Dog bought off of Craigslist attacks boy

SOUTH CAROLINA -- A 6-year-old boy has a broken arm and wounds on his arms and legs after Greer police said he was attacked by a pit bull while walking through a yard after school on Thursday.

Officers were sent to a home on Harvey Road after a boy was rushed to the hospital following the attack Thursday afternoon, according to the police report.

Lt. Jim Holcombe with Greer police said the boy was cutting through a backyard where the dog was chained when he was attacked.

The report states the boy had just gotten off of the school bus when he was bitten by the dog, a pit bull named Bones.

The dog's owner told police she bought him off of Craigslist in May but had yet to take him to a veterinarian, so she did not have any paperwork or vaccination information for him, according to the report.

The boy was taken to the children's hospital in Greenville for emergency surgery because the bites were so severe his arm was broken in three places, according to the report.

Animal Control was notified and the dog's owner was cited with dangerous dog, inoculation required, failure to obtain a city license, according to police.
(CBS46 - Aug 29, 2014)

Raccoons, Skunks For Sale End With Arrests

INDIANA --  A Moores Hill couple is facing charges for illegally selling raccoons, skunks and fish out of their home.

This past June, Indiana Conservation Officers learned of the wild animal sales by Rachael Blankenship, 18, and Jason Miller, 27.

Serving a search warrant at the couple’s home at a mobile home park along State Road 350 in Moores Hill on July 1, conservation officers found four wild skunks and two wild raccoons. They also observed a large aquarium containing several black bass that had been caught out of Hogan Creek, however, the fish were smaller than the 12-inch requirement to keep.

“Blankenship also admitted that she sold three of the skunks for $10 each to (a conservation officer by email),” investigators stated in a court affidavit.

Blankenship had also showed the conservation officers the baby bottle she used to feed the juvenile wild animals. She allegedly showed the officers a recipe that she had found on the internet for bottle feeding the animals.

The animals were seized and turned over to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Officers say they also found various pills and paraphernalia including a glass marijuana pipe during the home search. Two small children were in the home at the time, according to the affidavit.

Miller is charged with Possession of Skunk (Class C misdemeanor), Possession of Raccoon (Class C misdemeanor), Possession of Black Bass (Class C misdemeanor), Illegal Sale of Wildlife (Class C misdemeanor), Possession of a Controlled Substance (Level 6 felony), Possession of a Legend Drug (Level 6 felony), Possession of Paraphernalia (Class A misdemeanor), and Taking Juvenile to Location Used for Drug Sale, Manufacture, or Possession (Class A misdemeanor).

Blankenship faces charges including Possession of Skunk (Class C misdemeanor), Possession of Raccoon (Class C misdemeanor), Illegal Sale of Wildlife (Class C misdemeanor), Possession of Paraphernalia (Class A misdemeanor), and Taking Juvenile to Location Used for Drug Sale, Manufacture, or Possession (Class A misdemeanor).

They were each arrested Monday and remain held in the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center.

(Eagle Country Online - August 27, 2014)

No charges filed in Huntington Clydesdale deaths

INDIANA -- The Huntington County prosecutor has decided not to file charges in the case of a handful of dead horses found on a well-known farm. While the prosecutor said there wasn’t enough evidence to charge the owner with neglect, at least one Huntington official is disappointed with the decision.

In March, Huntington County Animal Control officer Lori Vanover said an anonymous tip led authorities to a handful of dead and malnourished Clydesdale horses.  

All of the horses belonged to Grandview Clydesdales. At the time, owner Shannon Cobbs told NewsChannel 15 the horses died because of the harsh winter. Vanover and the State Board of Animal Health investigated the incident.

After looking over the investigation, Prosecutor Amy Richison made the decision not to file any charges regarding the living horses said to be malnourished.

“There was just no evidence that those animals were in a state that they were not taken care of,” Richison said.

The owner says that a "harsh winter" in Indiana killed the five horses. He
doesn't explain why FIVE Clydesdales couldn't handle Indiana winters.

On top of that, Richison said Animal Control decided not to get necropsies done (the animal form of an autopsy) on the dead horses.

“We could not file charges because we don’t know how these animals died,” Richison said.

Vanover is disappointed with Richison’s decision. She said necropsies weren’t done because some of the dead horses were fairly decomposed.  State leaders explained that necropsies are rare because they take a lot of time, effort, and money.

The horse owners were not charged with improper disposal of an animal either.  Richison said that’s because they came back and properly disposed of the bodies as soon as they learned of the deaths.

In the end, Richison said not everyone will like her decision, but she can only go off of the evidence she receives.

“When you have any kind of dead animal on someone’s property, we automatically assume that it’s the owner’s lack of attention to that animal that caused the animal’s death,” Richison said. “I can’t make assumptions in my job. I have to look at the evidence [handed] to me. And the evidence presented was there was no explanation for the two dead animals on the property.”

There are still discrepancies as to how many Clydesdales were found dead. In March, Vanover said authorities recovered five that had died. But Richison said the investigation took into account two dead horses, and a third that had to be euthanized.

Wednesday, Denise Derrer with the State Board of Animal Health said investigators initially accounted for two dead horses and the third euthanized horse in their investigation.  Derrer said a fourth horse was found after their investigation but was never assessed by the State Board of Animal Health. She said according to the state’s investigation, a fifth horse was reported missing and was never accounted for.

(WANE - Aug 13, 2014)

Earlier:

• How many horses have to die before authorities remove the rest?

Starving dog found digging through garbage

MASSACHUSETTS -- A starving dog was spotted digging through a garbage can in Acushnet, and now police are looking for its owner.

The dog, a full-bred French Mastiff, was so skinny he could barely stand up.

