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LEWIS AND DONNER

A heartbreaking story here in Oregon and a man who urgently needs our prayers... Kimball Lewis is the director of the Central Oregon Humane Society in Bend, Oregon and is also a state humane officer, meaning that he investigates animal cruelty cases and is empowered to confiscate abused animals and arrest people for animal abuse.

Quoting from the Oregonian newspaper, "the local humane society has become much more aggressive in pursuing animal abuse and neglect cases since Lewis arrived last June...  'He's very dedicated to his work,' said [Brian] Maas [president of the board of directors.  'He just won't tolerate any animal abuse.'"

Lewis's constant companion was his best friend, his soul-mate dog, a German shepherd named Donner.  His dog came to work with him every day and accompanied him in his field investigations.  Mary Blackburn, the humane society president, told the Oregonian that "when Lewis was offered the job, he wouldn't accept unless he was allowed to bring his dog with him to work.  ‘'We knew right then we wanted him,' she said."

Last week, Lewis got up one morning, opened his front door to the sight of his murdered dog hanging from a tree in front of his door.  Apparently, it was an act of revenge by one of the people he had dealt with for animal abuse.  The dog had been shot in the head before being hanged, so at least he didn't suffer, but-as I know from seeing one of my dogs run out the front door and get hit by a car in front of me-those kinds of shocks burn themselves into your brain and you relive the horror of the moment over and over.

A grieving Lewis told the TV news that Donner was his best friend and a once in a lifetime dog and he would never again have a dog like that.  Some of us here have had soul-mate dogs and understand what he was talking about.  The TV news had file footage of him investigating some high-profile animal abuse cases, and his dog was always there with him.  "Whoever did this...  they knew how to do the very worst to Kimball," said humane society president Mary Blackburn. He has now gone into seclusion, and, quoting the newspaper,  "Lewis's friends and colleagues say the humane society Director was devastated by the loss of his dog and may be rethinking his career... 

Lewis has not been at work or taken phone calls since the incident.  In a comment made to an online publication in Bend, Lewis said he needed time to consider whether to stay in the field."

Yesterday the newspaper reported that the governor of Oregon got through to him by phone and pleaded with him to continue his work on behalf of abused animals, and that Lewis said he would if he could.  But my feeling is that Donner helped to give him strength to do this work (animal abuse investigators have to deal with a lot of horrifying things, after all). 

Last year, he investigated a case in which two teenagers kidnapped their neighbor's dog, dragged it several miles behind a car, stabbed it and hanged it from a bridge.  Due to his work, the teenagers were given sentences of seven years each.  But also, the owner of that dog said that Lewis and Donner spent a lot of time with her and her children helping them through this trauma.  "Kimball was there from the beginning to the end.  I don't know what my kids would have done without Kimball and Donner."

This would be an awful thing to happen to anyone, but to someone who has dedicated his life to saving animals from abuse!  As an act of revenge by one of those abusers!  Set up in such a way as to give him the maximum trauma.  And now, without his best friend soul-mate dog, Kimball Lewis is not sure whether he can continue his work for the animals.  To me, this story has been heartbreaking and I have been praying hard for Kimball Lewis that he can find enough strength to get through this.  I would like to ask everyone here to please add their prayers that he can be strong and can find the strength and healing to return to the work he has dedicated his life to.

Please, also, if you belong to any dog lists or animal welfare lists, please send this link and ask the members to send prayers for Kimball Lewis.  I believe that prayers and empathy really are healing.  Whenever I hear on the news about anyone who has suffered a tragedy, I pray for them.  I believe that we are not powerless in the face of suffering and that our prayers really can help give strength to people we have never even met. But in this case, which is not only for this one man but for all the animals he has helped save and will save.  I have felt moved not just to offer my own prayers but to ask as many people as possible to add their prayers as well.  Even just a few seconds of prayer-energy can help.  So, please, forward this link to other dog lists and other animal-welfare lists and ask them for their prayers.

According to newspaper reports, there has been a huge outcry over this in the community of Bend and a strong movement in the community to fight animal abuse.  So something positive has come out of this.  There have also been hundreds of cards, notes, flowers and so on sent to Kimball Lewis in care of the humane society.  Having just found the address, I plan to snail-mail something tomorrow-not a plain sympathy card, but a note saying that some of us understand what it means to have a special soul-mate dog and share the pain he is feeling to lose his dog in such an awful way.  If you would like to send a card or a note, the address is:

Humane Society of Central Oregon SPCA  /  61170 27th Street, Bend, OR 97702.

Current a/o 04/19/2000 cross-posted by a very compassionate and eloquent Debi Seiler

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