Indiana: Police rescue 68 dogs from breeder who allegedly performed illegal surgeries; dead dogs found on property

INDIANA -- Nearly 70 dogs were seized from an Indiana home near Crown Point where investigators said a man was performing illegal surgeries on them, CBS Chicago reports.

The Lake County sheriff said the pets lived in filth and that this is the most rescues the Animal Adoption and Control Center has ever had.

Staffers were forced to close the shelter Wednesday and Thursday so they could clean up and medically evaluate the new animals. It still was a busy day as people dropped off money and supplies to help with the influx.

A heartbreaking home life landed the dogs in an Indiana lockup. They will likely be free soon -- and their owner behind bars.

Complaints over the smell and barking brought the Lake County Sheriff's Department to the unincorporated Center Township home before, but nothing happened. But Wednesday brought a much different discovery.

He also says the smell of urine and feces were overwhelming and deputies and vet workers had to use masks so they wound not be overwhelmed by the smell.

"It was dark, poor ventilation and then we removed all the animals and we found a lot of medical equipment," said Sheriff John Bunich.

The equipment included scalpels allegedly used to perform a C-section on a French Bulldog and 10 others.

The remains of several canines were also found buried near the barn where the dogs were being held.

Bunich said he doesn't believe the property owner has any veterinary training. "To our knowledge, none whatsoever," he said.

Police and first responders spent over seven hours at the property.

 

They took out a total of 68 dogs, 50 of them were puppies, three goats and a miniature horse.  A couple of the dogs taken away required immediate medical assistance, and the rest were taken to the Lake County Sheriff’s Animal Adoption and Control Center in Crown Point.  The goats and horse have been placed with a farmer who will be able to properly care for them, and the sheriff’s deputies are now looking into who was buying the dogs he was selling.

In all, 68 dogs now join the rescues at the Lake County sheriff's shelter. They have tripled their patients and needs.

"We brought Clorox bleach, we brought wipes, we brought paper towels," said one donor, Marina Di Santo.

"Food, yea, they gave us a list," said another donor, Jesse Yarnelle. "We read the article on Facebook and we just wanted to see what we could do."

Bunich said he believes the man was selling the dogs. His department has not named him because he hasn't been arrested.

Friends of the family say it’s a misunderstanding and the dogs are in good shape and are pets, not part of a breeding operation.

Um, yeah so he's got nearly 70 dogs but he's not a breeder?? OK well then, by default, he's a hoarder.

Authorities are planning to charge him with animal neglect, unlicensed vet care and unlicensed breeding.

(CBS News - May 3, 2017)

Texas: Tarrant County refuses to prosecute former vet Dr. Millard Tierce, who lied and told a family he euthanized their dog and instead kept it locked in a cage as a blood 'donor'

TEXAS -- Tarrant County prosecutors have dropped an animal-cruelty charge against a Fort Worth veterinarian who was accused of keeping a dog alive to use its blood for transfusions.

The Tarrant County district attorney's office said the charge was dismissed on the condition that 74-year-old Millard Lucien "Lou" Tierce's veterinary license remains suspended, KXAS-TV (NBC5) reports.

A grand jury declined to indict him on a theft charge.

Marian and Jamie Harris of Aledo had taken their Leonberger, Sid, for treatment at Tierce's Camp Bowie Animal Clinic in west Fort Worth in 2013.

The Harrises were told by Dr. Tierce that their beloved dog was in pain and needed to be euthanized because of a spinal defect.

 

Months later, the Harrises said, a former clinic employee called them and said their dog Sid was still alive, locked in a cage 24 hours a day in the back of the vet clinic and that Tierce was harvesting his blood for use in transfusions.

The Harrises retrieved Sid from the clinic, and authorities who raided the site found several animals being kept alive in cages. 

They also discovered "animal organs in jars" and "stacks of drugs, trash, laundry," as well as bugs throughout the building.

The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, which in 2014 suspended Tierce's license for five years, said Tierce admitted in a written statement that he had kept five animals alive that should have been euthanized.

