Georgia: Dave Edwards, 53, runs a pit bull rescue. He was arrested and charged with 23 counts of animal cruelty. Thirteen dogs seized from ammonia-filled home

GEORGIA -- A man was arrested in Cobb County early Thursday and charged with 23 counts of animal cruelty.

Dave Edwards was charged with 13 counts of improper ventilation and 13 counts of improper sanitation after 13 dogs were taken from the 3900 block of Lullwater Main in Kennesaw.

Officers initially responded to David Edwards' home due to the constant barking heard by multiple dogs.

When officers approached the home, the stench of ammonia could be smelled from outside.

Police say the dogs were found lying on  “urine-soaked bedding” with improper ventilation.

Police had an ammonia meter which gave readings of 17 ppm to 48 ppm. The warrant states that "the acceptable limit of 2 ppm.”

The thirteen dogs seized include Boxers, Pit Bulls and Briard-type dogs. They were taken to the Cobb County Animal Shelter for medical examinations.

Edwards was arrested around 1:30 a.m., according to jail records. Edwards’ bond is set at $8,470.

On his vehicle, Edwards had bumper stickers that read "rescued dogs rock" and "I love pit bulls."

CBS46 has reached out to authorities for more specific information on the incident that led to Edwards' arrest.

ARREST INFO:
Full Name: David William Edwards
Race: White
Gender: Male
Block: 3900 Lullwater Main NW
City: Kennesaw, Georgia 30144
Height: 6'02"
Weight: 205 lbs
Hair Color: GRY
Eye Color: GRN
Place of Birth: FL
Arrest Age: 53
Arrest Date: 05/18/2017
Arrest Location: ACWORTH CITY JAIL, Cobb, GA
Charges:
Cruelty to Animals (Misdemeanor)
STATUTE: OCGA16-12-4 (b)

Note: Arrests.org has him listed as being charged with 206 counts of Animal Cruelty, but it must be a typo.

DAVID EDWARDS INVOLVED IN PIT BULL RESCUE:

Atlanta Pit Bull Networking (APBN) has been created by Dave Edwards primarily for the purpose of saving the lives of pit bulls and pit bull mixes in danger of being euthanized at Metro Atlanta area shelters. There is an ongoing need to recruit qualified FOSTERS. There are a number of RESCUE organizations represented in this group that will consider pulling for an approved foster.

This group is also an appropriate venue for marketing dogs for ADOPTION and/or RESCUE directly from shelters. Members seeking to ADOPT or FOSTER a pit bull may post their specific requests.

PLEASE POST DOGS THAT ARE LOCATED IN METRO ATLANTA OR WITHIN A 75-MILE RADIUS OF DOWNTOWN ATLANTA. We need to clean up our own backyard before we are able to extend our reach to other areas.

The members of this group, most of whom are involved in RESCUE, do NOT condone breeding of pit bulls.

Dave Edwards can be contacted at atlantapitbullnetworking@gmail.com.

TAGS
Dog rescue · Pit bull · American Pit Bull Terrier

LOCATION
Kennesaw, Georgia

His Facebook page says:

I am a dog rescuer specializing in pit bulls and other large breeds. I raise funds for spay/neuter.
- Volunteer and Foster Parent at Refuge Rescue
- Studied Developmental Psychology at University of Washington

- Studied Psychology at Pepperdine University

This YouCaring fundraiser page posted last year mentions David Edwards. Edwards has been "pulling" animals from local shelters. Why are shelters handing animals over to him? Are they even verifying that he is capable of finding responsible homes for these dogs? Did they check to see how many dogs he is allowed at his residence? How many dogs have these shelters handed over to him?

Dudley
For: DASH Animal Rescue
Lawrenceville, GA
Organizer: DASH Animal Rescue
Dudley (DASH Animal Rescue)
$373 of $360 goal raised by 11 donors
This fundraiser is closed. Thank you for your support!

The Story
"Dudley is only 5 months old and ended up on Gwinnett County Shelter's code red list. Dash Animal Rescue with the help of David Edwards is pulling him from the shelter and will have him transported to the rescue in Ohio. He has Demodex and will be treated for it once he arrives in Ohio. We want to thank everyone for honoring their pledges."

 

 

This YouCaring fundraiser seems to be from late 2014 / early 2015 and was created by David Edwards.

Police need to look into all these fundraisers he collected money for and verify that he actually spent the money on vet care, as promised.

