While they were away on vacation, the family’s 15-year-old black Labrador shepherd mix, Favre, was taken from the front porch of their Gallitzin home on July 30 by borough police, who were assisted by a local humane officer.
Now, the humane officer who took custody of the dog on neglect accusations will face a county inquiry to determine whether he acted outside his jurisdiction.
On Monday, Favre died in an Altoona shelter.
Before they learned of his passing, the family said their immediate pleas to return their four-legged family member were denied. The family still doesn’t know how the dog died or why they were not allowed to retrieve him.
Gallitzin police Chief Gerald Hagen said he responded to a tip from an out-of-town passerby, who reported that the dog was alone, lying in its own filth and severely sick or injured. The Myers family claims neighbors were watching Favre during their absence, but Hagen said no one approached him while he was at the family’s home.
He said the dog was barely able to move or bark at him when he approached. Instead, it staggered around the yard, at times stopping to lay down.
As an elderly dog, Favre had many health issues, family members said, including hip dysplasia, which greatly limited his movement. The family opted to try and spend as much time with Favre before the end, rather than force him into surgeries or more treatment regimens.
“My brother and their family wanted him to be able to spend the last bit of his life at home where he was comfortable and loved,” said Annamarie Myers Barnish, sister of Favre’s owner, Chris Myers.
“During the day, he does stay outside on the porch – he does like to be outside.”
They "opted to try and spend as much time with Favre before the end"... by going on vacation and leaving him outside by himself?
Hagen said this is the first time a neglect complaint has been made against the Myers family. The state in which he found Favre, however, was visibly unhealthy, Hagen said.
“The dog was actually lying in vomit,” he said – a claim the Myers family and their neighbors say is not true.
“I immediately knew the dog was in need of some medical attention – if nothing else, an evaluation from a veterinarian,” Hagen said.
But he didn’t have any means of transporting the dog. So, he called Paul Gottshall, humane officer for Centre and Blair counties, and a borough resident.
When Gottshall arrived, he said could tell Favre was emaciated.
“Whatever food (neighbors) were putting out for the dog, it was throwing up,” he said.
‘Furry big brother’
Ebensburg veterinarian James Takacs, who had treated Favre since he was a puppy and examined him after his death, said it’s not unusual for a 15-year-old dog to appear thin. He told The Tribune-Democrat that the Myerses weren’t the type to neglect or abuse their dog. In fact, they went “above and beyond,” considering the dog’s chronic health issues, Takacs said.
“They loved that dog like a child,” he said. “The dog had a lot of medical problems that were always addressed. I don’t think that he looked abused or neglected,” he said.
“He was no thinner than my 15-year-old dog was when she died.”
If this dog was being monitored/treated by a veterinarian, they would have produced paperwork proving this and there would be no question as to whether the dog was neglected or not.
Gottshall said he also noticed the dog was wearing a “spiked” training collar – which is unusual for an older pet – and that it was fastened so tightly that it dug into Favre’s neck and needed to be cut off.
“It was not a training collar ... it was a pinch collar,” Myers said. “It was not used to be cruel to him or choke him or anything.”
Pinch collar, training collar... whatever. You're not supposed to leave it on the dog 24/7.
Takacs said he found no evidence of injury around the dog’s neck.
Gottshall took Favre to the Central Pennsylvania Humane Society in Altoona. Myers said he contacted the society July 31 to retrieve the dog, and was referred to Gottshall.
“He said, ‘Listen – you’re never getting your dog back and if you don’t leave right now, you’re gonna’ get arrested,’ ” Myers said.
The society reported Monday afternoon that Favre died from complications of age and his health condition.
Although Favre’s health was poor, the Myers family said they believe police had no right to take their dog away. Barnish said the Myers’ 9- and 7-year-old children are heartbroken, repeatedly asking their parents when Favre will come back to them.
“He was their big brother – their furry big brother,” she said. “They grew up with him.
“(Monday) was very emotional. It was very difficult to try to support (the family),” she said.