"We will call it a drop off," Mattapoisett animal control officer Kathy Massey said. "Open the door to let him do his business, and take off. That's where I'm leaning."

 

 

The dog has no chip, no tags and no collar. The dog isn't believed to be from the area, and so far no one has called looking for him.

"If that was my dog, I'd call out the National Guard," Massey said. "I would be a little upset that my dog was missing."

The dog only weighs 76 pounds, which is 100 pounds under the normal weight. Animal control said they believe it would take about two months for the dog to become that emaciated.

"He is a wonderful dog and had a rough life," Mattapoisett animal control officer Kelly Massey, Kathy Massey's daughter, said. "It breaks your heart. You want to cry."

They named the dog Braxton and placed him with a foster family and he's already putting on weight.
He's still scared of strangers, but otherwise he is considered to be healthy.

"Somebody put some kind of effort into him," Kelly Massey said. "He sits. He gives paw. He is very content."

With no leads, animal control hopes someone recognizes Braxton and helps them track down his previous owner so authorities can press charges of abuse and neglect.

(WCVB Boston - Aug 13, 2014)

Authorities rescue 29 dogs from puppy mill in Mercer County

WEST VIRGINIA — Twenty-nine dogs including German shepherds, Maltese, and peekapoos were found when a tip led law enforcement authorities to a puppy mill.

“We received an anonymous tip that somebody was selling dogs for $25 a piece,” Lt. Joe Parks of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday.

The 29 dogs included six German shepherds, Maltese, and peekapoo breeds, he said. There was also one dog with a litter that was a week old. One puppy was infected with a serious dog disease.

“We received information from a local veterinarian that dogs had contracted the deadly canine parvo virus,” Parks said.

Parks went Tuesday to Hatcher Hollow Road with First Sgt. M.R. Crowder of the West Virginia State Police Princeton detachment and a Mercer County animal control officer. The two owners were living in a doublewide trailer with the dogs, which were being kept in barricaded rooms.

Dogs were being kept in “very unhealthy and unsanitary conditions,” Parks said, who added “I’ve seen cleaner outdoor kennels.”

 The dogs were confiscated and taken to the Mercer County Animal Shelter, which is seeking donations in order to care for the new arrivals, he said. The animals will be tested for parvo. Parks said the owners told investigators that the dogs had no vaccinations for any diseases including rabies. None of the dogs had county tags or any other documentation.

“We’re going to have to start from the ground up on each and every dog,” he stated.

No charges had been filed as of Wednesday, but the Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will review the case, Parks said.
 
(Bluefield Daily Telegraph - Aug 14, 2014) 

Starving horse saved from horror garage sale

AUSTRALIA -- Lockyer Valley woman Sandrea Twigt could not rest after coming across a poorly nourished miniature horse at a garage sale.

She has detailed the anger she and husband John felt after coming across horses, dogs, pigs and other animals in what she described as "horrific scenes" at a farm near Esk on Saturday.

The RSPCA yesterday confirmed it had received "a large number" of complaints in relation to the property.

Mr and Mrs Twigt went to the Gatton-Esk Rd property in search of farm equipment after learning a garage sale was being held.

Mrs Twigt said she was shocked to find a large number of dogs when she arrived at the house.
"I looked in the paddock and saw the horses were quite skinny," Mrs Twigt said.

She came across the miniature horse.

"I said to my husband, 'we can't leave that here'."

They asked for a price but decided they didn't want to encourage the owners' treatment of animals by paying them money.

However, Mrs Twigt said they could not rest after returning to their Forest Hill home that evening.
They drove back the farm on Sunday to negotiate a sale.

A vet nurse friend came over when the couple got the horse to its new home.

They clipped the animal's matted hair, which was infested with lice.

"To look at her you would think she was a fat little fluff ball but, to put your hand on her, you just felt bone.

"It was just sickening."

Mrs Twigt was confident her miniature horse would be nursed back to health but was worried about the other animals.

"There are other ponies there that really just need some help," she said.

Somerset Regional Council development manager Brad Sully said compliance officers counted 20 dogs of varying breeds at the property on Wednesday.

He said residents were permitted to have two registered dogs and then allowances for working dogs could be made if contracts of employment could be produced.

"They have been given 14 days to remove the excess dogs," Mr Sully said. "If we don't get any co-operation, we clearly escalate the enforcement actions."

A Biosecurity Queensland spokeswoman said the department was investigating an animal welfare situation relating to a number of animals in poor condition at the Buaraba property.

"While the matter is under investigation, Biosecurity Queensland cannot make any specific comments about this case," she said.

"Under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 all persons in charge of animals have a duty of care to ensure the animals receive appropriate food, water, living conditions and treatment for any disease or injury."

To report animal welfare concerns, call the department on 132523 or RSPCA on 1300264625.

(Gladstone Observer- Aug 15, 2014)

165 cats removed from Las Vegas home

NEVADA -- Las Vegas Animal Control officials have removed 165 cats from a woman’s home since October 2010, and now the Southern Nevada Health District has deemed the house an “unacceptable health risk” to the 71-year-old homeowner and her adult daughter.

Three separate code enforcement cases have been opened and closed since 2010. Each time the owner, Diane Dejongh, cooperated and cleaned up the area ... for a while.

A fourth case launched June 5 remains open. Since then, Animal Control has removed 118 cats from the home, which lacks air conditioning.

The health district last inspected the home Aug. 5 and reported to city officials that “the conditions observed at this property remain an unacceptable health risk to the occupants.” The inspection showed improvement over the July inspection, health officials wrote, but they warned, “Cat feces and urine have the potential to transmit illness and disease.”

