(April 2017) Arizona: Avondale PD welcomes Bearded Dragon as newest cop on the beat

ARIZONA -- What has four legs, a very cool tail, a good-looking beard and spectacular climbing skills?

It’s the newest member of the Avondale Police Department – Officer Iroh.

If you’re thinking there’s a new K-9 on the force, you didn’t look at the picture or read the headline.

Iroh is a bearded dragon who has been promoted from department mascot to full-fledged cop.

Chief Dale Nannenga swore him in Thursday. The “photos or it didn’t happen” proof is on Avondale P.D.’s Facebook page. Iroh looks serious but proud, which is exactly how a newly minted officer should look.

Avondale P.D. first introduced Iroh to us in an announcement last April about the department’s new drug-sniffing bearded dragon.

“Research has shown that reptiles possess a strong sense of smell making their ability to detect certain illicit drugs possibly more accurate than K9s,” explained the Facebook announcement. “Our pilot program drug sniffing bearded dragon will be assisting Officers in the City. Please help us welcome Iroh!”

Super cool, right?

One guess what day in April that happened.

Little did Nannenga and his team know what a true asset Iroh would become.

“Iroh has turned out to be a valuable member of the Avondale Police family,” according to a Facebook post on Feb. 15. “His skill set is so extensive that we have cross trained him in many areas.”

 

Irho was “running radar with Motors” that day, and he looked like he was rocking it.

A couple of days later he turned up in dispatch.

After that, he spent some time on paperwork with Assistant Chief Lynn Parkin.

“Iroh has a keen eye for typos,” according to the Facebook post.

Iroh just might be the busiest reptile since the Geico Gecko, and he’s good at his job, killing it no matter the assignment. Hence the promotion.

Bearded dragons are generally friendly and calm, attributes that will make Iroh a great cop.

Avondale P.D. has promised to keep us all up to date on Iroh’s adventures. Just keep an eye on the hashtag #IrohAdventures.

ORIGINAL STORY:

April Fool's Joke turns bearded dragon into Avondale PD mascot
Fox10Phoenix - April 20, 2017

He's not your typical pet or mascot.

"He's kind of transformed into our mascot now for our department," said Ray Emmett of Avondale Police Department.

But a lot of people are following Iroh's adventures on social media.

"After we put the initial post out there, we got a lot of requests. People wanted to see more of Iroh," said Emmett.

The first post came out on April Fool's Day last year, when the Avondale Police Department's social media committee posted a photo of the bearded dragon on Facebook, saying he was a "drug-sniffing lizard."

The joke was a big hit, so the police dispatcher, Veronica Rojas, allowed the committee to use her bearded dragon for more posts.

"I figured a few people would like it and got excited when it reached 100 and never really thought it would make it like this," said Rojas. "He's really good with looking at the camera and getting excited for his photos."

Since that first post, Iroh has been all over the department.

He's helped motorcycle cops catch speeding cars with a radar gun, worked with dispatchers, and helped proofread paperwork for other officers. He also received a special honor.

"He just got certified, just got sworn in last week as an officer," said Emmett.

That's right. The chief swore him in as an officer, badge and all.

And even though he's not really able to sniff out drugs, or do real police work, he's still a big part of the Avondale PD and the community.

"It's kind of a great way to when we do put him on social media, we can show different areas of the department people don't think about all the time," said Emmett.

VIDEO NEWS CLIP:

(AZ Family - April 14, 2017)

South Carolina: On the same day police found 23 reptiles and a Beagle mix starved to death in Army Staff Sergeant Kurt Hafner's apartment, he was busy posting a review on Facebook about his recent purchase from SD Tactical Arms

SOUTH CAROLINA -- A Richland County man has been charged with 24 counts of ill treatment to animals after deputies serving an eviction found dead animals in his apartment.

Kurt Hafner, 36, was arrested Wednesday. Investigators said Hafner is a staff sergeant stationed at Fort Jackson.

Photo from 2006 posted by Hafner

The Richland County Sheriff's Department charged Hafner after the animals were discovered in an apartment on Meredith Square, which is across the street from Richland Northeast High School, while on April 10.

Investigators found a 15-18 pound Beagle mix, one bearded dragon, two alligator snapping turtles and a variety of snakes,  including extremely venomous ones, all dead and starved to death in the home.

According to Sheriff Leon Lott, investigators determined Hafner abandoned the animals in the home without food and water since February.

 

Investigator Joseph Clarke said it is the worst animal cruelty case he's ever seen.

“This home was in disarray, to say the least," Clarke said. "There was a lot of fecal matter from the dog that we found deceased - which indicated that the dog survived for a long time eating whatever it could to survive before running out of food and finally, slowly starving to death. 

