Mary Wild gets paid to handle dogs.  She let beloved show dogs die in her van after returning from an Iowa dog show June 21^st.  The Dodge Sprinter van was parked in the driveway.  In the morning sun.

Little Bird © The Dog Press 07|24|09 - Wild is currently free on bail but then you know all that.  What you don't know is what I know.  Mary Wild told police that she arrived home about 1:00 AM but she should have been home by 10 PM. Did she lie?  If not, what did Wild do on the way home? 

 

Update: Click to skip to Mary Wild Sentenced Today or get all of the background, prosecutor interview, etc before you mull over the sentence handed down.

 

I may tweet a lot but you won't find any of this on Tweeter.  A (real) professional handler lives approximately the same distance away in another direction.  He left the showground long after she did but he still arrived home at 10 PM after stopping to dump his rig and again to gas up.  He observed that “Wild Mary” must have partied or slept on the way to her mother’s house in Arnold. 

 

Well it seems that she did stop to visit friends and that makes you wonder when was the last time the dogs were watered or pottied? When she decided to stay for hours, did she bother to take the dogs out there in that subdivision?  Let's hope that her Junior Handler assistant took care of the dogs while Mary Wild partied, I'm told that's why the old-time terrier men had assistants.  On the other foot, she told police that the dogs had been in the Dodge Sprinter van for about 8 hours but the facts dispute that.

 

Wild’s story is that she “planned to put the dogs in kennels in her garage” but that she left the dogs in their crates in the van “because of the heat.”  That must mean the garage had no ventilating fans or air-conditioning.  So worse than what she told police, she intended to put the dogs in the garage later?  In the heat of the day? 

 

I am only a bird-brain but this makes no sense to me.  If the garage would have been cooler during the day, why did she put her own comfort ahead of the 15 minutes it would have taken to see to the comfort and safety of those dogs?  Does it matter if they were only going to be moved to more crates in the garage?  She told police she got up to check on the dogs about 4 A.M and they were fine but when she got up again at 6:30, they were dying.  I don't think the police or the vet believed that and neither do dog people.  Some even go so far as to speculate that she was "passed out" but not from driving 7 or 8 hours.

 

Sitting on power lines and wires, I am really tuned in to dog people because the boss pays me real seeds instead of peanuts.  A breeder called a friend and I heard her say that Mary Wild had bought a dog from her but the check kept bouncing.  She said Wild then told other people that the dog had been “abused” which seems to have had something to do with her not paying for it.  There was a lot of crackling on the line but that choice of words made my tail feathers go up knowing that woman abused these dogs to death.  I heard one of Mary Wild’s clients felt sorry for her and made the check good.  I wonder if that client feels sorry for her now?
 

Her mother has Malamutes and I heard that Wild showed a Champion Malamute that “looked good in the group” whatever that means.  I look good in the flock but… well, back to what puzzled me.  They said the Malamute and two of the Goldens were not shown the next day and the judge’s book showed them marked “absent.”  They were wondering what could have happened to those dogs to keep them from being shown.

 

I can’t read newspapers but The Dog Press staff can and they are cawing like crows about the vet who apparently received the dead dogs.  The editor said the vet ’s statement implied she felt sorry for the handler despite the horrible fate of those dogs.  Laura Ivan, DVM said "This was not intentional, but a horrible, tragic accident."  

 

The media guy Dennis, said a professional driver who ran a race on worn-out tires could expect to have a wreck and that would never be called an accident.  The editor agreed, observing that Mary Wild also took money from people and going to bed without having seen to the well-being of every dog in that van was no accident.  BJ said it was a conscious decision of self-interest taking priority over the dogs she was paid to protect.  I’m just a little bird but I understand that!

 

Heatstroke can be fatal. Below are signs of heatstroke and actions you should take if your dog is overcome. Early Heatstroke: Heavy panting. Rapid breathing. Excessive drooling. Bright red gums and tongue. Standing 4-square, posting or spreading out in an attempt to maintain balance. Advanced Heatstroke: White or blue gums. Lethargy, unwillingness to move. Uncontrollable urination or defecation. Labored, noisy breathing. Shock   If your dog begins to exhibit signs of heatstroke, you should immediately try to cool the dog down: Apply rubbing alcohol to the dog's paw pads. Apply ice packs to the groin area. Hose down with water. Allow the dog to lick ice chips or drink a small amount of water. Offer Pedialyte to restore electrolytes. Source: American Kennel Club

 About then the phone rang and it was another first-hand report.  The caller stayed at the same motel as Mary Wild and when she exercised her dogs she noted that Mary's van was closed up with the dogs in it.  She told The Dog Press that there was an air conditioner on top of the van and a generator to run it, but Mary Wild had only a fan running.  It was at night but the caller was concerned that someone might trip over the extension cord that ran into Mary Wild’s room and cause the fan to be unplugged.

 

Another report had to do with the subdivision where Mary stayed.  The assumption was that she does keep the dogs in the garage with no air conditioning.  This person said the junior handler who was traveling with “Wild Mary” wanted to take her Dalmatian into the house but Mary told her the dog would be just fine in the van.  Her dog died in the van.

 

A new handler called to ask whether or not AKC will suspend Wild now.  The office is wondering the same thing and I know they are trying to get a response from AKC but the editor said that will probably take some time. 

 

(Editorial correction:  It was previously reported that Mary has a twin sister who could show her dogs.  That was not true.  Mary's sister Marcia is ten years younger and though equally pretty, is not a twin.  Marcia is an accomplished handler but lives in SC.)

 

One person who knows the family said that the same lawyer who represented Jamie Orr when 17 dogs died in her van will be representing Mary Wild. 

 

We birds have wings you know.  We are self-cooling.  Dogs are not, so read the AKC information they are going to put in here.  Never ever leave your dogs in a van or car in the summer.  Not even in the shade.  I can tell you, as a twig-sitter, the sun moves faster than you think and shade can turn into hot sun in a matter of minutes.  I've learned that dogs can only pant and when they do, that increases the humidity in a van or car so even a fan isn't going to help much.  I avoid cats like the plague but I like dogs.  I'm good friends with a flock of Martins, they like to live around people just like I do and they first got me interested in dogs.  I think I have to go now, that might be another story.  I like talking about my feathered friends and I hate having to tell you people this awful story about the dogs.

 

More on the Mary Wild Case:

Jefferson Co. Prosecutor Interview and The TRIAL BEGINS, details as they happen

 

http://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/09073-Wild-Kills-Dogs_Little-Bird.asp

 

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