Australia: Damien Fleming recalls saving Callum Robins from Bull Terrier attack

AUSTRALIA -- Damien Fleming says it was the ‘petrified scream’ of a young boy which made him spring into action during a dog attack outside his home.

Mr Fleming ran out onto Gordon Street and immediately jumped onto the bull terrier, which was mauling 11-year-old Callum Robins.

“I tried to put my hand in its mouth, between the kid’s leg and underneath the top jaw of the dog,” he said.

“I felt the dog start to bite onto my hand, so I pulled my hand out and hit the dog four times on its back as hard as I could. Surprisingly it let go.”

After the dog let go of Callum, Mr Fleming grabbed it behind its ears to prevent it from biting anyone else. He then restrained the dog for roughly 20 minutes while a crowd of people emerged onto the street.

Then police arrived at the scene and the dog was removed. Callum sustained several bites on his chest and limbs, and is now recovering at his family’s Port Noarlunga home after undergoing three surgeries.

According to Mr Fleming, Callum was riding his scooter with two other friends when the bull terrier began circling them.

The trio huddled together, but could not stop the dog from attacking.

“I looked at his leg for maybe 10 seconds and there were bad holes, gashes that had blood dripping out of them. It looked really bad, I felt sick,” Mr Fleming said.

The Whyalla City Council have now issued a destruction order for the bull terrier involved in the attack.

The owner, Kyra Ralph, has 30 days to make arrangements for the dog to be euthanised under the Dog and Cat Management Act.

The dog is still being held by council, who seized it immediately after the attack.

Ms Ralph said the attack was ‘out of character’ for her dog, which escaped while she was inside her home.

“The gate is really easy to get through and I didn’t take that into account because I’d just moved in,” she said.

“He’s never done anything like that before. He’s had kids all over him, pulling on his ears, and he loves it. I just want to see my dog one last time.”

Ms Ralph apologised for the attack, saying she had never seen her dog bite anyone before.

 

 

Acting Director of City Growth Sam Bowman said the owners of any dog responsible for causing injuries to people or other animals could face severe penalties.

“When we get reports like this, it is a timely reminder for people to keep their dogs securely fenced in their properties,” she said. “Council abides and enforces strict rules under the Dog and Cat Management Act to ensure the safety of everyone. “

(Whyalla News Online AU - January 9, 2018)

Earlier:

• Australia: Young boy, 10, horrifically mauled by a Bull Terrier - but its owners describe the attack as a 'playful bite'

Australia: Young boy, 10, horrifically mauled by a Bull Terrier - but its owners describe the attack as a 'playful bite'

AUSTRALIA -- This is the awful moment a bull terrier mauls a 10-year-old boy in just 30 seconds as he rides a scooter with his friends.

CCTV footage in the industrial city of Whyalla, north-west of Adelaide shows the dog circling the boys, trying to attack one child before setting its sights on Callum.

At first Callum tried to use his scooter as a weapon, but according to the 10-year-old, it only made the dog “fiercer”.

The dog bit Callum on the leg before pinning him to the ground and biting at his body.

“I put my hands in [the dog’s] mouth and tried to get up,” Callum told the Sunday Mail. “It kind of worked.”

 

However, the terrifying attack continued. “It jumped on my chest and arm, that’s not that bad, then it bit my leg,” Callum recalled.

The savage attack left Callum with deep and long bite wounds to his leg, arms and chest as he was pinned to the ground.

Fortunately for the young defenseless boy - the neighbor came to Callum’s rescue, punching the dog and pulling it off him.

 

Callum is at home now resting after his ordeal. He was hospitalized and endured an infection and three surgeries to close the deep wounds in his arms and legs.

'I felt sick to my stomach,' she said. 'If that can happen in 30 seconds, God knows what can happen in a minute.'

The dog's owner has defended the attack as a 'playful bite', Ten Eyewitness News said.

However Callum's family want the bull terrier put down.

 

 

'I don't think a dog that is that aggressive should be out on the streets, especially when the children didn't do anything to antagonize the dog,' the boy's mother Kassy Myers said.