Andy Chaney, the district’s environmental health supervisor, said Friday that even though the cats used the yards on either side of Dejongh’s home as litter boxes, that doesn’t pose a health risk to neighbors. The health risk is to Dejongh, who is a home health care aide, and her daughter.

“They’ve removed a lot of contaminated material, but it still needs more work,” Chaney said.

WHAT TO DO?
City officials are trying to figure out what to do next and how far their responsibilities reach. If they declare the home uninhabitable, do they turn the mother and daughter into homeless people? Do they find housing for the two women? Do they clean the neighbors’ yards?

Neighbors living on Lucaccini Lane say that for at least eight years, the odor of cat urine and feces has wafted from Dejongh’s home to theirs, creating such horrible smells they can’t use their backyards.

Cindy Miller, who bought the home north of Dejongh’s in April, has complained relentlessly about the odors and sparked the most recent code enforcement investigation.

“At first, I didn’t know what it was,” Miller said, referring to the smells. She called the former owners of her new house, who reached out to Councilman Bob Beers.

The neighbors to the south, who asked that their names not be disclosed, described the mom as pleasant and friendly. “She’s not creepy,” the wife said.

They said the cat problem became worse after Dejongh’s husband died and the divorced daughter moved in.

Experts on cat hoarding say it’s a disorder that affects mostly middle-aged women and is often provoked by trauma or loss.

Cat hoarders tend to believe they are helping the cats, despite creating filthy conditions.

Despite intensive clean-up efforts by the city, the smell of cat urine was strong Thursday at the home’s front door. No one answered the door, a call was not returned, and a card asking them to call the Review-Journal was ignored.

This is the second major hoarding incident in the city of Las Vegas, and each time, city officials stepped up their efforts after the respective councilmen became involved.

Councilman Stavros Anthony was involved in a Sun City Summerlin case in which Kenneth Epstein’s house was packed floor to ceiling with possessions in what officials called the worst case of hoarding they had seen. He was criminally charged in 2012.

There were 55 cats — some dead, others alive — found in that house, and 44 tons of materials were removed.

HOARDING AND CODE ENFORCEMENT
The latest case occurred in a pleasant upper-middle-class neighborhood near Charleston and Rampart boulevards, where homes sell for $200,000 and up. Lucaccini Lane shows no evidence of hoarding from the outside.

But inspections showed cats, including feral cats, living inside and outside the home at 1417 Lucaccini with cat urine and feces inside and outside.

Beers’ involvement prodded city officials to move, although not as quickly as Miller would have liked.

In a July 3 inspection by code enforcement, the health district and Animal Control, cats were living all over the house.

“Owners had windows of house open for ventilation. Apparent cat feces and urine were observed covering cement surfaces, furniture, cabinets and all other surfaces in almost all areas of the interior of the house,” according to a code enforcement summary.

The health district told Dejongh that the interior was a health hazard and required the removal of all porous surfaces including drywall, cabinets and furniture.

An inspection a month later concluded Dejongh “seemed overwhelmed with all that needed to be completed to bring the property into compliance.”

The city has taken another holistic approach, which it began in 2012 after the Sun City Summerlin case was un­covered, trying to balance compassion for the hoarders while respecting the neighbors’ rights. Joining Code Enforcement and Animal Control are the health district, a certified industrial hygienist, the city offices of Community Services, the city attorney and the city manager.

In addition, the city has hired an odor consultant to assess the nuisance orders and identify the appropriate remediation methods.

NEIGHBORS REACT
Neighbors on both sides believe the city has an obligation to clean their yards as well as the yard of the hoarders.

“We can’t enjoy the pool or the patio; the smell is embarrassing,” one neighbor said.

Her husband added, “I don’t harbor any resentment to Diane, but I have a right to a good life and a secure and healthy home.”

“It got to the point that it could even be smelled from the sidewalk and beyond,” Beers said, calling the home a biohazard.

While the women are still in the home, Beers hopes the city can help find them temporary and even long-term housing.

No decision has been made on what should be done with the house, and officials are questioning the city’s liability and the worries of creating a homeless situation for two women.

Beers said a lot of the efforts by the city to resolve these kinds of problems take time and are slow.
Miller is furious at the city and the people who sold the home to her, threatening to sue both.

“In the morning, if I walk outside, it burns your eyes,” said Miller, a physician’s assistant. “I’d tear that frickin’ house down.”

When the clean-up was underway, workers wore hazmat suits and face masks, as they did at the Epstein home.

The other neighbors also are critical of the slow responses by the city, going back to 2010 with the first code enforcement investigation. “The city waited far too long,” the husband said.

The first code enforcement case in 2010 was closed after the owner was warned to clean up the fecal matter in the backyard and treat the odor issues.

The second case in 2011 was opened and closed in two months when, after the fifth inspection, the officer found no odors and fecal matter had been removed.

The third, about a year later in 2012, was opened and closed within two months. The officer told the owner to stop leaving cat food on the back patio and for the first time contacted Animal Control to tell of feral cat issues. From July to October, Animal Control picked up 47 cats at the home.

Since June, 118 more cats have been picked up, and Dejongh and her daughter stopped feeding the cats, according to code enforcement.

The total of 165 cats, plus another 27 trapped by a neighbor over two years, surpasses the North Las Vegas case in July, when a 47-year-old woman living in the 800 block of Harp Way had 112 cats in her home, which also was deemed “uninhabitable.”

North Las Vegas police said Thursday the woman has been charged with animal cruelty and the case is ongoing, so it’s possible other charges could be filed. She no longer is living in the house.

The cats from the North Las Vegas home and the Las Vegas home were taken to The Animal Foundation.

Shelter spokeswoman Meghan Scheibe said with births, 124 cats from the North Las Vegas home ended up at the shelter.

