For Pet's Sake Column

How do you measure a person’s character? I pondered this question a lot last week after reading two unimaginable news stories. In the first story, a starving dog was found wandering the streets in Camden, New Jersey. A dog of his size should have weighed about 90 pounds; this one weighed a mere 34 pounds. Animal shelter personnel, who named the dog, “Zero” because he resembled the skeleton dog in the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, said the one-year-old pit bull terrier mix had been intentionally starved.

"I've never seen anything this bad and I've been in the shelter business for over five years," said adoption coordinator Amy Whitmire in an NBC10.com news story. Zero could barely walk, hold his head up, or eat on his own. Still, after all he’d been through, the emaciated dog’s sunken eyes shone with love and he wagged his tail every time someone approached him.

In the second news story, Michael Keenan of San Francisco safely escaped from an early morning fire that raced through a friend’s apartment building where he had been staying. But then he did something that some people might call foolhardy and others would call heroic: he ran back inside to retrieve Bobby, his friend’s 10-year-old Jack Russell Terrier. Michael managed to rescue the dog, but suffered burns to over 80% of his body. Bobby didn’t fare much better. The terrier suffered serious burns to his legs and the bottoms of his feet.

When friends heard of Michael’s valiant rescue, they weren’t surprised. After all, the 43-year-old artist was already considered a hero when, six years earlier on Christmas Eve 2001, he witnessed a car accidentally plunge into the San Francisco Bay . Without hesitation, he jumped in and plucked one of the two strangers from the freezing water.

Now, back to my original question: How do you measure a person’s character? I believe it’s measured by the way they conduct their lives on a daily basis. Their actions tell you something about who they are and what they stand for. Michael showed a moral fiber that may be difficult for many of us to fathom. Could you run into a burning building to save an animal that wasn’t even your own? I don’t know that I could do it. But Michael could. He risked his life to save the life of another, even if it was “just a dog” as some have suggested. Zero’s abuser demonstrated a shocking lack of character; a callousness that chills me to my very core. Zero, on the other hand, showed an amazing strength of character; even after the terrible torment he endured at the hand of his abuser, he chose to forgive people and reach out to make a heart connection with his rescuers.

Michael is not a wealthy man; his worldly possessions could fit into the trunk of a car. Perhaps the person who starved Zero was a multi-millionaire. I’ll never know all the facts, but there’s one thing I know for sure: Michael may not be rich by society’s standards, but he is blessed beyond measure with devoted friends, family, and a strong will to live. Zero is also rich: perhaps for the first time in his young life, he is receiving the love and care he so desperately needs and deserves.

Michael is a hero; there’s no doubt about it. I send my prayers to him and his family during this extremely difficult time in their lives. As for Zero? On Monday, just as I was submitting this column to my editor for publication, I learned that Zero had died late Sunday evening. The neglect he suffered for so long proved too much for his frail body.

This skeleton of a dog with the wagging tail and the eyes that lit up with love may have been considered a “zero” to the person who tortured him, but to many people, he will always be remembered as a “ten.”

****

If you’d like to make a contribution to help with medical care for Michael, please visit: www.michaelkeenan.com; for Bobby: www.petsunlimited.org; or in memory of Zero: www.ccasnj.org.

Update July 17, 2007: At 12:00pm on Monday, June 18, 2007, Michael James Keenan was officially pronounced dead. Read his friend, Dave's blog, for more information on Michael's amazing life and his struggle to survive after the fire.

Do you have an animal tale to tell? Let Karen know by sending an email message to her at karenleestevens@cox.net.