"There was personal papers, residual ammunition, and personal property belonging to the suspect. The house was in tremendously bad shape with a really bad odor of decomposition.”

 

Snake experts from All Things Wild assisted in locating the dead animals.

“He had actually posted something on the door that said venomous snakes, this was during a regular check of the air condition filters. At that point, it voided his lease. That’s when we discovered at least 24 deceased animals.

 

 

"Twenty-three were reptiles. Bearded dragon, albino, boa constrictors, eastern diamondback rattle snakes and we did find one deceased dog that was in a bad state of decomposition.”

Hafner was taken into custody at Fort Jackson after the sheriff's department made contact with his chain of command.

In the video clip, it said that South Carolina doesn't have a law against owning poisonous / venomous animals.

(WISTV - April 20, 2017)

Pennsylvania: Robert Furrer who ran a local education program called Bob's Critters has been found GUILTY on 34 counts of animal cruelty

PENNSYLVANIA -- A Fairview Township man known for starting a local animal education program called Bob’s Critters has been found guilty on 34 counts of animal cruelty, according to court documents.

Robert Furrer (Bob Furrer), 66, – who brought animals to birthday parties, schools, camps and day care centers across south central Pennsylvania – was found in possession of a “very large quantity” of neglected animals at his home last year, said Melissa Smith, executive director of the York County SPCA, in an interview.

Furrer was cited for 35 counts of animal cruelty on Oct. 20 and found guilty on 34 counts by District Judge Scott Gross on Dec. 21, documents state.

He was fined $3,400 – $100 per citation – and ordered to pay $3,638 in restitution for the cost of care at the SPCA and at the office of the attending veterinarian, according to the district judge's office. He is no longer affiliated with the animal education program, which now goes by the name Mike’s Critters, managing director Mike Buleza said.

In an interview Monday, Furrer said he believes he is innocent of all or most of the citations, and that a humane society officer misinterpreted what she saw.

Humane Society Police Officer Nicole Lawrence was called to Furrer’s home on the 400 block of Nauvoo Road during an eviction at his property on Feb. 2, 2016, according to Smith. There, Lawrence found a large number of dead animals in varying stages of decay and others living in poor condition.

"Some were so decayed that they were skeletal remains," Smith said. "Even for the live animals, there were not any of them that we thought were in good physical condition (or) a good living environment. The entire situation was a citable offense."

Animals found in the home included an alligator, bearded dragon, snapping turtle, snakes, tarantulas, spiny-tailed lizards, scorpions, African bullfrogs, an Indian ringneck parakeet, a burrowing parrot, a leopard gecko and a blue-tongued skink, according to court documents.

Most of them were taken to an animal hospital in Dallastown, Smith said.

Upon examination, many were found to be suffering from dehydration, malnutrition or other medical conditions caused by improper care and poor living conditions, documents state. 

Two African bullfrogs were infested with parasites, several snakes had dermatitis, a blue-tongued skink had mouth rot and pneumonia, and a spiny-tailed lizard died of kidney failure. A Kenyan sand boa developed chronic stomatitis, a fungus so severe it migrated to its brain and resulted in death.

The surviving animals have been placed for adoption, Smith said.

FURRER IN DENIAL DESPITE BEING FOUND GUILTY

Furrer said he wasn't neglecting his animals.

Reptiles are different than mammals, he said. Some of his animals ate less in the winter months, so their cages didn't have to be cleaned as often. And some didn't drink every day, so they didn't always have access to water.

A few days before the SPCA was called to his home, his furnace stopped working, causing about five corn snakes to die from the cold, he added. The other dead animals found in the home – such as a burrowing parrot that he kept in its carrier for two to three years after its death – had been dead for quite some time because he didn't want to throw them away.

"She's my No. 2 bird," Furrer said of his parrot, Penny. "(The SPCA) doesn't have a right to tell me what I have to do with Penny when she dies."

Furrer is prohibited from owning animals for 30 days per citation, totaling 1,020 days, according to court documents.

"Do you know what that is to me?" Furrer said. "I have had a pet since I was 4 years old, and now, they're telling me I can't have a pet. I don't ever remember being without a pet."

Smith said the SPCA was very happy with the outcome.

"These animals were being used for educational purposes as part of a business," she said. "And certainly no one could have imagined how they were living, especially given the nature of the business."

Furrer left his role as animal presenter with Bob’s Critters in February 2016 after the SPCA was called to his home, according to Buleza, the managing director of the business. It now features animals Buleza owns and ones owned by other presenters.

“We have great respect for our animals,” Buleza said. “They’re healthy and well cared for.”

On Sunday, Buleza changed the name of the program to Mike’s Critters and removed photos of Furrer from the website. The site says that Furrer has retired as a presenter.

