Animal cruelty incident investigated

WEST FARGO — Danielle Oetker had only heard about what she saw on Sunday.

Oetker, a veterinarian at Minn-Kota PAAWS (People Advocating Animal Welfare Services), had to perform surgery on a 10-month-old pit bull named Kain that had been neutered by having a rubber band tied around its testicles.

“I had heard of stuff like that but had never seen it before,” she said Thursday. “It’s commonly done on large animals, but it should never be done on small animals.”

Kendra Quast, Kain’s owner, got the dog on July 19 from an individual on Facebook. Quast left Kain with a friend on July 21 and 22 because she spent some time with her sister Ashley, who had recently undergone surgery.

Quast’s friend noticed something strange: Something was tied around Kain’s testicles.

Quast contacted vet technician Pam Mortenson of Minn-Kota PAAWS last week to set up an appointment to properly neuter the dog. The surgery was Sunday.

Quast said Kain’s previous owner didn’t provide contact information. Shortly after she received the dog, the previous owner cut off all communication via the Facebook account.

Authorities are currently looking into the situation.

Kain had a checkup earlier this week and is healing from the surgery and is doing well.

Oetker said Kain remained friendly throughout the ordeal.

“He’s a nice dog, and he was even nice with that going on,” she said. “He didn’t deserve that.”

In a similar case, about two months ago in Wolverton, Minn., an unknown perpetrator tried to neuter a 7-year-old Siberian husky named Jack by wrapping a plastic zip-tie around the dog’s testicles.

The case is still under investigation by the Wilkin County Sheriff’s Office. No new leads have been found, Chief Deputy Josh Nack said.

Emma Murray is a reporter at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, which is owned by

Forum Communications Co.

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