SACRAMENTO-

Happy, healthy, and almost ready to return to a regular life for a dog.

Three-year-old Titus has come a long way in just three short weeks.

However, on Feb. 19 when he first arrived at the City Animal Shelter he was skin and bones.  Titus weighed only 38 pounds.  The normal weight for a dog his breed and size is twice that.

“He was so thin that when he was taken off the Animal Control truck he couldn’t walk,” recalls Gina Kneep the Manager for Animal Care Services in Sacramento.  “He was too weak to bare his own weight.  He was falling over.”

Titus was being starved to death.  His microchip brought Animal Control to his original owner, but they weren’t involved.

“The dog was re-homed and I’ve got to track down where he’s been the last 3 or 4 months to figure out who is responsible for the condition he was in,” said Knepp.

The District Attorney’s Office has been willing to prosecute more animal abuse cases like this recently, but as it was in Titus’ case, it first takes someone to report it.

“It happens but we need people to report it,” said Knepp.  “Because if they do we’re gonna go check, and if we can convict we will.