Help Rehabilitate Diesel the Sweet Boy from Gwinnett
For: Diesel from Pen #147 @ Gwinnett AC
Kennesaw, GA
Organizer: Dave Edwards
Help Rehabilitate Diesel the Sweet Boy from Gwinnett (Diesel from Pen #147 @ Gwinnett AC)
$1,170 of $1,170 goal raised by 43 donors
100% Complete
This fundraiser is closed. Thank you for your support!

The Story
Diesel is the sweet male pit bull mix in pen #147 at Gwinnett County Animal Shelter in Lawrenceville, GA. He is declining daily! Diesel has an upper respiratory infection of unknown type and severity. He is coughing up phlegm. I am trying to collect sufficient funds for quarantine boarding at Animal Hospital of Towne Lake in Woodstock. Donations in ANY amount are greatly appreciated.

Please note that any remaining funds will be put towards pulling another dog from Gwinnett County Animal Control.

UPDATE (2/5/15): Diesel has been at Animal Hospital of Towne Lake for about 48 hours... he is responding to treatment well. Donations can be called directly into the vet's office at 770-591-9500... just let them know it's for Diesel under David Edwards from Kennesaw. Thank you for your support!

  

 

(CBS46 - May 19, 2017)

Nanny defends 3-year-old boy from 'savage' dog attack

COLORADO -- A local babysitter is being called a hero after withstanding a vicious dog attack in order to protect a three year old boy.

Sharon Molloy was babysitting 3-year-old Jack Melichar, and his 8-year-old brother, on Thursday morning when two black Briard dogs came up on the deck of the home.

“(Sharon and the boys) went out on the deck and tried to get the two black dogs to go home,” said Amy Melichar, Jackson’s mother. “Jack was running, and while Jack was running, one of the black dogs went after Jack and started attacking him.”

Sharon intervened by trying to pull the dog off of Jack and that’s when it began latching on to her.

She struggled as the dog pulled her across a neighbors yard. A short time later, two neighbors tried to intervene. One used a hose, the other used a rake.

“Still, the dog just wasn’t letting up,” Melichar said. “He was being relentless to the two.”

By the time firefighters arrived the dogs were back with their owner, but the damage was done.

“This was a pretty savage dog attack,” said Lieutenant Lisa Pinto with the Genessee Fire Department.

 

 

 

  

Sharon severe bite wounds, exposing bones on both her arm and leg.

Jack also suffered some deep wounds to an arm and a leg, but is out of the hospital and beginning to feel better.

“He has about 36 stitches on his left leg,” Melichar said. “The surgeon, the sheriff, everyone said she saved your baby’s life.”

“I think she was absolutely a hero,” Pine said. “Every indication and the state of the scene when we got there… she saved his life. I’ll believe that every day.”

Jeffco Animal Control currently has the two dogs on quarantine for 10 days; After that, the dogs could be euthanized.

 

 

 

The owner of the two dogs did not respond to FOX31 Denver and hasn’t reached out to any of the victims. Jeffco Animal Control is pursing charges of Unlawful Ownership of Dangerous Animals against him.

Sharon spent four days in the hospital, but is now back home and recovering. She told FOX31 she was “grateful to help” and simply “doing my job.”

There is now a GoFundMe.com page set up to help her pay for medical expenses.

“We’ve known her for only two weeks and she just kept protecting this baby and putting herself in front of the dog and protecting the baby,” Melichar said.

(Fox31 Denver - Aug 18, 2015)

Animal attack highlights issue of unlicensed dogs in Connecticut

CONNECTICUT -- Victoria Morrow was enjoying Father’s Day in Edgerton Park with her family friends and her Briard dog Phineas when an unleashed dog confronted them, she said.

The other dog, which she described as a pit-bull mix, crouched down and was getting ready to lunge at Phineas, who was only three months old at the time. Sensing what was about to happen, she picked up Phineas just as the other dog began to lunge at him, she said.

“The dog lunged and knocked Phinny from my hands and bit me,” she said.

Morrow’s left hand was caught in the dog’s grip. Phineas was knocked out of her arms. Her son managed to grab the other dog by its hind legs and fling it away, she said. The dog’s owner then came up and leashed his dog and began walking away, she said.

Her husband, Paul Genecin, called police and told the owner to wait and to provide proof the dog had its rabies vaccination, but the other owner left with his dog, Morrow said. Police took an initial report at Yale-New Haven Hospital and broadcast a description of the dog that allegedly attacked Morrow, according to a police report.

Morrow is not alone in facing the aftermath of a dog bite.

The number of reported dog bites in the city varies from year to year but there were 10 reported bites in 2011 and 42 in 2010, according to a state Department of Agriculture report. Waterbury had the most reported dog bites in 2011 at 139 for the year. Groton came in second with 100.

