Dog dies after being unintentionally starved by elderly owner

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Dog unintentionally starved
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An emaciated dog named “Mojo,” recently died after being unintentionally starved by his elderly owner, who suffered from dementia. The dog’s tragic death has prompted the creation of a Facebook page, and a plea for people to pay attention – to speak up – to be aware of those around them.

The request, as shared on Mojo’s Mission, begins with a sad recount of how Mojo was unintentionally forgotten:

Mojo was a tiny Chihuahua that was found locked in a room where his owner with Alzheimer’s lived.
He was rescued, but it wasn’t soon enough. He was unintentionally neglected to the point where he lost his life because of it. Starved. Cold. Alone. Forgotten about because of a terrible disease.

As well as an explanation of how Mojo was not the only victim in this tragic situation:

Mojo wasn’t the only victim. His owner was too. Where was her family? Where were her friends? Where were her neighbors and the health care professionals? Mojo didn’t starve to death overnight. He suffered for months and months. Mojo’s passing has made me (and many others,) think about how many other pets may be suffering the same way that Mojo did. There are so many elderly people that are just forgotten about.

And finally…the plea for people to take action and make a difference:

Right here. Right now. I challenge EVERYONE to reach out. Reach out to your local vet’s offices. Reach out to your local Senior Centers. Reach out to your local Area Agency on Aging. Reach out to your local churches. Make contact with ONE person that is aged, a shut-in, disabled … offer them and their pet whatever you can. Even if it’s just a check-in phone call every few days. Do they need a ride to take their pet to the vet’s office? Do they need meds picked up from the vet’s office? Can they afford the next bag of dog food/cat food?
I encourage you to share Mojo’s Mission….you may just save a life, or two!

Find Mojo’s Mission on Facebook here.

Pet Rescue Report on Facebook here.

(Photo via Patti Mansfield/Facebook)


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40 COMMENTS

  1. I am moved to TEARS over this!!! I have been a nurse for over 25 years!! worked with Alzheimer’s clients!!! How very sad for this little tiny GUY that LOVED and TRUSTED his OWNER to the VERY END OF HIS LITTLE LIFE!!! I don’t know if the person had family in the area BUT if THEY did those PEOPLE DID NOT GIVE ONE CENT about them!!!! THEY will be around to collect the POSSESSIONS but GOD forbid give a moment of their time and attention!!!!! WHO SUFFERED PROBABLY the only lIVING THING THAT REALLY AND CARED FOR HIM OR HER THE POOR LITTLE DOG MOJO!!! REST HIS TORTURED LITTLE SOUL!!!

    • I so agree with you ……. It is so sad that people can’t take 2 seconds out of their lives, to check on someone. Are they afraid that someone may actually need a minute of their time, or …. I just don’t know, but I have witnessed people in need of help, in broad daylight and everyone just goes on about their way with out a second thought or a second look. Case in point, in the small complex , on a cul de sac, where I live, elderly man, had fallen and layed on the ground right in front of his building, 30 degrees outside, broad daylight. His building is passed by every car in and out and only maybe 50 feet from the road ! I have no clue how long he laid there, but …….. it really is sickening and sad …….

      • I think ALMOST as heartbreaking as Mojo dying such a tragic death, is the Fact so Damn MANY people are jumping on the Alzheimer’s Victim as the fault for the impending starvation & death…I can easily see if the person was in the late stages of the disease process and Mojo accidently got shut in a back room how this could have happened!!! I am angry at the FAMILY if there were any, the Neighbors, and the Community Health Care System!!! Like you state so eloquently in you post People Just Really don’t give a Damn about others in OUR WORLD OF TODAY!!!

  2. My father died from complications of Alzheimer’s but he was in a facility. My heart breaks for this little dog who had no idea why his mom/dad didn’t feed him. I also wonder where the H was the family? If there was no family, there had to have been SOMEONE who knew the person had dementia and needed assistance. RIP Mojo. I’m sorry you died.

  3. Another senior forgotten about by family and friends. Obviously this person wasn’t able to take care of themselves let alone poor Mojo and I wonder how they even came to having a pet. My heart goes out to poor Mojo, he didn’t understand what was happening and unfortunately his owner (who in better days was most likely a loving owner) wasn’t capable of taking proper care of him. Such a horrible situation and one that is becoming more common as we pet owners age. I hope and pray the owner is getting the help they need now.

