Fond du Lac County District Attorney Dan Kaminsky said his office received a large report Aug. 16 that outlined the conditions of the dogs once they were placed in the care of the Fond du Lac Humane Society.
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| Jack is the last husky left at the Fond du Lac Humane Society |
[An earlier story says the deputy saw dead goats lying in the yard and when he knocked on the door, a ten year-old boy answered. The deputy saw a dead goat lying in the living room where the little boy was.]
Two dogs were euthanized at the scene. In addition, 60 goats were relocated to another farm.
Kaminsky said 226 separate counts were referred to the DA’s office by investigators from the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office. Detective Cameron McGee said the referred charges include mistreatment of animals, failure to provide food and water, sanitation standards and unlawful deposit of animal carcasses.
McGee said the report is lengthy and it took several months to receive condition reports on each of the dogs.
“We had an emergency at the time and the emergency was taken care of. Our goal is to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” he said. The property is being checked periodically, he added.
Smidt, 45, was issued a $200 citation in May for allowing animals to run at large, according to the state’s Circuit Court Access.
Kaminsky said Assistant District Attorney Andrew Christenson is reviewing the case. Smidt’s initial appearance could be scheduled sometime in the next two to three weeks.
“He (Christenson) is assuming charges will come up, but that decision has not yet been made. Some of the issues require consulting,” Kaminsky said, citing an example that feeding carcasses to dogs may be an accepted practice for operations with large numbers of canines.
A male husky named Jack is the last of the dogs at the humane society and an adoption application is pending, Shelter Manager Renee Webb said. The rest of the huskies were adopted, some of them by rescue organizations and animal shelters that initially took some of the dogs into their care.
A female husky named Gigi went to a new home in Kansas last week, Webb said.
“I think he (Smidt) should be charged. I think the condition of the animals dictates that,” she said.
Webb’s report indicates the dogs suffered from dehydration, internal parasites, severely matted coats and were underweight. Three dogs had to be euthanized.
“None of them could be placed in homes with cats, given that they had been eating whole carcasses of livestock,” Webb said. “We found it odd that there wasn’t one cat on a farm property of that size.”
(Fond du Lac Reporter - Oct 26, 2012)