But at a hearing before the board, Tierce called the allegation that he was harvesting the pets' blood "a bunch of hooey."

Tierce declined to comment on the charge's dismissal.

NBC5 reported in 2015 that Sid was still undergoing physical therapy but was well on his way to making a full recovery.

"You have those moments where you think about what he went through and that gets really hard," Marian Harris said. "And so we're real grateful to have him back."

Veterinarians around the country have dealt with a shortage of canine blood for several years, making it difficult to perform transfusions.

The vet told them euthanasia was the 'right thing to do'
because he was in so much pain. Later they found out he
was hidden away, locked inside a cage 24 hours a day
being used by the vet to harvest blood from him

But a dog blood bank — Texas' first — opened at a Grapevine animal hospital last year with the goal of ensuring there's always blood on hand for life-or-death procedures.

"It's just like in humans," said Jessica Harrod, technical manager for the Animal Emergency Hospital of North Texas. "In trauma situations, it's not something that can wait."

(Dallas News - Jan 12, 2017)

Earlier:

• Texas Vet Dr. Millard Tierce Arrested, Suspended for Animal Cruelty
• Texas: Fort Worth Veterinarian Dr. Millard Tierce Indicted On Theft, Animal Cruelty Charges

Fort Worth Veterinarian Dr. Millard Tierce Indicted On Theft, Animal Cruelty Charges

TEXAS -- A Tarrant County grand jury has returned a three-count indictment against a Fort Worth veterinarian accused of keeping a woman’s dog alive for blood transfusions instead of euthanizing the pet.

Millard Lucien Tierce III, 71, was indicted Wednesday on one count of theft ($1500 to $20,000) a second count of misapplication of fiduciary property; and a third count of animal cruelty.

It was last April that investigators raided the Camp Bowie Animal Clinic of Dr. Tierce in Fort Worth after a former employee informed a family their pet dog had been kept alive and used for blood transfusions, and other medical procedures, after being told the pet had been euthanized.

Tierce has been a licensed veterinarian since 1966.  The Camp Bowie Animal Clinic had a D rating with the Better Business Bureau and was not an accredited establishment.

According to reports, when investigators went to the clinic they found paperwork strewn across his office, a dead kitten, and jars containing animal parts scattered about the building.

The State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners recently suspended Tierce’s license for five years. The board in its order said Tierce violated standards of care at his clinic and failed to conduct a practice with honesty and integrity.

Dr. Tierce could face up to two years in jail if convicted. He is currently free on $10,000 bond.
 
(CBS Local Media - October 29, 2014)

Earlier:

• Texas Vet Arrested, Suspended for Animal Cruelty

Texas Vet Dr. Millard Tierce Arrested, Suspended for Animal Cruelty

TEXAS -- The Texas vet accused of not euthanizing a family's dog so he could use the pet for blood transfusions has admitted to secretly keeping five dogs alive long after they were supposed to be put down.

One of the animals was his own border collie.

In a handwritten statement, Dr. Millard (Lou) Tierce said he accepted five animals for euthanasia, but never put them down, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reports. He's been charged with cruelty to animals, non-livestock.

Authorities raided Camp Bowie Animal Clinic in Fort Worth Wednesday when a family complained that they found their dog caged at the clinic six months after Tierce said the pet had been euthanized.

During that raid, investigators found a decrepit, suffering black and white border collie in a box, twitching in pain. One of the dog's legs was missing; the other was dislocated. Both of its shoulders were also dislocated.

According to Tierce's arrest warrant, a clinic employee said the dog had been lying in the same spot since she began working in the office last June.

Tierce said the crippled collie belonged to him.

He told police that he'd kept the dog alive with food and water, but denied it medical care. In his professional opinion, he said, the dog needed to be put down.

Another vet examined the emaciated dog and found it had severe mouth disease, a degenerative neurological condition and abnormally poor overall health. The pup was finally euthanized.

During the raid, two other dogs were found in such bad shape that they had to be put to sleep. Tierce admitted that they had been left at the clinic for euthanasia, which he never performed.