Myers wants the dog put down following the horrific attack and is planning to make a civil claim.

“I still remember the owner of the dog said we’re not allowed to take her dog, she didn’t want her dog put down … that her dog’s done nothing wrong,” Kassy said.

“It was disgusting. No dog with that attitude should be out on the streets at all.”

(Daily Mail - January 8, 2018)

New Mexico: Alex Alirez, who starved Hubble to death, has charges dropped again - will face NO punishment for his crimes

NEW MEXICO -- Charges in a high profile extreme animal cruelty case have been dropped again, this time on the grounds of double jeopardy.

The case out of Las Vegas, New Mexico got a lot of attention with the community rallying around Hubble the dog, who eventually died despite desperate efforts to save him.

 

Hubble the Bull Terrier and several other dogs were found chained outside a home in 2015 without food or water. The dogs belonged to Panchita Alirez and her husband Alexander Alirez.

All of the dogs spent their life chained. Hubble was the worst off. He was severely emaciated, had open wounds, and had maggots covering his body.

Attorneys for the owner, Alex Alirez, claimed double jeopardy. Charges have been dropped and refiled several times.

An attorney says Alirez has already been forced to give up his animals as part of a civil court order, meaning he’s already faced consequences for the case. He argues if Alirez is retried, it would constitute double jeopardy.

 

 

According to online court records, a judge agreed last week.

“Jail time would have been nice for these charges, but more than that we wanted a lifetime order that these folks could never own or possess animals again,” Angela Stell, NMDOG, said.

NMDOG is an all-volunteer group that helps in animal cruelty cases. They say they’re angry at the outcome of this case.

(KRQE - March 20, 2017)

Earlier:

• New Mexico: Maggots found eating malnourished dog from inside
• New Mexico: Alex Alirez, owner of "Hubble" has had troubled past with animal cruelty
• New Mexico: Alex Alirez to stand trial in Hubble case
• New Mexico: Mistrial declared in extreme animal cruelty case against Alex Alirez and Panchita Maes
  

Texas: Escaped dogs injure woman, attack and kill her service dog in Cedar Hill

TEXAS -- A woman was injured and her service dog was mauled to death by dogs near her Cedar Hill retirement center last Sunday.

Cedar Hill Police Lieutenant Colin Chenualt says the victim, 64-year-old Bobbye Nance, took her service dog for a walk in her Cedar Hill apartment complex just after 1 a.m. Sunday.

That's the same time that the owner of three dogs that live nearby let them out into their fenced in backyard. But police say a storm had blown down the fence.

"This was the perfect storm of tragic events,” Chenualt said. "The tragedy is that obviously her dog died as a result of these injuries and she's hospitalized, it's just a terrible set of circumstances.”

Chenault says the owner of the three dogs cooperated with investigators on the scene.

"He did everything he was supposed to do, you know, as soon as you realize your dogs are missing, and hopefully you will find them, you know, go look for them. He did find them but unfortunately they were involved in something pretty tragic,” Chenualt said.

Tri-Cities Animal Shelter Manager Tammy Wilson says strong storms can affect animals like they can people.

"The winds were so high that day to them it could have been like somebody was constantly trying to break into the house, rattle, rattle, crash, crash, boom, over and over. So they could have been agitated from that,” Wilson said. “The only ones that will ever know what happened are those dogs and the people that were on the scene.”

(FOX 4 News - Dec 23, 2016)

Oregon: Authorities seize 11 dogs from breeders Evelyn Maas and Shirley Stephenson; filthy conditions cited

OREGON -- Two Veneta women are accused of violating city code and state animal laws by having as many as 28 dogs inside a squalid house on East Hunter Road.

Authorities seized 11 dogs Tuesday from the residence of Evelyn Maas and Shirley Stephenson after a search warrant affidavit was filed in Lane County Circuit Court last week. No arrests have been made.

According to her website, Stephenson owns and operates Monet French Bulldogs, a breeding business, out of the property. Her Facebook page lists a number of puppies available for sale, and her show dogs.

