Rescuer decides to adopt Libre, the puppy found near death on a Lancaster County farm

Libre -- the puppy whose near-death rescue from a southern Lancaster County farm drew national attention and sparked numerous calls for a local animal cruelty officer's resignation -- has a home.

Janine Guido, founder of Speranza Animal Rescue, took the emaciated, mange-ridden puppy from Lancaster County to a Dillsburg veterinarian for round-the-clock care.

Now that he's feeling better, she's decided she can't give him up.

"Can't let him go," she said in an interview Thursday with BarkPost, a website devoted to dog news.

"I promised him the first day I saw him that if he pulled through he had a forever home waiting for him," Guido said. "Can't break that promise."

Guido said Libre may be able to leave the Dillsburg Veterinary Center, where the pup has been recovering since July 5, in as little as a week.

Libre was rescued by an SPCA volunteer and a former animal cruelty officer on July 4, after the volunteer found the puppy in dire straits in a pen on a farm near Quarryville.

The volunteer, Dextin Orme, was making deliveries to the farm when he first saw the ailing pup on July 2. He photographed the dog and reported its condition to SPCA director Susan Martin, who said she decided the dog didn't need immediate help after her staff veterinarian, Dr. Kelly Bergman, looked at the photo.

When Orme saw the dog looking even worse on July 4, he decided to take action. He asked the breeder to surrender the pup, he said, and contacted former cruelty officer Jennifer Nields to take the pup to the PETS emergency center.

Nields called Guido, who transported the dog to Dillsburg. The veterinarian there, Dr. Ivan Pryor, said Libre was close to death when he arrived at the clinic.

Martin's handling of the incident has led to widespread calls for her resignation as executive director of the Lancaster County SPCA and as a Humane Society police officer, charged with enforcing animal welfare laws.

Martin has said there was not sufficient evidence to prove neglect in court.

When asked about the calls for her resignation, Martin told a reporter that she'll "be here tomorrow and I'll be here next year."