“Two died in our care, 97 were euthanized, seven were adopted, five were too young and were in foster care, 12 were taken by our partners and one is still waiting to be adopted,” she said. “We do get cats from hoarding cases, and it strains our resources.”

(Review Journal - Aug 22, 2014)

Charge dismissed against Elbridge grandmother accused of shooting pit bull attacking her cat

NEW YORK -- There will be no criminal charges against a 70-year-old grandmother who shot and killed Tucker the dog in May in the town of Elbridge.

Susan Leach, of Stevens Road, Elbridge, was charged with discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a house. She said she shot her neighbor's pit bull mix on the afternoon of May 31 because it was attacking her 10-year-old cat.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said in statement released this afternoon that his office declines to prosecute Leach and will move to dismiss the charge against her.

Leach waived her right to appear in court this evening. Elbridge Town Court Justice George Bettis granted the dismissal of the charge against Leach.

Shannon Sobus, Tucker's owner, said she was mortified by the district attorney's decision to drop the charge.

Sobus said the next step is to file a civil suit. The family has hired Matt Albert, a lawyer who specializes in animal cruelty cases.

"We were outraged that they wouldn't charge her with animal cruelty and now they drop this charge," Sobus said.

The neighborhood incident sparked online outrage. A petition on change.org has garnered more than 2,200 signatures from people as far away as South Africa and Italy who have taken up the cause to demand prosecutors charge Leach with animal cruelty.

The Sobus family has also kept the public updated on the case on the Justice For Tucker Facebook page. The page has 1,810 likes.

About a dozen protesters gathered outside the Elbridge Town Court this evening with signs demanding justice for Tucker.

Here are the reasons why Fitzpatrick asked the judge to dismiss the charge:

1. The dog in question, Tucker, has an unfortunate history of acting aggressively towards numerous neighbors. These reports have been confirmed by a review of Elbridge Court records as well as affidavits provided by said neighbors. Tucker has also been spotted on numerous occasions running through the neighborhood unleashed.
2. The statute in question is designed to deter or punish offenders who foolishly endanger public safety by discharging a firearm for recreational, hunting or target shooting purposes in proximity to occupied dwellings. The statute does not apply to someone acting with a reasonable belief that such discharge of a weapon is necessary to protect the life of some person or some domesticated animal.
3. The only eyewitnesses to the event, albeit interested family members, tell a coherent story that is entirely consistent with Ms. Leach's version of events.
4. Exactly what Tucker the dog would have done had he caught up to the cat before being shot is pure speculation. Arguments that Ms. Leach should have done this or could have done that are pure conjecture and are of no assistance in deciding how to handle this case. What is clear is that Ms. Leach's assertion that she feared imminent bodily injury or death to her cat was an eminently reasonable conclusion based on all the evidence.
5. For the reasons stated above, the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office declines to prosecute Ms. Leach and will move to dismiss this charge in the interest of justice.

Sobus said Tucker was not an aggressive dog and disagrees with Fitzpatrick's report.

"This Office is acutely aware of the emotional response that animal cases generate," Fitzpatrick said.

"This Office has a long and distinguished track record in aggressively pursuing legitimate cases of animal cruelty. With that said, and having been made aware of a number of threats directed at Susan Leach, please be advised that any effort to harass, intimidate or in any way harm this woman or members of her family will be dealt with as harshly as the law permits."

(Syracuse.com - Aug 19, 2014)

Taylor resident surrenders 18 cats; city believes she has many more

MICHIGAN -- A woman surrendered 18 cats to the Taylor Animal Shelter Aug. 14, but officials believe she has 50-70 cats in her northwest Taylor home.

The cats and kittens brought to the shelter had a heavy infestation of fleas but received treatments that killed the insects in less than an hour, said animal control Supervisor Lanny Hall.

He said city officials were researching their legal options to enter the home and secure the rest of the cats. The estimate of the number of animals in the home was based on information from neighbors, he said.

Hall said he went to the home after neighbors complained of foul odors. The woman would not let him in the home, he said. She later brought the 18 cats to the shelter, he said.

He said the woman would be ticketed for unsanitary keeping of animals and possibly charged with animal cruelty.

He said the odor from the home was strong even from the outside.

“She shouldn’t even be in that house,” Hall said.

Animal rescue organizations had taken all but a handful of the cats from the shelter, he said. They will likely be in foster homes until they are well enough to be adopted. One cat was too ill to be rescued and was euthanized, he said.

With so many cats with fleas, the tiny insects were everywhere at the shelter, Hall said.

“I felt like I had them in my beard,” he said.

(Southgate News Herald-Aug 18, 2014)

Dog bite victim, 73, says owner tried to pay him off

MICHIGAN -- A 73-year-old Metamora, Mich., man at a court hearing Friday recounted moments of terror as three large dogs snarled and snapped at him, one of them biting him in the back of the leg as he tried to fend them off with a walking stick along a rural road last fall.

"Here come these dogs flying down the hill, fast as they could run," Jim Salego told a packed Lapeer District Court room. "They tried to circle me, I had my stick going back and forth trying to get them off me."

After Salego was bitten in the leg, the dogs' owner, Sebastiano Quagliata came out of his house and called the dogs off.

"He said, 'Don't call the cops, I'll pay you money,'" Salego recalled of that November evening. "I pulled my phone out and dialed 911 and said, 'Yes, I am calling police. I have blood running down my leg.'"

Salego testified on behalf of prosecutors at a preliminary examination to decide if Quagliata and his wife, Valbona Lucaj, 44, should stand trial on second-degree murder charges after those same Cane Corso dogs mauled jogger Craig Sytsma to death along that same stretch of Thomas Road on July 23.

