West Des Moines Woman Comes Home to Find Dog With Broken Leg

Kate Elliott wants answers.

Who knocked around her 6-month-old puppy, Remington, leaving the dog with a fractured leg and Elliott and her boyfriend with hundreds of dollars in veterinary costs that they can’t cover without going into debt?

So far, no one’s offering them, said Elliott, who filed a report with West Des Moines Police on Aug. 15 after she came home earlier this month to find her apartment in disarray, the kennel collapsed and Remi, as the pit bull is known, shut in the bathroom.

“He had a shattered knee and a big knot on his head,” Elliott said in an interview. “He was laying in the bathroom, and when he got up, he was limping and was yelping and screaming. You could tell it hurt.”

The management of the apartment complex at 3000 University Ave. had told her that they would need access all day Aug. 7 to prepare for a city inspection, so when she left for her nursing home job Elliott took extra care to ensure that the kennel was secure, she said.

When she arrived home at 4:30 p.m, she found the entry door unlocked, closet doors open and clothes strewn throughout the apartment, and screws all over the floor, according to West Des Moines Police Officer Gwen Fasano’s report.

The report also noted that Elliott’s microwave had been moved from one countertop to another, and the refrigerator/freezer was unplugged and the doors standing open. Elliott said she had to throw out about $100 worth of food that had spoiled during the day.

Additionally, Elliott said an archery bow valued at $900 and about $200 in painkillers she said were prescribed for a stomach condition had been stolen.

Elliott said she reported her findings to the apartment manager, but was asked not to contact the police because the management would “take care of it,” according to the report. The next day, she said that she received a letter from the apartment complex telling her that pets were not allowed and she should get rid of the dog.

But they didn’t answer her questions, either, so Elliott said she sent certified letters to the area supervisor, the corporate office and the local maintenance officer advising them of the incident and her damages.

Eviction Notice and Spiraling Vet Bills

On Thursday, Elliott said the management’s response was to try to evict her.

“They have done nothing but try to push us out and make us go away,” Elliott said. “They’re making it impossible for us to contact them. They didn’t think I would go this far and get an attorney.”

The local manager at Warren House, who declined to give her name, would not comment and referred questions to a resident-complaint line at California-based Warren Properties Inc.’s Omaha, NE, regional office. Officials with the nationwide apartment-leasing company did not immediately return phone calls.

To add to her struggles, Elliott said she and her boyfriend, Zack Carlson, scoured the area looking for a veterinarian who would treat the dog without a $400 or $500 down payment. They’re young, barely in their 20s, just starting out. Carlson leaves for Army basic training in a few weeks, so he bought Remi to keep Elliott, who’s pregnant, company while he’s gone.

“We went everywhere, and nobody would look at him,” she said. “I didn’t have that money. It broke our hearts. His leg was lopped over and he was in such pain, and no one would help us.”

Eventually, Remi was treated at Fleur Pet Hospital in Des Moines, where she was able to trade on her sister’s credit for the emergency treatment and apply for more to cover additional costs.

Remi needs surgery, but because they had to wait so long while they gathered money, the dog’s leg has started to heal. If the bone heals improperly, Elliott said, it will have to be rebroken. They’re already in debt by about $700 to get the dog treated, and surgery will cost about another $1,200 in money they don’t have.

“As much as I want to pay for that for him, I can’t afford it,” she said. “Just having him seen was almost $700.”

Elliott said she thinks whoever injured her dog did so out of ignorance and fear of pit bulls, but Remi “wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“He’s the sweetest dog,” she said. “They’re saying he’s vicious, but he’s not. He goes to work with me and I work at a nursing home. They wouldn’t let me bring him to work with me if he was. He’s afraid of a facility cat that runs around there.”

Elliott said she also has contacted the animal-rights group PETA and the Animal Planet reality TV show, “Pit Bulls & Parolees.”

For now, Remi is staying with Carlson’s family in a private home and Elliott is looking for an affordable apartment that allows pets.