The dogs seized by authorities include Chinese Cresteds, Shih Tzus, a Whippet, a Bull Terrier, a Poodle and a French Bulldog.

The alleged violations came to the attention of the Oregon Humane Society’s investigations department, the city of Veneta’s code enforcement officer and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office last week. Authorities from the agencies went to the address and found poor sanitary conditions, the affidavit states.

Sheriff’s deputy Mark Nelson reported he could smell urine and feces at least 20 feet from the house.

Feces were “several inches thick” in most of the house, the affidavit states. There were “no clean areas” in the house, with garbage and papers scattered throughout, the document states.

The carpeted stairs were “encrusted” with feces, the affidavit states.

Authorities initially observed several dogs inside the home. As many as 28 were there the week before the search warrant was served and the dogs were seized, the affidavit states.

Two were in a fifth-wheel trailer on the property, which also was allegedly covered with urine, feces and garbage.

Nelson asked the women about the dogs, and “they both said they didn’t know and acted surprised that there was a dog in there,” the affidavit states.

The dogs appeared to be healthy, the affidavit states, but didn’t have access to clean water and weren’t believed to be under proper veterinary care.

Veneta city code bars a resident from having more than three adult dogs at one house. The conditions at the property constituted second-degree animal neglect, a violation of state law, the affidavit said

Stephenson was sued in Lane County Circuit Court in 2015 by the Veneta Veterinary Hospital for alleged unpaid bills that totaled more than $1,000. A judge ordered her to pay the debt.

The dogs were taken out of the area by the Ore­gon Humane Society.

(Register Guard - Nov 21, 2016)

South Africa: Owner of bull terrier which mauled little boy, 4, blames the victim

SOUTH AFRICA -- The owner of the dog that mauled a 4-year-old boy has blamed the child for teasing the “well behaved and friendly” bull terrier with a piece of chicken.

Eli Barnard was mauled in the face by a bull terrier who tried to grab a chicken thigh out of his mouth.

His father is now claiming R322 000 in damages from the dog’s owner. Eli is now 6, but he was 4 when he was bitten.

Marius Barnard, who lives on a plot north of Pretoria, told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, that Martinus Ras knew that his dog was vicious. He said Ras had a duty to ensure the dog could not escape from his backyard, where it was usually kept.

Ras, on the other hand, said the child teased the dog with the chicken thigh by waving it in front of it. When the dog wanted to grab it, the child placed the meat into his own mouth.

“It was simply an error of judgment on the part of the dog,” Ras told Judge Johan Louw.

According to him, his dog was not vicious at all, but well behaved and friendly. Barnard rented a cottage on Ras’s plot, near the main house, during May 2014. The two properties were divided by a wooden fence.

According to Barnard, the dog escaped by forcing its way under the fence. Rassaid this was impossible as the gap between the fence and the ground was about 10cm - far too small for a big dog to slide under.

Eli’s minder, Johanna Baloyi, testified that on May 16, 2014, she and the child sat on the porch of the cottage, eating chicken. The male dog was in Ras’s backyard at the time.

Baloyi said that when she looked up she saw the dog next to them. According to her, the dog moved to take the child’s chicken out of his hand, but Eli instead placed it into his mouth. The dog tried to grab the chicken out of his mouth and bit him in the process.

Eli’s father, who is wheelchair-bound, was in the house. He said he heard the child and Baloyi scream and he rushed outside. He saw his child’s face covered in blood.

Baloyi managed to pull the dog off the child.

Barnard rushed the child to the Montana Hospital, where he was stabilised before he was taken to the Eugene Marais Hospital.

The bite left him with severe scarring across his nose, eyes and face. Barnard blamed Ras for the incident and said that knowing his dogs were vicious he should have ensured they couldn't escape.

Baloyi claimed she had been bitten by one of Ras's dogs before, but Ras denied this. He said someone must have left the gate between the two premises open on the day of the incident, as he took care ensuring that the dogs remained in the backyard.