Prosecutors contend the couple should have known the dogs were deadly after they bit Salego as he took an evening stroll in November, and another walker in 2012.

It was the second day of testimony in the hearing, which began on Aug. 15 and resumes on Sept. 12. District Court Judge Laura Barnard denied a request to reduce the $500,000 bonds for Quagliata and Lucaj. The couple remain in the Lapeer County jail.

 

On Friday, Salego described in court how he was sitting on his deck with his wife, at their home, about a half mile from the Qualiata Lucaj home on July 23 when he heard dogs barking and a man yelling. Then gunshots. He said he and his wife drove down the road, assuming somebody had shot the vicious dogs, but they were horrified to see a bloody man dying in the road.

"It was this fella, all bloody," he testified, stopping as he struggled to compose himself. "My wife was hysterical."

The gunshots came from Ed Elmer, who had been mowing his lawn when he spotted the dogs attacking Sytsma. He ran into his house to grab his .44-cal. handgun, loading it as he ran, and fired one shot into the air. The dogs stopped the mauling, but did not retreat. He shot one dog in the leg and they ran off.

Elmer's girlfriend, Helen Barwig, a trained EMT technician and first responder, ran to Sytsma to try to save him, applying a tourniquet to his shoulder and using paper towels to stop the bleeding. He was "pouring" blood, she said, and begging her to save him.

"Then he reached and and grabbed my arm, and then he went limp," she testified.

 

Sytsma's family members wept quietly in the front row of the courtrooom as she testified. Quagliata and Lucaj's family sat behind them, some of them crying. The defendants, dressed in orange jail garb, sat side by side, handcuffed and stonefaced.

In earlier testimony, Robert Pitcavage testified he purchased an 8-week-old Cane Corso puppy from Quagliata in June or early July and was "very concerned" about how aggressive the parent dogs were.

"I was pretty disturbed," he said. "Just the aggression of the dogs. The adult dogs were snarling and gnawing on the chain link fence."

Pitcavage paid $900 for the puppy, but said he reconsidered the purchase after seeing the older dogs.
However, Pitcavage [kept the dog and] added his dog is a well-tempered and his family hasn't had issues with the dog.

(USA TODAY - Aug 29, 2014)

Earlier:

• Lapeer prosecutor says he would have acted if told of prior dog attacks
• Police, animal control did little as dogs attacked walkers, records say
• Illegal aliens facing murder charges, deportation after dogs killed jogger
• Deadly dog mauling: A timeline of events for fatal attack in Lapeer County
• Two massive cane corso dogs maul to death Michigan jogger, owner could face charges
• 'I'm dying,' jogger gasped after vicious dogs attacked

Virginia: Dead dog's owner, Michael Ortega, 27, says man charged with animal cruelty is innocent

VIRGINIA -- Virginia Beach Animal Control said 27-year-old Michael Ortega was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty after a Maltese puppy died. But the dog’s owner has come to his defense.

Animal control spokeswoman Meghan Conti said the dog’s owner brought the dead dog to the Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center around 11:30 a.m. Saturday. An animal control officer spoke to the owner and opened up a possible animal cruelty case.

Conti said a necropsy was done and the dog was found to have severe blunt force trauma.


Tiara Easter told WAVY News’ Liz Palka she is the dog’s owner. She claims the dog, named Piper, died accidentally and the charges against Ortega are not correct.

“It was just a freak accident to where she bit him, he loosened his grip, and she fell,” Easter said.puppy

[A Maltese puppy which is dropped may end up with a broken limb but they will not die of "severe blunt force trauma".]

Easter said she’s explained this to the investigating animal control officer.

“I’m the owner of the dog,” Easter said. “No one called animal control to say that the dog was being abused. There’s not an abusive history.”

Easter said Ortega was temporarily watching Piper while she moved. He called Easter on Saturday morning and told her to come to his house.

“He’s been in tears the entire time,” Easter said. “He felt horrible. He didn’t know how it could have happened. It was a freak accident. He’s traumatized.”

Easter said she took Piper’s body to an emergency animal hospital in Virginia Beach. When she couldn’t afford to cremate the dog, she took the body to the Animal Care and Adoption Center to see if they could take it.

“I couldn’t get in contact with my father to bury my dog like I would have liked to in the backyard,” she said. “So I didn’t know how else to dispose of it. So, I went to [the Animal Care and Adoption Center, originally for help.”

Easter said she knows Piper’s history, including medical records, which she plans on bringing up in court, if she needs to. She’s worried about the charge Ortega faces and what it could mean for his future.

“If he hurt my dog, trust me, I’d want justice just like they do and so would my family,” Easter said. “But, he’s never hurt her.”

(WAVY-TV - Aug 25, 2014)


Blunt Force Trauma - Explore Forensics
Blunt force trauma is - as its name would suggest - a severe traumatic episode caused to the body or head with the sudden introduction of a blunt instrument used with great force.This can sometimes be caused by an attacker striking out at a victim with their hands, a large piece of wood, a baseball bat or other such item that would cause heavy damage to the body or skull if impacted against them quickly.

Blunt force trauma is something that is also experienced during a car accident, especially if the individuals involved are not wearing seatbelts and are catapulted forward at speed against the dashboard, steering wheel or indeed the rear of the driver and front passenger's seats.

Blunt force trauma can also be inflicted without a great many visual indicators. A great number of individuals who die from this condition do so because of the internal injuries they have received, which may result in nothing more than some exterior bruising.

Springfield Grandmother Charged with Animal Cruelty Speaks Out

FLORIDA -- A Springfield grandmother charged with animal cruelty is finally speaking out to Newschannel 7.