    • Having a pet can often delay the worst symptoms of mental disease… so mojo was probably really good for his owners… if only his owner’s family checked in… 🙁

  4. I can’t even comment on this ! You mean to tell me the family saw this and did not a damn thing to help poor Little Mojo !!! Heartless bastards !!!

    • Sadly I think this person was left to fend for themselves!! either had no family, or support system , and they just didn’t give a damn what happened…. it would be nice to know more about the situation and town the individual lived in!! From the picture of the toe nails on the little guy he hadn’t had attention for a long time!!! People don’t take time in a lot of area’s in our society to even know who lives by them … this could be a somewhat rural area with no really close neighbor’s !! It is nothing short of Horrific !!!

  5. This story is heartbreaking on so many levels. My heart breaks for this poor little dog and for this person, who obviously doesn’t have anyone in their life who cares about them. Very sad.

  6. I simply don’t believe that someone with dementia had no one looking after them. If that is true, they also would have died of starvation.

  7. The disease goes in and out. The person was not in lala land the amount of time the dog starved to death in another room that was closed and locked.

    Also, I’m sure the dog was barking the whole time after he started to feel hungry. Even if the person was in another world in their head. They are still going to see why an animal is in the room barking.

    The person just happened to totally forget about the dieing animal but for some reason remembered to feed him/ her self and also remembered that was his/her home.

    Give me a break, the person knew the dog was there the whole time. If the person had family. They all should go to hell for not checking up on an elderly relative.

    • Thank you for AT THE VERY LEAST attempting to EXPLAIN The concept of Alzheimer’s to an APPARENTLY VERY MISINFORMED INDIVIDUAL…. I wish before PEOPLE demonize the Elderly victim, YES ! VICTIM right along with MOJO he would do a detailed research of how the disease Alzheimer’s takes It’s toll on each individual…. I would NEVER conceive that the person in this horrific ordeal EVER had any intention of causing harm to this poor little dog… If There were no family members involved, Just where were health care, community service members , neighbors, to follow up on the person in question…. I wish there was more detail provided the would help clarify as to JUST WHAT REALLY DID OCCUR … I somehow have the feeling the authorities really Don’t want people to know because it would implicate the community services themselves!!! I am a RN and had the very sad and heart wrenching job of working with Alzheimer clients for FIVE YEARS… Even We Caretakers have been overwhelmed with grief over the toll taken on families, clients, and caretakers… This should never have happened!!!!

      • Thank YOU for your VERY IMPORTANT and REAL EYE OPENING IMPUT.. I most certainly did not realize the TOTAL LACK of KNOWLEDGE for this Horrific and Life Changing DISEASE !!! AMERICA REALLY NEEDS to do ALOT more COMMUNITY and NATIONAL EDUCATION with it’s COMMUNITIES!!!!

  8. the article says he was locked in a room WITH his owner…… the responsible parties should be charged with elder abuse and animal cruelty.

  9. Got dementia, give the dog away, you imbecile! No excuses here for this horror…My God, how that poor innocent animal suffered?

  10. No Shawn, that is not true. People with dementia many times revert back to their own childhood. They can forget how to feed themselves, wash themselves, they soil themselves, etc. The owner probably loved that dog, but the mind went. The dog was forgotten, and I would bet the owner was in very bad shape too. Do not pass judgement, as we do not know the whole story.

  11. Somebody had to know. Unless it’s assisted living facility somebody had to be paying the bills and bringing them necessities. Horrible and tragic for everyone.

  12. A few years ago I had to take my mother -in -law’s dog from her because she had slidden into dementia and was thinking the poor thing was starving and was force feeding the dog and spanking it when it wouldn’t eat. She became quite angry with me, but I had a responsibility to that dog and her other family members wouldn’t take action. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

    • You saved the little Dog !!!! That is the important thing!!! Alzheimer’s and Dementia are different for each and every person!!! We had one lovely man on our unit that would have to Brand his Cattle each and every night or he could not sleep!!! He would stand and tell the nurse that went thru the process of the branding each and every night that the fire needed more wood. ask how many calves we had branded …. This went on for 5 years until he passed!!! He actually relived the branding !!! didn’t even remember his own Name!!!