He also testified that Baloyi told him the child teased the dog with the chicken thigh by swinging it in front of the animal. “I was totally flabbergasted when I received a summons... suing me. I though the matter was behind us, as he told me he regarded the matter as being closed. He said he had prayed about it and that he had come to terms with it. A year later I suddenly received a summons in which a lot of money is claimed from me.”

Ras, who has meanwhile sold his dogs, said he got rid of them not because they were vicious, but because he had sold his plot.

Barnard claimed that Ras was hardly home while they still lived together on the premises and that he neglected the dogs and did not often feed them. But Ras said he took good care of the dogs.

According to a medical report, Eli is now terrified of big dogs. He also battled to come to terms with the scars on his face and it is extremely difficult for him when his friends asked questions about it. He will later have to undergo reconstructive surgery.

The court reserved judgment on whether Ras could be held responsible for the incident.

(IOL - Nov 5, 2016)

Minnesota: Man's Bull Terrier named Aliester attacked by three pit bulls. Vet told him if he were any other kind of dog he'd be dead.

MINNESOTA -- As I was at work 3.5 hrs from home, a neighbor watched my buddy for me.

While in his yard, on a leash, 3 pits headed toward the neighbor boy next door to my friend's home. I'm told that my lil bull terrier got between the boy and the lead pit. Once they got into it the other two joined in on my buddy.

The neighbors said they had to use ridiculous amounts of force on the 3 other dogs to get them to retreat.

During the struggle Aliester's face was punctured dozens of times, his eye nearly lost. The main damage was to the ear and neck. The skin was torn from the muscle from under his left ear over the back of his neck to his right ear. The wounds them selves are in range from 2"-5".

 

The vet told me he'd have died if he were any other breed. 

Unfortunately the emergency vet required all of the costs upfront to put him back together and get drains in place. It's cleaned out what little there was and I borrowed what I could. I still don't know who owned the dogs although animal control says they've got the dogs under watch now.

Anything to help is appreciated and a blessing, just as him still being alive (as he's my best homie). Anything beyond what he needs will be paid forward. Thank you

UPDATE
He's getting happier!! Thank you so much everyone.

UPDATE
Sooooo close. Al is doing better. Getting some of his personality back

UPDATE
Sorry for the lag in info here. Al is pretty much back to normal thanks to all of you!! He still has a few more visits to the vet coming but I can't see there being anything but good to report.

The neighbor still denies it was his dogs despite the police and animal control reporting otherwise. The one dog, beast, has been flagged as a dangerous animal and they are supposed to be compliant with the order..we shall see...so far not happening. 

Love scumbags but actually love you all. Thank you so much for helping to get through this ordeal!!

GoFundMe link "Aliester attacked by 3 dogs" (has reached its goal)
Created October 28, 2016 by Brandon Whynaucht  
SAINT PAUL, MN

New Mexico: Mistrial declared in extreme animal cruelty case against Alex Alirez and Panchita Maes

NEW MEXICO -- The New Mexico couple on trial for animal abuse, that outraged people around the world, may have caught a huge break because of a police mistake. It was a mistake that had a judge declaring a mistrial Wednesday.

“Hubble” the dog and his four chain mates were rescued from a Las Vegas, New Mexico home in 2015.

 

Hubble was the worst off. The pup ultimately died after a major effort to save him.

This week Hubble’s supporters hoped to finally see Alex Alirez and Panchita Maes found guilty for the dog’s death. But those chances have been squashed, at least for now.

A mistrial was declared Wednesday morning.

 

Prosecutors in the San Miguel District Attorney’s Office wouldn’t go on-camera but said when Las Vegas police were testifying in court, police mentioned an audio recording and a police report that prosecutors didn’t know about.

The defense didn’t know about the evidence, either. Prosecutors said they thought that evidence was handed over.

Prosecutors say they plan to re-try Alirez and Maes.

Each was charged with one count of extreme animal cruelty for Hubble and four counts of animal cruelty for the other dogs.

The case triggered such outrage that thousands of people signed an online petition urging police and the DA’s Office to go after the couple.

No one had been prosecuted for animal cruelty in Las Vegas in at least a decade.