We caught up with Loretta Bozeman at her arraignment hearing Friday morning... about a month after she posted a picture on Facebook of her grandaughter hanging a dog by a rope.

Bozeman is still recovering from the social media backlash.

Friday morning, Loretta Bozeman and her family waited to see a public defender at the Bay County Courthouse.

It's been about a month since Bozeman posted this controversial picture of a dog tied up with a jump rope on Facebook.

When the photo went viral, the Bozemans began receiving hundreds of death threats.

Bay County Animal Control removed the family's two dogs from the home, both Charlie and a Siberian Husky who was not involved.

Officials charged Loretta with an animal cruelty misdemeanor.

Loretta Bozeman says, "I'm ready to get my dogs back. I'm ready for my granddaughter to stop crying herself to sleep at night and having seizures the next day."

The Bozemans say Charlie helps Loretta's granddaughter with her seizures.

They say the picture was reenacting something the two girls had seen on television.

Joseph Martin is Loretta's son-in-law, and the father of the girl in the picture. He says, "Charlie is - the relationship is kind of like our bodyguard basically to my daughter. She lets us know when she has seizures, she lets us know if anything goes wrong or whatever happens to my daughter. Their relationship is incredible."

The Bozemans say they haven't been able to visit their two dogs at animal control.

Martin explains, "Between my daughter and the dog, it's killing my daughter. It's slowly just dropping her."

Loretta says, "They were just playing and you can see on their face that they were just playing. They were not being evil. Look at their face. They were smiling."

Loretta says she still receives about one to five death threats a day.

The Bozemans won't know if they get the dogs back until after a judge rules on the case.

(WJHG-TV - Aug 29, 2014)

Earlier:

• Florida Grandmother Charged With Animal Cruelty

Former police officer pleads guilty to animal cruelty

MARYLAND --  A former Baltimore City police officer accused of killing his girlfriend's puppy has pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated animal cruelty.

According to the Office of the State's Attorney for Montgomery County, 28-year-old Alec E. Taylor of Hyattsville, Md. pleaded guilty to the felony charge on Wednesday.

The charge stems from an incident in February in Silver Spring. A woman reported that Taylor, her boyfriend, had beaten and killed her 7-month-old Jack Russell Terrier named Rocko.

 

According to police, Taylor had texted the woman while she was at work to say that he had almost killed the puppy after it had an accident on the carpet.

He then sent her a photo of "an apparently lifeless Rocko lying on the carpet" and said that he had beaten Rocko and possibly paralyzed him, according to charging documents. Then he texted his girlfriend that he was going to throw the puppy out.

According to charging documents, she asked Taylor if it was a sick joke. Taylor responded that he had gotten tired of cleaning up after the dog and beaten the puppy until the mop broke, then placed him in a dumpster in the parking lot.

Taylor's girlfriend asked Taylor to retrieve the dog's body from the dumpster so she could bury him. Taylor then texted her that he had put the body in a shoebox on the balcony. When his girlfriend returned home, that's where she found the dog.

During an interview with police, Taylor admitted that he had used a mop to [beat and] force Rocko out from behind a dryer and then choked the little dog until he was dead, according to documents.

A necropsy showed the cause of death was blunt force trauma  which resulted in 'acute hemorrhagic shock,' likely due to blood loss from liver damage.

Taylor will be sentenced on October 8. He faces up to three years in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.

(WUSA9 - Aug 27, 2014)

Earlier:

• Police officer arrested for battering his 7-month old Jack Russell named Rocko and texting his girlfriend a picture of its body

Livestock breeder convicted of animal cruelty reports to jail

MONTANA -- An embattled former livestock breeder convicted of animal cruelty in 2012 turned himself in Friday and will begin serving a 120-day jail sentence, according to County Attorney Scott Twito.

The county attorney said that 72-year-old James Henry Leachman, as ordered, reported to the Yellowstone County Detention Facility by 5 p.m. Friday to start serving the sentence.

A horse's banded leg is found near other bones picked clean by coyotes
and other predators. The mare couldn't walk, Shepherd veterinarian Jeff
Peila said, because the bands attached when she was young
 had cut off circulation.

Leachman had remained free from jail while appealing his conviction, which was recently upheld by the Montana Supreme Court.

After a weeklong trial in December 2012, a Yellowstone County Justice Court jury convicted Leachman of five misdemeanor animal cruelty charges for abusing five of the hundreds horses he kept mostly on a ranch 16 miles east of Billings.

Investigators discovered five horses, some of them malnourished, with tight plastic bands that had caused severe leg injuries. Two died at pasture, and two were euthanized, court records say.

Leachman operated a horse breeding business before the U.S. Farm Services Administration foreclosed on his property in 2010. Leachman continued to keep more than 400 horses on the property after it was sold.

He was sentenced to five years in the Yellowstone County Detention Facility with all but 120 days suspended and a $5,000 fine.

On Tuesday, Leachman filed a Petition for Order for Home Arrest, in which he cites health problems and other reasons why he believes he should be allowed to serve his sentence at home.

He concludes the petition by stating, “I regret the actions that led me to this place and wish to move past this unfortunate stage of my life. I have no other history in my 72-year life of animal abuse, flight or harm to anything. I intend to fully cooperate with any supervising authority. I accept your judgment of me.”

Twito said late Friday this petition will be treated as petition for re-sentencing or sentence modification and that there could be a hearing on the matter.

(Billings Gazette - Aug 29, 2014)

Earlier:

• Update to case: Local horse breeder found guilty on all five counts of animal neglect

Northfield Township woman attacked by dogs: 'I think they should definitely go down'

MICHIGAN -- Ellen Mohan, 44, says she is still recovering physically and emotionally after two dogs attacked and killed her 3-year-old poodle mix, Zooey, at her Northfield Township mobile home park in July.