One animal had been admitted for euthanasia two or three years ago but had been alive and caged in the clinic ever since, the report said.

The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners also inspected the clinic. According to a report, they found animal organs in jars, open containers of medication and bugs inside the clinic. The office was unsanitary and littered with trash, drugs and paperwork.

Tierce's license has been suspended.

He was arrested Wednesday on an animal cruelty charge. He was released several hours later on a $10,000 bond.

The case began on Tuesday when Jamie and Marian Harris said they received a tip from an employee that their dog, Sid, was alive in the clinic.

The Harrises hadn't seen Sid since October, when they gave Tierce permission to put the 4-year-old Leonberger down for a painful spine condition.

Six months later, the Harrises found Sid "abusively kenneled." They said he was being kept alive to provide blood transfusions for other dogs.

Despite the charges, many of Tierce's customers have remained loyal to vet, who has been licensed since 1966.

"I'm kind of heartbroken. Whoever is in charge needs to figure this out real quickly," customer Ben Abramowitz told NBC. "We need to have him here practicing medicine and not dealing with this kind of harassment."

(NY Daily News - May 2, 2014)

Show dog recovers from injuries

MASSACHUSETTS -- On Aug. 13, 2011, Nando, a 130-pound show dog, lay on a Harwich road unconscious and barely breathing, his paws and left side torn to the bone.

On Thursday, just over a year later, he collected a blue ribbon declaring him a champion.

The first day of this year's Cranberry Cluster Dog Shows, a multi-event competition hosted by the Cape Cod Kennel Club and the South Shore Kennel Club, marked a monumental comeback for Nando.

"I look at that dog, and not a limp on him," said Peter Schneider, Nando's owner, as he watched the Leonberger trot around the fenced-in show area.

Just participating in a show seemed like a long shot last year.

Nando came to Harwich in 2011 from Quebec to serve as a stud for Mary Davidson, who breeds Leonbergers. Already a young show champion in Canada, the then-2-year-old with shaggy brown and black fur was meant to be here only temporarily.

But soon after he arrived at Davidson's house, something — maybe a coyote — spooked Nando, she said. The dog bounded through a closed glass window, shattering it, then used a kennel in the yard as a step to jump onto the garage roof and over Davidson's 6-foot fence.

A Harwich police animal control officer later found him but, unable to fit the massive animal into any of his crates, he fastened Nando in place with a leash on the back of his pickup truck. But as the truck started moving, Nando jumped through a small opening in the truck, still attached with the leash.

Several distraught motorists dialed 911 when they saw the [Animal Control] truck dragging the dog by the neck near the intersection of routes 39 and 137.

After the accident, Schneider, 64, of Needham only intended to help take Nando to and from off-Cape veterinary and physical therapy appointments, he said.

"When Mary (Davidson) called me, I picked him up just as a favor," Schneider said. "I just fell in love with him and he fell in love with our house."

Schneider adopted Nando. In those first months, he said, Nando limped about between painful skin grafts and daunting physical therapy. Heavily medicated, he lost about 30 pounds and ate little.

Schneider slept on an air mattress next to Nando for the first three months after the accident.

Cathy Schneider, 61, his wife, said Nando never lost his happy-go-lucky nature.

"He's just such a cheerful Gus," she said.

Under the grooming tent Thursday, Nando leapt up, putting his front legs on Peter Schneider's chest to lick his face when he opened the door to his large, metal crate.

Stepping into the ring with handler Sue Burrell, Nando stood still as the judge ran his hands over him, squeezing and examining him like a physician.

The judge checked out Nando's three competitors and watched as they jogged a lap around the ring alongside their trainers. Within minutes, Burrell held Nando's blue ribbon.

The Schneiders are unsure whether they will continue showing him, but intend on volunteering him as a therapy dog in hospitals and other facilities, Peter Schneider said.

"The only reason we decided to show him was to prove to ourselves and the world that this dog, who was almost dead, is fit enough to stand in the dog ring," he said.

(Cape Cod Times - Sept 14, 2012)