Panchita Maes Alires (DOB 12/15/1980)
Alex Alirez (DOB 03/22/1973)

(KRQE - Aug 3, 2016)

Earlier:

• New Mexico: Maggots found eating malnourished dog from inside
• New Mexico: Alex Alirez, owner of "Hubble" has had troubled past with animal cruelty
• New Mexico: Alex Alirez to stand trial in Hubble case

New Mexico: Couple sues LCPD over dog killed by officer

NEW MEXICO -- A Las Cruces man and woman are pursuing a lawsuit in federal court against the Las Cruces Police Department after an officer shot and killed their dog in July 2014.

The dog's owners, Martin Serna and Sonia Gonzalez, claim their civil rights were violated because of "unlawful seizure" and destruction of their dog, a 2-year-old bull terrier named Mac.

The incident happened one morning in the summer of 2014, when police responded to a report of a vicious dog loose in the 1000 block of Larry Drive, according to Sun-News archives. The 30-pound dog had reportedly attempted to attack a 79-year-old neighbor.

Dispatchers sent officers to the scene, and an officer "attempted to exit his patrol unit when the dog approached aggressively, pinning the officer against his unit," according to an LCPD news release from the time. That's when the officer fired, striking the dog. An animal control officer took the dog to a local veterinarian, where it was pronounced dead, according to authorities.

There was disagreement between the couple, authorities and some neighbors about whether the dog acted viciously.

Serna told the Sun-News soon after the incident that his dog wasn't aggressive and that the 79-year-old man had in past months provoked the animal.

Serna and Gonzalez filed the suit against LCPD and the officer who shot the dog, Ricardo Porras, in August 2015, contending that Porras arrived on scene, and "Mac the Dog slowly approached the Defendant Porras in a submissive position," according to court records.

"Upon seeing Mac the Dog's slow approach towards him, Defendant Porras pulled out his service weapon and maliciously and intentionally shot and killed Mac without cause," Serna and Gonzalez's complaint states. "Defendant Porras had the option and ability to use less than lethal force, and failed to do so."

The complaint — filed by the couple's attorney, Christopher Cardenas of Las Cruces — states that when Serna and Gonzalez arrived at the scene, several LCPD officers already were there who were acting "jovial, one officer even going so far as to state to Plaintiffs that their dog was dead, and then began to laugh."

A video filmed by the couple in the minutes following the incident shows them confronting several officers with outrage at the shooting of Mac.

The city, in a formal response filed in September 2015, denied this accusation, as well as most others leveled by the couple's court complaint.

LCPD spokesman Dan Trujillo declined to comment on the case because it is pending litigation.

One neighbor told the Sun-News in July 2014 that prior to the shooting, the 79-year-old man was fending off Mac with a plastic chair. And when the man got inside his home, Mac was jumping at the window. The dog was lying in the man's garden, then left to chase another woman who was walking nearby, the neighbor said.

Mac had previously been impounded, in February 2014, by animal control for running loose in the neighborhood, according to an LCPD report.

At that time, the 79-year-old had called police to report a "vicious loose dog" and told responding officers the dog had attempted to attack him. The man had said he was "fed up with this problem" and had called animal control previously to no avail.

Cardenas, in an interview with the Sun-News this week, said the response by police may have been an overreaction, exacerbating what happened.

"One of the things we're looking to achieve is to make sure the Las Cruces Police Department responds correctly for the situation at hand," he said. "Had animal control officers been allowed to respond first, they'd have been able to take better care of the situation."

Cardenas emphasized that Mac "wasn't a pit bull."

"This was a bull terrier, a small- to medium-sized dog," he said. "If an officer is afraid of it, he might want to reconsider his profession."

Continued Cardenas: "We just want to see justice done for Mac."

In addition to unlawful seizure, Serna and Gonzalez allege LCPD allowed for negligent training and supervision of officers and violated property rights. They're seeking compensatory damages for loss of "property, humiliation, embarrassment, emotional and mental distress and anguish," and punitive damages, according to the complaint. Also, they're asking for "reasonable attorney fees" and the lawsuit costs. The couple is seeking a jury trial.