“We still believe it’s so important to expose children to reptiles and animals they don’t see very often close up and to help children understand and value these important animals,” Buleza said. “We feel badly for the situation, but we’re moving ahead in a positive way and continuing the tradition that Bob started. He taught a lot of children and adults … in his 12 years of service to the community. We’re going to continue that service.”

Is Mike Buleza trying to convince us that, despite having been the managing director of the business, he didn't know anything? That he never went to Bob's house and saw all the dead animals lying in their cages and aquariums??? 

(York Daily Record - March 29, 2017)

Colorado: Yet again, an animal abuser gets probation. Lynn Kubic gets probation - big surprise. No state in America takes animal cruelty seriously.

COLORADO -- Lynn Kubic (aka Lynn Denise Kubic), owner of Jurassic Pets, was sentenced Wednesday on a charge of animal cruelty involving her Thornton pet store to [just] one year of probation and ordered to have no contact with animals. She was the third family member to be sentenced in connection with the animal abuse investigation.

 

Adams County Judge Brian Bowen also ordered Kubic to perform 100 hours of community service and pay a $100 fine. -- Ooh, what punishment for abusing and neglecting 100s of animals! Good job Judge Bowen - not!

 

Her husband, Kenneth Kubic (aka Kenneth Mark Kubic), 62, and son, Brian Kubic, 22, were also charged after Thornton police raided the family’s store, Jurassic Pets, at 10380 Washington St. in Thornton, last year.

 

The criminal investigation into potential animal abuse at the store was prompted by an investigation first conducted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

In May, Kenneth Kubic was convicted of 18 counts of cruelty to animals after a two-day trial in Adams County.

 

After Daddy Ken Kubic went to trial and lost big time - convicted of 18 counts of cruelty, his POS son Biran Kubic and skank wife Lynn Kubic decided going to trial wasn't such a smart idea and took a plea agreement. In exchange for their guilty pleas, the DA's office was TOO LENIENT in dismissing all the other charges. After all, if Ken Kubic got convicted of 18 counts, I'd say chances are that the jury/judge would've found Brian and Lynn guilty of similar amounts of charges. I say this is laziness on the part of the DA's office in Adams County.

 

Their son, Brian Kubic, pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to animals and had 37 others dismissed. He was ordered to pay more than $1,400 in fines and costs (a pittance compared to the cruelty he inflicted on animals FOR YEARS).

Lynn Kubic pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty, and 37 other counts were dismissed.

During the elder Kubic’s trial, witnesses said kittens, hedgehogs, reptiles and rodents were confined in unsanitary conditions without food, water and veterinary care. Some of the animals died and others had to be euthanized after the shop was raided because of their condition.

Jurassic Pets continues to operate two stores — the one raided by police in Thornton and another location in Lakewood.

PETA also documented egregious suffering at a second business owned by the Kubic family, the breeding facility Willards Rodent Factory in Adams County.

Rats and mice at Willards were typically fed only monthly, and food became moldy, was contaminated with animals’ waste, or ran out. 

Animals were routinely denied veterinary care and euthanasia, with many found drowned in flooded tubs or dead and rotting in bins. 

PETA has called on the Adams County Sheriff’s Office to help the animals there.

 

The Colorado Department of Agriculture has issued a search warrant for the Kubics’ home to count the number of animals and determine if they are complying with the permanent injunction issued in the spring.

According to the department, the family does not have a license to operate pet stores.

 

(Denver Post - Aug 31, 2016)

Earlier:

• Colorado: PETA's in-depth investigation of the horrible cruelty inflicted by demon family Lynn Kubic, Brian Kubic and Kenneth Kubic
• Colorado: Lynn Kubic, 55, and her husband Kenneth Kubic, 62, found guilty of animal cruelty

Colorado: PETA's in-depth investigation of the horrible cruelty inflicted by demon family Lynn Kubic, Brian Kubic and Kenneth Kubic

COLORADO -- Witnesses worked at two businesses run by animal dealers Lynn and Kenneth Kubic, who have been breeding animals since 1985—Willards Rodent Factory, a rodent-breeding barn, and Jurassic Pets LLC, a pet store. Witnesses routinely found animals suffering in horrific conditions.

 

Based on PETA’s evidence, the Thornton, Colorado, Police Department executed a search warrant at Jurassic Pets on December 10, 2014, that allowed them to rescue some of the mammals, reptiles, and amphibians there. In March 2015, Kenneth and Lynn Kubic and their son and store manager, Brian Kubic, were charged with a total of 97 counts of cruelty to animals. In April 2016, Brian Kubic was convicted of cruelty to animals, and in May 2016, Kenneth Kubic was convicted on 18 counts of cruelty to animals. In June 2016, Lynn Kubic was also convicted of cruelty to animals.

