Incident Date: Wednesday, Apr 7, 2010
County: Orange
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 3 files available
Alleged: Kimberly Kimiko Nizato
Case Updates: 5 update(s) available
Somewhere in a lonely back yard, a young dog lived chained to a tree without food, water or attention.
He waited for that food, and when it didn't come, he ate dirt. Eventually the dog laid down and he didn't get up.
But still, he didn't die.
An anonymous Good Samaritan stepped in April 7 and rescued the German shepherd from sure death. The animal, not much more than skin and bone, wailed in agony on the way to get help.
The dog was taken to an emergency animal hospital in Orange County where a horrified veterinary technician called friends at German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County.
Everyone held their breath... would the dog make it through the night?
He made it, and GSROC went to work.
The nonprofit named the dog Courage and transferred him to Community Veterinary Hospital in Garden Grove where Dr. Bill Grant got to work.
"This is as bad as it gets," Grant said Tuesday.
The dog is too weak to stand and can barely lift his head. He weighed 37 pounds -- less than half his normal body weight -- when he was rescued. But with a weak kiss and a sparkle in his big brown eyes, the dog made a connection with his caretakers.
"This dog does not belong here, with us," Grant said. "But he seems to be willing to live, and he's recovering well."
GSROC volunteer Shawn Hollub is Courage's guardian angel by day. She stops by daily to visit him and stroke the gold and black fur stretched tautly over prodding bones.
"I told him, 'If you fight, we'll find a way to help you get better,' " Hollub said.
And Courage is fighting. Grant said the dog, which he estimates to be about 3 years old, is eating well and attempting to use atrophied muscles to lift himself from the floor. He's not out of the woods yet and more tests will tell if Courage's kidneys and liver will recover from the advanced malnutrition.
Orange County Register reporter Samantha Bowen met Courage on Tuesday at the hospital. Despite his skeletal appearance and months of neglect, the dog was sweet natured and eager to kiss and be touched.
As Dr. Grant knelt to say hello, Courage mustered the strength to roll slightly and offered his belly to the vet. There wasn't a dry eye in the room.
"He's fought an incredible battle," Grant said. "And he's here. He's on the right road now."
It will take months for the dog to get back on his feet and resume a normal life, Grant says. But GSROC and its team of volunteers are prepared to help Courage recover and eventually find him a new family.
"He should have been dead," Hollub said with tears in her eyes.
GSROC is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone who knows more about the dog's owners. They don't know where the dog originated but are hopeful a neighbor will recognize Courage's photo and call in a tip.
For more information about Courage's, e-mail info@gsroc.org. Donations toward Courage's medical bills and care can be made at www.gsroc.org or 177F Riverside Avenue, Ste. 143, Newport Beach, CA 92663. Call 714-974-7762 for more information.
An arraignment was held Tuesday for a 26-year-old Bellflower woman charged with animal cruelty in the near-starving case of her German shepherd.
A preliminary hearing, which concluded Sept. 15, found sufficient evidence to try Kimberly Nizato with felony animal cruelty.
Nizato appeared briefly at her arraignment Tuesday and was ordered to return to the Norwalk Superior Court for a pre-trial hearing, set for Nov. 15, according to court staff.
The former veterinary hospital worker was arrested April 16 and charged with one count of felony animal cruelty after she gave her severely emaciated dog to a family friend.
Veterinarians who treated the German shepherd said he was half his normal body weight and had eaten dirt to survive.
The dog, who was taken in by a local animal rescue group and renamed Courage, recovered and was adopted by a Huntington Beach woman, authorities said.
Nizato is a former employee of Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Irvine. If she is convicted on all counts she could face fines and jail time.
The felony animal abuse case of a former veterinary hospital employee has been rescheduled from today until July 12 at Bellflower Superior Court.Kimberly Nizato, 26, of Bellflower is being charged in the near-starvation case of Courage, the German Shepherd dog rescued by German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County in April. Nizato, who was terminated from her job, pleaded not guilty. If convicted, she faces up to three years in prison and a maximum fine of $20,000.
According to Nizato's attorney, Andrew Stein of Bellflower, a new date for the preliminary hearing has been set because he received new information today. Medical records, pictures and x-rays were handed over, and Stein said he plans on reviewing these in depth.
"I'm sending them out to a doctor to see what his opinion of the x-rays are," Stein said.
As reported in the OC Register, Nizato, who is the former employee of Southern California Veterinary Specialty Hospital in Irvine, did not appear in court today. Before this, the preliminary hearing had previously been scheduled for May 25, but it was postponed due to Stein's request for more medical records.
"We all get frustrated that the wheels of justice turn so slowly and it's easy to lose faith, but as long as we get our desired outcome of Kimberly Nizato never being in a position to harm another animal ever again, it's worth the wait," said Maria Dales, GSROC lead volunteer. "In this case, the evidence against her is so overwhelming that I can't imagine her not being convicted. I'm very pleased that the team at SEAACA and at the District Attorney's office are giving this case their full attention, underscoring that they don't take animal abuse lightly.
