ALABAMA -- A Hanceville man was arrested on Tuesday after his two nameless dogs were found at his former residence malnourished and dehydrated last week by the rental property owner.
Stanley W. Speakman, 29, of Hanceville, was arrested on Tuesday for two counts of animal cruelty after he moved from the Cullman city limits to a Cullman County residence and his former landlord found his Great Pyrenees and Golden Retriever dehydrated and severely malnourished in a fenced area behind his former home, Cullman assistant police chief Craig Green said.
“The landlord of a Cullman rental property stopped by to check on her property and found the two dogs outside, sick and malnourished,” Green said. “She carried the dogs inside to get them warm and gave them food, and then gave us a call and that’s how we got involved.”
Green said officer Chris Nichols and animal control officer Daniel Bingham responded to the residence on January 28 after receiving the call.
“It would have been easy to take the dogs to the animal shelter if you can’t take care of them; It’s a very simple process and there’s no fee,” Nichols said. “The dogs were extremely emaciated, you could see their backbones and ribs, and were severely dehydrated from the lack of food and water.
They were in a fenced backyard during all the recent cold weather we’ve had. I’m fairly certain it was snowing the day we found them.”
“It was obvious that who ever lived in the home had abandoned the house, both the water and power were off, and the landlord informed the officers who she was formerly renting the property to,” Green said.
The officers were able to locate Speakman at his current residence and questioned him about the health of his dogs for which he said he had been checking on them every few days.
“Mr. Speakman told the officers because he lost his job, he couldn’t pay the power bill and had to move and left the dogs there, but he was going to the rental property every few days to check on them,” Green said. “The dogs were carried to Lee’s Veterinary Hospital and the doctors there said both animals were severely dehydrated and so weak they couldn’t stand on their own. In his professional opinion, it had been more than a few days since they had water or food, he thought it had been weeks.”
Dr. Shane Lee said he estimated each dog was between 1-2 years old, and both showed no signs of outward abuse, but they were both parasitic. Because the dogs did not have names, he called them “number one” and “number two.”
“Both dogs were loaded with worms, rounds, hooks, and whips, which is often from the environment they are in, and can be prevented easily with a monthly wormer,” Lee said. “Based on their appearance when they came in, it had been several weeks since they had eaten. They’ve been with us a week and are doing better.”
Lee said the dogs may be released back to family members of the owner, but not the previous owner himself.
“It’s my understanding that Speakman’s wife that he’s separated from expressed interest in getting the dogs,” Nichols said. “I was told there will be a court hearing to establish ownership of the dogs.”
Speakman was taken to the Cullman County Detention Center after being charged with two counts of animal cruelty, second degree, which is a Class-A misdemeanor.
Alabama State Penal Code states:
(a) A person commits the crime of cruelty to a dog or cat in the first degree if he or she intentionally tortures any dog or cat or skins a domestic dog or cat or offers for sale or exchange or offers to buy or exchange the fur, hide, or pelt of a domestic dog or cat. Cruelty to a dog or cat in the first degree is a Class C felony. A conviction for a felony pursuant to this section shall not be considered a felony for purposes of the Habitual Felony Offender Act, Section 13A-5-9 to 13A-5-10.1, inclusive.
(b) A person commits the crime of cruelty to a dog or cat in the second degree if he or she, in a cruel manner, overloads, overdrives, deprives of necessary sustenance or shelter, unnecessarily or cruelly beats, injuries, mutilates, or causes the same to be done. Cruelty to a dog or cat in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor.
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