(Las Cruces Sun-News - Jan 29, 2016)

New Zealand: Warning after dog bought on Facebook attacks family pet

NEW ZEALAND -- A Timaru dog owner is warning of the dangers of buying pets off social media, after his fox terrier was almost killed by a "menacing" dog in front of his five-year-old son.

Kelvin Wood's dog, Diva, required 50 stitches after she was attacked by a bull terrier-cross while out walking in Timaru on Wednesday.

The owners of the bull terrier had only recently purchased it from its previous owners on Facebook, and were unaware that it had previously been classed as "menacing" by the Invercargill City Council.

The dog has since been surrendered to the Timaru District Council to be euthanised.

Wood and his son, Riley, were out walking with Diva on Maple Crescent when a dog rushed at them from behind a fence. They carried on walking, but the dog jumped over the fence and started following them down the street.

"We went down this alley, but it seemed to track us," Wood said.

He picked up Diva, but the other dog started jumping up and trying to attack her. Fearing for the safety of his son, Wood placed Diva on the other side of a small fence in the alleyway in a bid to get the dog to leave.

The dog went straight through the fence instead.

"It latched straight onto our dog."

Other people in the area at the time rushed to help, but three people were not strong enough to pull the dog away from Diva. It eventually took a drenching from a hose before the dog let go, Wood said.

"Riley was absolutely screaming. We got them separated, she was a mess. There was a huge flap of skin, and blood everywhere."

Two men had to hold the other dog until animal control arrived, he said.

The dog was then taken to the Timaru District Council, where its microchip was checked and its "menacing" status was revealed, Wood said.

Luckily, Diva managed to pull through and is recovering well.

"She's a tough wee thing."

The incident had been incredibly traumatic for Riley, Wood said.

"It's terrible. He didn't sleep too good that night, I think he was replaying things."

Wood wanted people to make sure they did their homework before purchasing a pet online.

The owners of the dog were "absolutely gutted", and had no idea about its past, he said.

"They were very remorseful."

Both the Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils have echoed the warning.

Timaru District Council environmental services manager Paul Cooper said pet owners needed to look into the backgrounds of animals before they purchased them.

The dog was purchased from Invercargill, he confirmed.

Cooper said the council was still deciding whether any further action would be taken over the attack on Diva.

Mackenzie District Council planning and regulation manager Nathan Hole said prospective pet owners needed to speak to the council with which the animal is registered in order to get an idea of its background.

"You can't just assume a dog's got a clean record," he said.

It was not just "menacing" behaviour that could be recorded. Other issues, such as barking, could also be identified during a check, he said.

The Timaru District Council's annual animal control report states the council received 81 reports of dogs attacking, rushing, or lunging at other animals in the year ended June 2015, up from 45 the previous year.

Reports of dogs attacking and rushing at people dropped, however, from 150 to 128.

In the Waimate District, the number of dog attacks on both animals and people dropped significantly.

There were two attacks on an animal between October 1 and December 31 2015, compared to six during the same period the year before.

No people were attacked by dogs over that period, down from one attack in 2014.

(Stuff NZ - Jan 24, 2016)

New Zealand: Owners charged after dog attacks in Hawke's Bay

NEW ZEALAND -- Three dog owners are being prosecuted after attacks in Hawke's Bay left two women requiring hospital treatment.

The three owners will each face two charges under the Dog Control Act following the October 3 attacks at the seaside settlement of Whirinaki, north of Napier.

One of the victims, a woman in her 60s, suffered a significant bite injury to her arm and was admitted to Hawke's Bay Hospital before being transferred to Hutt Valley Hospital for specialist care.

About 45 minutes before the woman was attacked there was another attack by three dogs on a woman who had been running on the beach at Whirinaki.

The woman, who is in her 30s, was pulled to the ground and received multiple puncture wounds and lacerations to her upper arm, her armpit and buttocks.

She was also admitted to Hawke's Bay hospital for treatment.