  13. Are you people morons? The owner was obviously in poor health and most likely wasn’t even feeding themselves. You have no clue about elderly dementia patients! I worked as a private duty nurse with the majority of patients having Alzheimer’s or dementia. Most needed help getting dressed, washed and even being fed depending on the progression of the disease. Most don’t even remember their own family members. They forget what they did two minutes before. I can easily see how a pet could have been forgotten, no matter how unfortunate the situation was. I can not believe the heartless responses posted here! That’s what’s really heartless. You should hope and pray that you or your family members never suffer from either affliction. You have another human being and a pet who were both victims of people not giving two s**ts. That’s what’s disgusting!

    • Thank YH:U for SPEAKING out I TOO being a NURSE for 30 years am SHOCKED at the Hateful Responses and the TOTAL LACK of EMPATHY from PEOPLE that are supposed to be somewhat educated about our Seniors with Dementia, Alzheimer’s ISSUES … Apparently NOT!!!!

      • Any of us that have seen first hand what Dementia, Alzheimer’s can do to a person, knows this senior shouldn’t be held accountable for their lack of action concerning the poor dog. I wonder why and how they happened to have a dog in the first place, but someone should have been looking after this person. My Grandmother had to go into a nursing home because she had gotten to the point she was unable to take care of herself, she hid her medicine and wasn’t taking it, would cook meals and throw them out in the garbage and not eat them (it was becoming dangerous to even think she was cooking), the final straw was when she went to a cousins house at 2:00am because she had walked all the way to the doctors office thinking she had an appointment and of course the doctor’s office wasn’t open. I thought my poor mother would end up in the nursing home with her, We all worked and weren’t able to stay with her 24/7 and couldn’t afford 24/7 care so, although it killed my Mom, Grandma ended up in the nursing home. She eventually didn’t recognize any of us. It’s a horrible disease and horrible to watch your loved one become someone they would never have become in their right minds.

      • I Lost my Mom at 59 to Cancer of the Lungs ( misdiagnosed as pneumonia for 3 months by her So=called Dr.) my grandfather , dad also with cancer… My dear Grandmother came to Wyoming for Colorado as I could never leave her with a support system and she was in an assisted living as she had Parkinson’s Disease… She had her mind till the end but the disease took away her ability to speak or walk… Pneumonia took her … a blessing for her… I am so glad no one in our family had Alzheimer’s it is HELL ON EARTH for the family and person!!! I wish we knew if this individual was just totally alone , but that will never happen…. I do hope some of the supporters of this site WILL do SOME MUCH NEEDED RESEARCH on the DISEASE SO THEY WILL not be so condemning !!!!

  14. Ya mean in all the time the dog started not being fed. Not one person ever came to this old ladys house. Not one. Every old persons house i have ever been to. I have been in every room of there house. And knew what pets they had.

  15. I am horrified at what happened to Mojo. Just heartbreaking. Poor little angel…..

    I help the caregivers with my parents. I took their pets into my home for safety and I bring them over for visits.

    It’s much better for all this way: their pets are well cared for, bathed, groomed, fed, vet visits & go to my parents for extra TLC visits.

    There is much more to this story: who was caring for the person? How could they ignore the dog? Were both the person AND dog not cared for?

    Someone is criminally negligent for Mojo and possibly the person (if they were in bad shape too). I hope that there are charges filed against the supposed caregiver (& that they do jail time & community service)…..

    I check on my parents multiple times per day (& show up at all hours in person for visits)……..

    Shame on family (if there is any) for not checking on their relative…..

    • Bunny : I have been an RN for 25 years : YOU have NO idea how many people NEGLECT and ABANDON their family members in difficult times like this …. It is simply horrific !!! You like myself reach out and do the Right thing by your folks and you have my respect for being the kind of person you are…. I only wish this was the case for many others in our Country that have kids who only want to take the valuables, cash, and home and forget the living family and YES the pets too…..

  16. Yes trying to get help for elderly ex mil now who we do check on and 5 yr old lab but she got a citation and county nor anyone wants to help just give fines. Dog deserves good home. And she can go outside just want. We can not be thete 24/7.

  17. JESUS CHRIST! WHY IS THIS PERSON WITH DEMENTIA LEFT ALONE, AND WITH A DOG? WHERE ARE HER KIDS, AND FAMILY? GOOD GRIEF, AND SO UNFORTUNATE!

  18. I don’t understand how a person with dementia is living alone.
    I don’t understand why someone felt it was a good idea to give a dementia patient a dog.
    why?
    The person who gave the dog to the elder is to blame for abandoning both of them.
    it never occurred to them to check up on the dog they just gave to an elder?
    living on their own ?

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