[UA] Promises Kept?

[David M Jacobs]

Quoting Peter Kisner <kisnerp at hotmail.com>:

> Regarding the handout:
> I'm sure there are forensic tests to prove this but:  If the dogs were 
> currently dead how did they know the dogs had been skinned while still 
> alive?

For a start, the wounds would be pretty ragged and of varying depth; animals 
(and people FWIW) tend not to sit still when being skinned, unless you've 
heavily anaesthetised them.  The pattern of blood drops around the site -- and 
signs of a struggle -- would point to whether or not the dogs were alive; 
postmortem bleeding doesn't usually occur in high-pressure sprays.

You'd also find that the areas around the wounds would be heavily infused with 
blood, something that doesn't happen with postmortem injuries.  If there was any 
skin left on the animal (forex, around the genitals, which you usually cut 
around when skinning an animal), they'd show "drag" marks if they were skinned 
postmortem.  Similar marks may or may not show up on the subcutaneous membrane; 
I'm not sure on this point.

Lastly, bloodwork would probably show enormous amounts of adrenaline and 
endorphins if the dogs were skinned alive.  There may well be other signs to 
look for, but these are the ones that come immediately to mind.

That said, I'd imagine that it'd be incredibly difficult to skin a live, aware 
pitbull, and impossible to get a cleanly-cut pelt.  For a start, you've got up 
to 40kg of muscle and rage that probably wants to rip your arms off anyway, and 
you're not going to make it any happier trying to hold it down and stick a knife 
in it.  If you've got _two_ of them to worry about...

If I found two pitbulls skinned alive in my backyard, I'd be _very_ inclined to 
move house.



-- David M Jacobs <dmjacobs at zipworld.com.au>