Happy ending for 'Christmas Orphan'

by Miriah Kardelis

A neglected Hot Springs dog is now in her forever home after a long journey that began on Christmas morning when she was found wandering around town and was taken to the police department. Hot Springs Police Officer Jason Acheson was on duty when a worried community member brought the dog in. While the dog did not have a collar, her appearance and health were a concern, prompting Acheson to reach out to the town of Hot Springs via Facebook to find her owners.

"I started calling her 'The Christmas Orphan' because I didn't know what else to call her," Acheson said. "We're not set up to hold dogs, but we needed to do something. She was malnourished and definitely needed some attention and a bath. She was weak and lethargic looking. Once I posted on Facebook, it sparked the people in the community and the owner reached out."

The owner was charged with three violations in total. One charge of animal cruelty, which is a Montana State criminal misdemeanor. The Montana code states, "a person convicted of the offense of cruelty to animals shall be fined an amount not to exceed $1,000 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or both. If the convicted person is the owner, the person may be required to forfeit any animal affected to the county in which the person is convicted."

The owner was charged on a Hot Springs town ordinance violation of not properly licensing and collaring an animal. The penalty for an unlicensed dog is the fee for the license plus a first offense fee of $25. The third violation prohibits animals running at large in Hot Springs town limits. The penalty is the fee for impoundment plus a first offense fee of $50. "The dog was surrendered and forfeited to the Town of Hot Springs and the owner pleaded guilty and agreed to pay the fines and the initial medical expenses," Acheson said.

A local animal clinic found the dog to be severely malnourished, and Acheson said finding a safer environment for the dog was essential. The animal clinic reached out to a possible foster family to help care for the dog for the foreseeable future. The Hot Springs Police Department received an outpour of phone calls, messages and more than 6,000 Facebook interactions, all from community members concerned for the dog's wellbeing, but it was Hot Springs resident and Advanced Emergency Medical Technician John Carlbom who helped foster the very first night.

Carlbom described the entire situation as saddening and was shocked to see the state of health the dog was in when he brought her home. "It's hard to put into words, but a bath was all it took for her to warm up to me," he said. "It was hard to let her go, but knowing she was going to a good home made it easier." Carlbom fostered the dog for two days before driving the dog to her new home in Plains.

Known as "The Christmas Orphan" in Hot Springs and "Orphan Annie" to her grandchildren, the new foster owner decided to call the dog Annabelle. The new owner called herself a "foster fail" as she didn't want to let Annabelle go and decided to legally adopt her.

"From there, since Annabelle was technically the property of the Town of Hot Springs, per our city attorney, an agreement was drafted to where the Town of Hot Springs surrendered custody and ownership of Annabelle to the new owner," Acheson said. On January 19, 2022, Annabelle was officially adopted into her new home.

"Everything just seemed to fall into place for this to happen," Acheson said. "I don't think there's a mean bone in that dog's body, she's just so docile. Everyone just had a soft heart for her." When Annabelle was first brought into the police department, she weighed only 50 pounds. She is now up to 57 pounds and can eat two cups of food a day. The new owner and veterinarian are now working on stabilizing Annabelle's liver and kidney enzymes as well as getting her updated on all her immunizations.