For 11-year-old Tatum Henderson, helping an animal in need was second nature. So, when he saw a malnourished dog lying in the parking lot of the Kentucky Humane Society, he knew he and his parents had to do something. They didn’t expect the rescue story to gain wide-spread attention, but now, hopefully, Kentucky will change its animal rights and welfare laws because of what he did.
Helping A Stranger Isn’t For Everyone
For many people, helping a stranger is the last thing on their mind, especially if that stranger is some random animal lying down in a parking lot. But for 11-year-old Tatum Henderson, helping an animal in need wasn’t even a second thought.
This story starts as one of those “he was at the right place at the right time” tropes. The thing is, the right place at the right time just so happened to be the difference between life and death for one very sick pooch.
Tatum Was Just Bringing Toys To The Shelter
January 29 was just a typical day for Tatum. He had his parents drive him to the Kentucky Humane Society, a local shelter where he planned to donate a bunch of stuffed toys for the animals being housed there.
But what started as a day of giving turned into a day of saving when Tatum spotted something very much out of place in the Human Society’s parking lot. It was a dog. And he didn’t look okay.
He Spotted A Dog In The Parking Lot
In the parking lot of the Kentucky Humane Society, Tatum spotted a dog. The thing was, the poor animal was definitely very sick and was visibly starving. He initially thought the dog was dead.
But after seeing a steady rise and fall of the animal’s chest, the family knew the pooch was holding on for as long as he possibly could. Being an animal lover, Tatum wasn’t going to let his parents drive away without doing something.
It Was Clear The Dog Was Very Malnourished
Tatum wasn’t about to get back into the car. There was a dog in need on the ground. His parents called inside to the front adoption desk. They rushed outside, taking the dog inside for emergency care.
Now, it was nothing more than a waiting game as Tatum and his parents anxiously awaited news on the dog’s wellbeing. They’d never seen this dog before, but its malnourished state was very upsetting.
Ethan Was Going To Need Time To Heal
It took an entire day before the Hendersons received an update on the dog, named Ethan by the Kentucky Humane Society. He was stable but in bad shape. The poor animal was beyond malnourished, and it was going to take some time before he was 100% again.
That didn’t stop the Hendersons from checking in on him, though. Tatum was all about sitting and reading updates on the shelter’s Facebook page.
Slowly, Ethan Made Progress
Even before they knew Ethan’s condition, Tatum was online, checking for updates. According to the Kentucky Humane Society’s Facebook page, “[The Hendersons] watched our Facebook page, and were relieved to see the update on January 30 that Ethan was still alive. They have been following Ethan’s progress every day since then.”
Tatum was pleased to see Ethan was slowly but surely recovering from his malnourishment and various other issues. But there was one thing on his mind.
Someone Wanted To Come Visit
Tatum wanted nothing more than to see Ethan, to make sure he was okay at the Humane Society. Out of sheer love, Tatum’s grandmother reached out to the shelter, asking if it was alright for her grandson to go visit Ethan.
In their Facebook post, the Humane Society said, “A few days ago, Tatum’s grandmother reached out to ask if her grandson could meet Ethan now that he is healthy.”
Tatum Wanted To Check On Ethan In Person
Of course, they couldn’t have been more willing to let the young boy come visit. He was a huge part of Ethan’s rescue story, after all! “We couldn’t agree more and arranged a meeting so Ethan could say a proper “thank you” to Tatum and his family,” the Humane Society posted on their Facebook page.
And because it was about to be Tatum’s 12th birthday, the shelter decided to get him something very special, a “Team Ethan” t-shirt!
Ethan Just Got Stronger And Stronger
Each day, Ethan was healing and becoming stronger. Eventually, he even hit his target weight of 80 pounds! But Ethan was strong, and he wasn’t going to stop there. The Kentucky Humane Society continued to post videos on his recovery.
Eventually, Ethan gained quite the fan club. But the condition that Tatum and his family had found Ethan in is a huge issue in Kentucky, one that the Humane Society has been trying hard to fight.
Kentucky Animal Welfare Isn’t Great
In Kentucky, animal welfare is pretty much the last thing some residents care about, considering the state is pretty low on the totem pole compared to laws in other states in the country.
In an interview, Kentucky State Representative Chris Freeland told WHASII, “I’m just trying to make sure Kentucky moves up the ladder somewhat on our animal welfare rules. I think right now we’re 47th or 49th in the nation…”
House Bill 57 Is A Game Changer
The 2020 Animal Protection U.S. State Laws Rankings Report has come out, stating that out of all 50 states, Kentucky ranks 47th in animal protection laws. Thankfully, Kentucky State Representative Chris Freeland hopes this is going to change.
His mission is for House Bill 57 to pass, making animal torture of any kind a Class D felony. Right now, this is something that’s only considered a Class A misdemeanor in the state of Kentucky.
Ethan Is Just One Of Many Sad Stories, Most Untold
Representative Freeland caught wind of Ethan’s story, stating that it is only one of many that happen within Kentucky’s borders. During an interview with WHASII, Freeland said, “this is really dealing with the worst of the worst types of actions that people may do, and as you know, the story with Ethan is one of many.”
He continued by saying, “many stories are not being reported because people are just discarding animals, not even giving them to authorities.”