“Of course, they have a lot of questions and a lot of guilt that they weren’t able to do more. It was very difficult to find out that the dog had passed away and to not know what specifically had happened,” Barnish said. “No one would say how he died or whether he was put down. … There’s been no answers. We’re confused.”
‘Darned if you do’
Gottshall said matters were complicated further by the ensuing viral storm that erupted on Facebook, as well as swirling rumors about how the scenario played out. Some people took aim at Gottshall. Some are also directly antagonizing his family, he said.
Gottshall said, however, that there are particular facts about this “fiasco” that the public does not know.
“No one in their right mind would take a dog for no reason,” he said. “If we’d have left that dog there – and left that dog to die – we’d be in just as much heat as we are now. You’re darned if you do and darned if you don’t.”
Myers family representatives question whether Gottshall acted outside his jurisdiction.
Humane officers are not permitted to cross into counties where they are not the humane officer on record, according to the Myers family’s attorney, Paul Eckenrode of Ebensburg.
Gottshall is registered for Blair and Centre counties, according to the state Department of Agriculture’s online humane officer registry. There is no humane officer of record listed for Cambria County.
Hagen said he was unaware of Gottshall’s credentials, but they didn’t matter at the time – he needed Gottshall’s assistance and access to his equipment.
Gottshall said it’s not uncommon for an out-of-county officer to render assistance.
“I help the police on a weekly basis in Cambria County and not once does anyone say anything about crossing into Cambria County when they need assistance,” he said.
Myers lodged a formal complaint against Gottshall through his attorney, under the premise that Gottshall acted outside his authority.
The charges of theft and impersonating a police officer were accepted by the Cambria County District Attorney’s office Thursday, but rescinded Friday in favor of a county investigation, according to Deputy District Attorney Scott Lilly. A Cambria County detective will be looking into the accusations, he said.
“This is probably something that should be done by a detective rather than (a private attorney),” he said. But since the matter is now an open investigation, he wouldn’t say much more.
“Charges may or may not be filed in the future,” Lilly said.
Eckenrode said Friday that there may be confusion about the authority of a Humane Society officer, which is a privately employed official.
“(Gottshall’s) official title is ‘Humane Society special police officer,’ ” he said. “That shouldn’t be confused with a police officer that’s employed by a municipality or state government.”
He said the humane officer, who is appointed by the county’s Court of Common Pleas, only has limited authority to enforce the state’s animal codes, and there are Supreme Court cases that will back up his initial claim that Gottshall overstepped his bounds.
“Nothing in my research indicates that a Humane Society police officer – someone who works for a private organization or a private corporation – has any type of authority like that.”
‘Since he was a puppy’
The neighbor who cared for the dog while the Myerses were away, Jenny Wills, is facing a single summary violation of animal cruelty, Hagen said.
Myers said accusations that Wills is at fault are “a load of bull crap.”
Favre made great friends with Wills and her Rottweiler, he said, and he has no doubts she was doing the best for his dog in his family’s absence.
“She has helped us with that dog since he was a puppy,” he said. “Her first Rottweiler and my dog – it was like they were an old, married couple. I think it was because of the dogs being such good buddies that we became such good neighbors,” he said.
Wills could face a fine of up to $750, Hagen said, but the penalty is set by the court.
I don't think the neighbor should be charged with cruelty unless she saw the dog lying in its own vomit and feces and did nothing. However, if she only went to check on the dog once/day, she may not have known that the dog's condition was so bad. The owners should be the ones facing a charge if - they hadn't provided needed vet care to the dog such as pain medication, etc.
The Myerses retrieved their dog’s body from the Humane Society on Monday. Before the dog was cremated Tuesday, the family took his body – which was frozen by the Humane Society upon his death – to Takacs.
They requested a blood sample to be taken from Favre and tested to determine whether or not euthanasia was administered by the society.
The results should be returned within a week, Barnish said.
Meanwhile, the family has received an outpouring of support from the online community. The Facebook group is called “Justice for Favre.”
“We don’t want another family to suffer and go through this,” Barnish said.
Strangers have come forward, offering to help pay the shelter’s fees or future court costs.
“It really shows what kind of community that we do still come from,” she said.
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