Bridgeport had 20 reported dog bites in 2011 and Hartford had 18.

Morrow eventually learned the identity of the dog’s owner and relayed information to police who gave him an infraction ticket for allowing his dog to roam and for owning an unlicensed dog, according to a police report.

Morrow said she learned the dog was an alleged nuisance in the neighborhood after speaking with neighbors.

Yet, a large number of bites go unreported or our only reported after a dog bites someone else, said police Officer Stephani Johnson, animal control officer for the city.

“When I have a bite reported to me and then there are claims the dog has attacked other people in neighborhood and they don’t have documentation,” she said. “I can’t go on hearsay; that creates problems for law enforcement period.”

The dog in Morrow’s case was taken by police to be quarantined for 14 days, which is mandated under state law after a dog bites someone in a public area. Police observe quarantined dogs for signs of rabies, a rare but deadly disease, said Johnson.

Dogs that attack someone in the owner’s residence can be quarantined within the residence for the required period of time to watch for signs of illness.

Rabies is a viral disease that can be transferred through the bite of a rabid animal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It typically kills one or two people per year since the 1990s. Total public health costs associated with rabies detection, prevention and control exceed $300 million annually nationally.

In Connecticut, it is most common to see rabies in raccoons. There have been 46 confirmed cases of rabid raccoons in the state between the beginning of the year and June 29, according to the state Department of Public Health.

In total, there have been 66 confirmed cases of rabies in the state during the same time period. New Haven County has had 16 of those cases. About eight domestic animals tested positive for rabies in 2011 throughout the state, according to statistics from the Department of Public Health.

Police are also able to contact veterinarians to confirm that a dog in quarantine received an up-to-date rabies vaccination, Johnson said. Animal control officers then send verbal assurance to a dog bite victim if they learn the dog received a vaccination.

Paperwork is also filed and sent to the dog bite victim, the dog owner, the state Department of Agriculture and a copy also stays with the city’s animal control office.

Morrow said that her doctors advised her that verbal assurances and the provided paperwork weren’t enough and that she would need to get treatment for possible rabies as a precaution, which she did. She said she experienced a number of side effects from the treatment and missed time at work.

Johnson followed the proper notification procedure, said Raymond Connors, chief state animal control officer with the Department of Agriculture.

But the case serves to highlight the issue of unlicensed dogs in the state.

New Haven, a city of roughly 130,000 people, only had 580 licensed dogs last year, according to the city clerk’s office. Bethany, which has about 5,500 people, had 510 licensed dogs last year, with registration counted until March 2013, according to the town clerk’s office.

Numbers so far this year are similar with New Haven up to 433 licensed dogs as of July 18 and Bethany at 429 as of July 25.

Johnson said she couldn’t guess as to how many unlicensed dogs there are in the city, but that it would be a significant number.

New Haven is far from alone among cities for a low number of licensed dogs. Bridgeport had 834 licensed last year and has around 600 so far this year as of July 25, according to the city clerk’s office. Hartford had almost 700 licensed last year, but is only up to 250 as of July 25 this year.

The fine for not licensing a dog is $70 in the state, Connors said. The disparity in licensing between towns and big cities isn’t surprising, he said.

‘Prioritizing has to be done and public safety will always come first,” he said.

Animal control officers in larger cities have to deal with more cases of roaming or aggressive animals and have less time to do license enforcement, he said.

Dogs are considered property in the state and the license essentially is used in lieu of paying taxes, Connors said. Licenses have to be renewed by June 30 annually for dogs six months and older. Owners must show proof of a current rabies vaccination.

A neutered or spayed dog costs $8 to license and a non-neutered or spayed dog costs $19. There is a $1 late fee for each month a dog isn’t licensed. Dogs are licensed through municipalities.

There are benefits to licensing a dog besides avoiding a potential fine.

“It’s not only for dog control purposes, it also helps dogs get back to their families,” said Alicia Wright, public relations director for the Connecticut Humane Society.

Dogs that bite people are rarely disposed of, Johnson said. She could only recall three cases in 10 years where a dog was not turned over to its owner after it was quarantined.

Two were voluntary cases and in the other a dog had to be disposed of because it had attacked seven people, including at least one unprovoked attack on a child, she said. The owner was uncooperative and the dog had to be tracked down.

The owner contested the decision in court and stole the dog from the shelter, she said. The dog was at the animal shelter for about a year before it was euthanized.

(Middletown Press - July 29, 2013)