“(I'm) still re-living it," she said. "My hand is still healing."

Mohan continues to receive medical treatment for injuries suffered when she tried intervening during the attack on July 18, when two dogs on Diamond Circle in Northfield Estate came after Zoey.

Mohan was pleased to hear the Washtenaw County Prosecutors Office on Tuesday authorized misdemeanor charges against two men -- the dogs' owner and his father.

A 26-year-old man who owns the dogs will be charged for having an unlicensed dog. His father, a 54-year-old man who allegedly let the dogs out the door that evening, will face two counts of allowing dogs to run stray.

The two dogs await their fate at the Humane Society of Huron Valley. A number of things could happen with them, from a judge ordering them euthanized to them being returned to the 26-year-old, according to his attorney Michelle Radloff.

The breeds of the dogs have been previously mis-reported to news outlets, including The Ann Arbor News, Radloff said. One dog has had a DNA test and is a Rhodesian ridgeback-boxer mix, and the other is a Staffordshire terrier, or pit bull, according to Radloff, who specializes in dog law.

Radloff says the two dogs have been evaluated by a professional. A court hearing was adjourned last week to allow for the evaluation, something that irked Mohan.

"They’re still trying to say these two dogs are not dangerous. Why are these people trying to fight for their animals?” she said, adding that even though she is a lover of canines, the dogs should be euthanized. "I think they should definitely go down."

Radloff said the professional who evaluated the dogs deemed the incident to be a result of "owner error." With the right training, the dogs would be fine going to separate rescue shelters, according to Radloff.

“I don’t think they should go back to their owner, but I don’t think they should be put down,” Radloff said.

The attack
Mohan and her boyfriend took Zoey for a walk around 8 p.m. July 18. The couple live on the same block of Diamond Circle as the dogs, only about eight residences away.

Zoey -- a 3-year-old poodle mix that weighed about 15 pounds -- stopped to sniff something, Mohan said.

Around this time at a nearby residence, police allege the 54-year-old man opened the front door and the two dogs tore out the front door.

Mohan said one of the dogs approached Zoey. Radloff said the dog that initially came out and started sniffing Zoey was the Rhodesian ridgeback-boxer mix.

What happened next is a blur for Mohan, but Radloff contends Zoey began growling because of the sniffing, which prompted the two dogs to attack.

“It was pretty terrifying," Mohan said. "Neither of us saw the second dog coming. That's when all hell broke loose."

Mohan said she tried grabbing Zoey to save her, which is how her hands were severely chewed up, landing her in the hospital for more than a week.

“It just happened so fast. I was bleeding. My dog was bleeding,” she said.

 

Radloff suggested Mogan should not have tried to intervene.

“She stuck her hands in between," she said. "It's never a good idea to get in the middle of a dog fight. Both parties should have had better control of her dog."

[Oh yes. Stand there and watch your pet get ripped to pieces.]

When it was all over, Zoey was dead and Mohan's hands were chewed up.

Checking the wrong box
Northfield Township police were notified, but because the officer was hoping someone with more professional animal control experience would decide what to do with the dogs, the dogs were back at the house within 24 hours, officials said.

The officer checked a box that essentially suggested home quarantine if there was overcrowding at the Humane Society of Huron Valley, according to Mogan. She was told the officer put an asterisk next to the box he checked in an attempt to indicate the severity of the attack. In that way, the officer was hoping the dogs would be kept there, officials have said.

HSHV officials have said they did not send the dogs back because of overcrowding, but because the home quarantine box was checked.

Mohan said it seemed that both sides were blaming each other for the release of the dogs back home.
“That made me very, very angry,” she said. “My heart sank. I was devastated.”

Weeks later, on Aug. 7, a judge signed an order removing the dogs from the home when Northfield Township filed a civil suit in the district court under the state dangerous dog statute.

RIP Zoey

Radloff says they are attempting to perhaps settle out of court, offering to send the dogs to rescue shelters and pay Mohan's medical bills. The attorney says they have not heard back from Mohan about the settlement.

If the case stays in the courts, a judge could decided what happens with the dogs as soon as the next court hearing on Sept. 3.

As for the misdemeanor charges against the father and son, they are not scheduled to be arraigned until Sept. 26 in the 14A-1 District Court in Chelsea. The News is not naming them until that time.

(The Ann Arbor News - Aug 21, 2014)

Woman reportedly attacked by two pit bulls in Milford park

CONNECTICUT -- A woman told police she was recently bitten by a pit bull while walking her dog through a Milford park.

The woman said she was walking her dog through Eisenhower Park when two pit bulls started fighting with it.

When she tried to protect her dog, she said the pit bulls turned on her and bit her face.

Police are looking into the incident and whether or not the pit bulls were properly leashed or if they broke free from their owner when they saw the woman's dog.

Dolores Peters said she spends a lot of time at the same park with her dog.

"I just feel so badly for this lady, this should never have happened," she said.

Anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident should contact Milford police at (203) 878-6551.

(WFSB - Aug 21, 2014)

Letter to Editor: "Animal Services should stick to just the facts"

NEVADA -- In regard to “3 pit bulls attack a horse in south Reno” [RGJ, Aug. 15]:

I have noticed that whenever there is a story involving pit bulls Washoe County Regional Animal Control Services’ Bobby Smith turns his press release into an editorial opinion, [saying] any dog can do this.

Well, the story was not “Pack of Jack Russells attack horse.” Why is this always the case with pit bulls? Could it be the shelters are packed with them and perhaps offering misleading information will get them adopted?