"The most convincing evidence against Nizato is that Courage is bouncing around at 80 pounds, behaving like a teenage Shepherd should!"
When rescued, Courage weighed 37 pounds and was hours or perhaps days away from death. Today, he is topping the scales at 80 pounds, still a bit skinny, gaining weight by the day. Veterinarians at Community Veterinary Hospital in Garden Grove state that Courage's physical and mental recovery are not just impressive, but nearly miraculous. His new mom, a GSROC volunteer, says he's relieving the puppyhood he never had by playing, running around, getting into trouble and eating. Lots and lots of eating.
Kimberly Nizato, the 26-year-old woman accused of nearly starving her dog to death was formally charged in a felony criminal complaint filed yesterday by the District Attorney’s Office. The date change was announced in a press release issued by the DA’s Office yesterday.Kimberly Kimiko Nizato was charged with one felony count of cruelty to an animal in case No. VA115258 (see The People of the State of California v. Kimberly Nizato; writing the Deputy District Attorney for a sample letter urging Deputy District Attorney Mario Trujillo to give Ms. Nizato the maximum penalty available under law). Immediately after the case was filed, her attorney requested that she be arraigned and the court agreed.
Nizato pleaded not guilty. She is due back in Department 3 of Bellflower Superior Court on May 25. She remains free on $20,000 bail.
A severely emaciated adult German Shepherd owned by the defendant was rescued from her home on April 6. The veterinarian who examined the dog determined there was no evidence of food in his system, but hair, dirt and rocks were found in the stomach, authorities said.
Nizato worked in the veterinary field at the time of the alleged offense. The dog, formerly known as Bosco, has been renamed Courage. Courage is recovering and gaining weight without assistance from medication, according to authorities.
A woman arrested Friday on accusations of starving her three-year-old German shepherd nearly to death works as a veterinary technician, animal control officials said.Kimberly Kimiko Nizato, 26, of Bellflower, was arrested by Southeast Area Animal Control Authority officers and booked on charges of felony animal cruelty at Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lakewood station, SEAACA Capt. Aaron Reyes said.
She is the registered owner of the dog, who's been named "Courage" by his rescuers.
"The important thing now is that Courage is getting the help he needs," Reyes said. "Now (Nizato) needs to answer for her crimes."
The dog was found Tuesday locked in a carrier in Nizato's garage, in the 17900 block of Carpintero Avenue, officials said.
He had dirt, rocks and hair in his stomach, a sign the shepherd had scrounged for anything he could while wasting away, officials said.
It appears the dog was moved at some point from Nizato's back yard to her garage, Reyes said.
It's unknown how long the shepherd had been without food, but he was less than half the normal weight for a dog his size when he was found this week, Reyes said. The dog was so weak he couldn't stand of lift his head.
Courage is now being cared for by a foster family arranged by the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County and a veterinarian, officials said.
Officials from Downey-based SEAACA, which also provides animal control services for Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs and 12 other cities, said a woman who wished to remain anonymous intervened and took the dog to an Orange County veterinarian Tuesday, after Nizato gave him to her.
"The dog is under veterinary care right now and is showing signs of recovery," said SEAACA Sgt. Chuck Miller. "He's responding well but he's not out of the woods yet."
The dog alert, has been trying to stand and has a good appetite - all good signs, a veterinarian said.
"The prognosis is good if nothing else is wrong with it and it just didn't get enough food," said veterinarian Brad Brunskill. "If it wants to eat, that's a good sign."
Nizato, who worked as a technician at an Irvine veterinary hospital, has a prior burglary conviction, officials said.
She is being held on $20,000 bail and SEAACA officials have asked that it be increased to $50,000, and will be arraigned early next week.
Read more: Owner of emaciated German shepherd found at Downey home arrested - Whittier Daily News http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_14900596#ixzz0o7RfqAgh
A German shepherd left for weeks without food inside a pet carrier in the garage of a Bellflower home ate dirt and rocks in a desperate bid to survive, animal control officials said Thursday.Officials from the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey, which also provides animal control services for Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs and 12 other cities, said a woman rescued the dog Tuesday and took him to Community Veterinary Hospital in Garden Grove.
SEAACA officials have identified a 26-year-old Bellflower woman as the owner of the dog. Officials said the woman could face arrest.
A $1,000 reward was offered for information leading to whomever was responsible for leaving the dog to starve, according to KTLA.
Capt. Aaron Reyes of SEAACA said the dog was known as Bosco, but officials have nicknamed him Courage. The woman who brought the animal in for treatment told officials she'd like to adopt Courage, Reyes said.
It was not known exactly how long the dog went without food, Reyes said. The dog was starving and weighed only about half of its normal weight when found.
Read more: Woman rescues shepherd left to eat only dirt - Whittier Daily News http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_14895734#ixzz0o7QvzhDA
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