Despite having extensive evidence of persistent, widespread cruelty to animals since October 2, 2014, the Adams County, Colorado, Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) did not seize or render aid to the thousands of animals kept at Willards Rodent Factory.

Willards Rodent Factory: The Kubics' Barn of Horrors
The Kubics breed rats and mice in a barn located on their Adams County property—just a few feet away from their family residence. Thousands of rodents—crowded shoulder to shoulder in filthy tubs on top of bedding saturated with weeks’ worth of waste—were kept in bins and metal troughs inside the barn during the course of PETA’s investigation. The Kubics did not employ a single full-time person to care for the animals. Lynn Kubic claimed that “you just don’t make enough money at this to … have a ton of employees or spend a ton of time out here.”  Hundreds of rodents were found dying, dead, and decomposing.

Turtles left to rot in filthy rancid water

 

Tubs housing rodents frequently flooded, drowning rats and mice by the hundreds. Lynn Kubic —who admitted that she would not enter the barn after a flood because of the stench— lamented the loss of money but never the suffering of the drowned animals.

 

Were kittens fed to the larger snakes?

Cats were permitted to roam freely in and out of the “rodent factory,” terrifying rats and mice by opening tubs in which rodents were housed, defecating above them, and even tearing them apart. Rats and mice starved to death. Lynn Kubic admitted, “I probably lose more animals to starvation … than floods.” The Kubics fed rats and mice once per month, allowing the food to become moldy and covered with feces as the weeks passed.

The Kubics denied ill and injured rats veterinary care and instead “whacked” them—swung them by the tail and slammed them into a hard surface to try to kill them. The Kubics admitted to freezing live rats and mice to death.

Witnesses found a critically injured rat, “Miss Rat,” whose upper jaw, nose, and muzzle were missing. Brian Kubic—the only authority present at the facility that day—instructed that Miss Rat be thrown to the free-roaming cats, adding, “It’s not like I care … [I]t’s one rat out of, like, 10,000 ….” The rat was taken to a veterinarian, who found that she was suffering from “traumatic injuries” and put her out of her misery.

Kenneth Kubic admitted that he shoots cats, while Lynn Kubic took kittens born to the cats and sold them in the couple’s pet store. At least two kittens languished without any effective veterinary care for obviously severe upper respiratory infections—and died.

Despite initial assurances that it would take swift action to rescue these long-neglected animals, the ACSO failed to act while animals languished, suffered, drowned, and died, deprived of the protections afforded by Colorado’s anti-cruelty statutes, which they depend on the ACSO to uphold and enforce.

Jurassic Pets: Little Shop of Horrors
The Kubics sold many of the rats, mice, and kittens from the barn as well as reptiles and mammals bred and/or kept in their basement through their grimy pet shop in Thornton, called Jurassic Pets, where animals were crammed on top of one another inside cramped enclosures, in which feces, rotting meat, and dead animals collected for days.

As at the barn, workers also “whacked” rats and mice and admitted to wrapping them in plastic bags in an attempt to suffocate those who survived the blows. One little rat languished for almost 10 minutes— gasping for breath and trembling— after being “whacked.” A worker then tried to break the rat’s neck.

Scores of ill or injured animals languished without adequate veterinary care, despite managers’ and Lynn Kubic’s awareness of their poor conditions. As one worker put it, “A trip to the vet is gonna be a hundred and something, so is it really worth our money to do that? … [W]e are a business. … If we were to take every animal to the vet that truly needs to be, there’d be no reason to sell ’em ….”

Witnesses found a hedgehog, since named Ghost, whose right eye was shrunken. Lynn Kubic denied Ghost adequate veterinary care for months, until her eye was so “infected” that it was “los[t].” Ghost was rescued, and a veterinary ophthalmologist found that she had been neglected so severely that her eye had degenerated and lost all vision.

The witnesses documented evidence of thousands of deaths including reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and fish, the latter of which occurred in multiple massive die-offs in the store, and some had been ignored for so long that their bodies were rotting. Brian Kubic stated that it was “too late” for many ailing reptiles and threw them into the freezer while still alive, where they suffered and died slowly and in agony.

Animals were routinely denied water. Many animals rushed to drink or soak themselves when water was provided for up to an hour.

You Can Help!
Please act now to help ensure that no more animals suffer at the Kubics’ hands.

On October 2, 2014, PETA met with and submitted detailed eyewitness statements, video and photographic evidence, and veterinary reports to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, which licenses Jurassic Pets and at least two of the Kubics’ other operations under the Pet Animal Care and Facilities Act (PACFA).

Please urge officials to ensure a permanent end to this systemic cruelty by revoking the Kubics’ PACFA licenses by signing the petition HERE.

Related:

• Colorado: Lynn Kubic, 55, and her husband Kenneth Kubic, 62, found guilty of animal cruelty