Puppy Love : Abused Cocker Spaniel Is Deluged by Well-Wishers

When Baby, an 8-month-old cocker spaniel, was savagely beaten on the balcony of a Glendale apartment, neighbors could not turn a deaf ear.

They called the police and reported that Baby’s owner had kicked her repeatedly and then jumped up and down on her.

When he was arrested the day of the attack, Brendan Sheen, 26, told officers he was just trying to discipline the dog. “I wasn’t really going to hurt my dog. I just got carried away,” Sheen told police, according to their report.

In the two weeks since the attack, the beating has triggered an outpouring of public sympathy that has surprised even longtime animal advocates.

Television camera crews descended on the Sylmar pet hospital where the dog is recuperating from surgery to repair three broken ribs and a badly fractured pelvis. Hundreds of inquiries, donations and offers of help have poured in to the Glendale Police Department, the Glendale Humane Society and the animal hospitals that treated Baby.

By Wednesday, the Doris Day Pet Foundation in Sun Valley, which is raising funds for Baby’s care, had collected $10,082 and at least 100 more envelopes were waiting to be opened and their donations counted, said Judy Ruby, the foundation’s director.

So many people have called to inquire about Baby that Ruby recorded an extended message about the dog’s condition and the court case involving Sheen on the foundation’s answering machine. Ruby said the response is the largest ever encountered by her organization since it was set up in 1977 by the popular actress. “We were shocked,” she said.

Baby’s medical expenses are expected to come to less than $1,000, but the foundation has pledged to use any surplus funds to aid other animals.

A Glendale shelter employee said outraged callers commonly ask the same four questions: Can I adopt the dog? Is her owner going to jail? Will Sheen get the dog back? Can I help pay for her treatment?

In a matter of days, this furry, floppy-eared pup has become something of a poster child for animal cruelty foes.

“I’ve had dogs hit by cars in here that no one has even claimed,” said Robert Collett, the Sylmar veterinarian who operated on Baby. “This dog is . . . highly photogenic. People have seen her on TV and it’s touched their hearts. . . . This is the most public response I’ve ever seen.”

Animal lovers have been particularly incensed because the injuries allegedly were inflicted by a human. “Usually, we don’t see cases that severe unless the dog has been hit by a car,” said Sylvia Zapien-Garcia, a Glendale veterinarian who examined Baby, then sent her to Sylmar for surgery.

Baby is expected to spend the next 10 to 20 days recuperating at Collett’s animal hospital. She cannot be adopted until the case against Sheen is concluded and a judge has determined whether the dog will be returned to its owner.

Glendale police contacted the Day foundation for help after the June 30 incident. According to the police report, Sheen told officers he was having trouble “potty training” his dog. While he was spanking her, the dog bit his right thumb. Sheen told officers he then took the dog to the balcony and kicked it. He denied jumping on the dog.

Sheen was arrested on suspicion of felony cruelty to animals and was released after posting $5,000 bail.

Sheen could not be reached for comment on the allegations. The telephone at the number he provided to police had been disconnected and a co-worker at his job in Gardena said Sheen did not want to talk about the case.

The district attorney’s office has filed one felony count of cruelty to animals against Sheen. If convicted, he could be sentenced to a maximum of three years in state prison and fined up to $20,000, prosecutors said.

Gail Christensen, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the attack on Baby put animal cruelty in the spotlight.

“If we try to talk to you about the hundreds of cases that we’ve investigated, it doesn’t have the same impact,” she said. “But when you see that one pitiful animal that has been abused, it focuses attention.”

Animal advocates wish that Baby’s many admirers would accept other animals as pets. Christensen said 172,000 unwanted animals are destroyed annually in Los Angeles County.

“It’s frustrating to me that all this attention is focused on this one dog,” said Day Foundation Director Ruby. “There are a million other animals out there that are just as needy.”

But those contacting her organization out of concern for Baby are single-minded, she said. “They want Baby and nothing else. It’s pretty amazing.”