Please, whoever is running WCRAS at the moment, advise staff to just stick to the facts. Three pit bulls got out of a downed fence and attacked a horse. Wonder how many loose dogs that day did not attack a horse.

Mr. Smith does not need to make excuses for unacceptable behavior, nor should he imply that it’s normal. Just make the report and drop the promotion.

Ardena Perry, Sparks, Nevada

(Reno Gazette Journal - Aug 20, 2014)


ORIGINAL STORY:
3 dogs attack horse in south Reno

Three pit bulls attacked a horse after high winds blew a fence over, freeing the dogs from their home in south Reno, Washoe County Regional Animal Services reported.

Staff received a call from the county Sheriff's Office at about 7:50 a.m. Wednesday about dogs attacking a neighbor's horse on Toll Road near the Virginia foothills, animal services field supervisor Bobby Smith said.

"The horse had kicked them pretty good a few times," Smith said Thursday afternoon.

"We always get calls on dog attacks that involve Chihuahuas, Labradors and Jack Russells, but pit bulls get the most publicity," he said.

Because of its injuries, one of the dogs was euthanized.

The other two dogs were cared for at a local clinic and later returned to their owner.

No charges had been filed. The investigation continues.

Florida mom charged with neglect over filthy kids, house

FLORIDA -- A Florida mother has been charged with child neglect after her 10-year-old boy came to school in foul-smelling clothes and told a teacher he could not remember when he last took a bath, court documents showed.

Betsy Velasquez, 34, of Kissimmee, was charged on Tuesday and was released from the Osceola County jail on Wednesday on a $1,000 bond.

A deputy who entered the house where the boy lived wore a face mask and found five children ages 8 to 14 and seven dogs, including a puppy near death in a cardboard box, the affidavit said.

The deputy reported dog feces and urine covering the floors, walls, part of the ceiling, furniture and piles of laundry.

Velasquez told the officer that she had not cleaned the house in six months, the affidavit said. Her five children were sent to live with relatives, and an animal-control officer removed the dogs.

(Columbus Dispatch - Aug 30, 2014)

Pit bull euthanized after mauling 5-year-old boy

IDAHO -- More than a dozen family members and friends gathered to greet a young boy who was released from the hospital Sunday afternoon, following a vicious dog attack in north Idaho.

A pit bull attacked 5-year-old Hallah while he was playing in his aunt's front yard Friday in Desmet. His father, Vince Peone, said he received a startling call from his daughters at about 6:30 p.m.

"The dog did a lot of damage in a very short amount of time," he said. "Nobody even heard it."

Family members said the dog owner was "rough housing" with the animal across the street when it suddenly charged and attacked the boy. Peone's niece said she ran outside to find the dog owner lying over the boy's body.

"She was in shock because his whole body was covered in blood," Peone explained. "He actually put his body over my son and I believe saved my son's life."

Hallah lost part half of his right ear and sustained gruesome head wounds. He was treated at Kootenai Health and released on Sunday.

"He's never going to forget," his father said. "He's going to suffer psychological reminders every day when he looks in the mirror."

Peone said he wanted to share his son's story to remind dog owners what their pets are capable of and to possibly prevent another child from a similar dog attack.

"All the big breed dogs can do this kind of damage and it can kill children," Peone said.

Peone said he was not angry at the dog owner, but rather grateful that the attack was not worse.

"We don't understand why it happened, but we're just very blessed that our child is still with us," he said.

Family members said the dog that was responsible for the attack was euthanized in the days following.

Coeur d'Alene tribal police cited the dog's owner for keeping a vicious dog.

(KTVB - Aug 21, 2014)

Rottweiler halts mail deliveries for 10 days

UNITED KINGDOM -- Deliveries to homes in Arbroath were halted for 10 days by Royal Mail after a postman was chased down the street by a Rottweiler.

The postie had to jump a fence to escape the dog in Howard Street, leading Royal Mail bosses to stop deliveries to 25 homes there and in adjacent Cairnie Street.

Services resumed at the beginning of this week after the dog’s owner promised to keep the pet under control.

Despite criticism of the blanket delivery ban, mail chiefs said they will not hesitate to take similar action if any postie is considered to be at risk.

Residents were told of the mail suspension in a letter from the local delivery manager revealing details of the August 8 incident.

It said that the postman was “confronted by a Rottweiler and chased down Howard Street whereby he had to jump a fence to escape, endangering his safety”.

The letter added: “An internal risk assessment was carried out following this and has highlighted an unacceptable level of risk associated with delivering to your address at this time. As a result of this and due to the seriousness of the incident, I’m sorry to advise that deliveries will be suspended with immediate effect.

“I hope you understand that this exceptional step has been taken to safeguard the health and safety of my staff.”

Residents were told to collect their mail from the town’s Hill Street delivery office, taking proof of identity with them.

One resident said his elderly mother had been upset by the sudden cessation of deliveries and the inconvenience it caused, and questioned the need for so many homes to be included in the ban.
They added: “It wasn’t her Rottweiler and yet the letter says that she should ensure the dog is restrained at all times.”

Royal Mail spokeswoman Felicity MacFarlane said: “Royal Mail can confirm that deliveries were temporarily suspended on August 8 to 25 properties in Howard Street and Cairnie Street, Arbroath, after our postman was threatened by a dog which was roaming free.

“Following an undertaking by the owner of the dog to have the gate repaired so the dog is safely contained, deliveries recommenced on Monday August 18.

“The safety and welfare of our staff is paramount and we only suspend deliveries if the safety of our postmen and women is at risk and as a last resort.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to other affected customers, however more than 3,000 postmen and women are attacked by dogs each ?year and we urge customers to take responsibility ?for keeping their pets under control so that we can deliver the mail safely.”

(The Courier - Aug 21, 2014)