officers as well as a possible home inspection because of Letty being part of a criminal case. If you are interested in Letty becoming a member of your family, please submit your adoption application to Heidi Dahl at hdahl@kitsap-humane.org.