Hastings District Council, which is responsible for dog control in the Whirinaki area, said the charges related to the dogs "causing serious injury" to the two victims.

Two of the dogs allegedly involved in the attack, a male bull terrier cross and a male Neapolitan mastiff cross, were relinquished by their owners and destroyed last week.

The third dog, a male Rhodesian ridgeback cross, is being held in the Hastings District Council's pound pending the outcome of the council's prosecution.

The council said all three dogs came from the same address, where one lived and the other two were visiting.

A court date for the owners has yet to be set.

(Stuff.co.nz - October 13 2015)

New Mexico: Alex Alirez to stand trial in Hubble case

NEW MEXICO -- A magistrate judge has determined that there is enough evidence against Alex Alirez to send his case to District Court for trial in the matter of Hubble, an emaciated dog whose plight galvanized animal lovers around the country.

Magistrate Judge Christian Montaño issued his ruling on Wednesday after listening to hours of testimony from animal control officers, law enforcement, the director of the local animal welfare coalition pet center, Hubble’s previous owner and a veterinarian who worked tirelessly to save the bull terrier’s life. Despite efforts to save him, Hubble, a bull terrier, died late last month, a few weeks after he was seized from the home which, according to authorities, is shared by Alirez and Panchita Maes.

 

Maes, meanwhile, waived her right to a preliminary hearing, and she, too, will stand trial in District Court.

Alirez and Maes are each charged with four misdemeanor counts of cruelty of animals and a fourth- degree felony charge of extreme cruelty to animals.

As of Thursday morning,  Alirez, 42, and Maes, 34, remained in custody at the San Miguel County Detention Center.

Montaño kept Alirez’s bond at $10,000. If he does manage to come up with the money for his bond, one of the conditions of release that will be imposed is that he not possess animals.

Alirez, clad in an orange jail jumpsuit, mostly looked down at the table during Wednesday’s preliminary hearing. He was shackled and handcuffed next to his defense attorney, David Silva.

Alirez, however, looked intently at Petroglyph Animal Hospital Veterinarian Dr. Raymond Hudgell during his testimony.

Roughly six people were in the audience listening to the testimony while other witnesses waited in the Magistrate Court reception area.

Twila Quintana, of the district attorney’s office, presented the evidence against Alirez.

Hubble and four other dogs were  removed from a residence on the 300 block of Union Street on Sept. 2 by city of Las Vegas Animal Control officers Manuel Silva and Edward Valdez. Hubble was found tied by a three to four foot chain.

Hubble and the four other dogs were taken to the local Animal Welfare Coalition Pet Center near City Hall where they were examined by Martina Holguin. Hubble’s body was littered with maggots, and he had  a large cut in his groin area.

Holguin testified that Hubble was the dog in worst condition out of the five that were seized. She transported him to Albuquerque immediately.

Silva questioned several of the witnesses on whether they were confident that his client lived at the residence or if he lived at a house on the 500 block of Blanchard Street. Las Vegas Police Chief Juan Montaño, investigators Steve Pacheco and Pamela Sandoval all stated that they have seen and have been involved in previous cases involving Alirez at the 502 Union Street address. Sandoval said her most recent stop at the residence was in March when she was investigating a shooting in which an Alirez family member was being questioned. She also said that at that point she noticed Hubble, what at that time appeared to be in good shape.

Pacheco said that he would often drop off one of Alirez’s sons at the residence after baseball practice during spring and summer.

The most horrific testimony came from Hudgell who called Hubble “the thinnest dog I have seen alive.” He said Hubble weighed just 29 pounds and was severely dehydrated, barely able to lift his head and was “just barely alive.” Hudgell said the typical weight for a bull terrier is between 65 to 75 pounds.

He added that Hubble had a large cut that was filled with maggots located between his hind legs. Hudgell said Hubble was in pain when he got to his clinic.

“This was probably an injury that began three to five months ago,” Hudgell said. “This is a much older injury that was allowed to become infected and then maggot-infested.”

“He was the thinnest dog I have seen alive,” Hudgell said.

He said that within the roughly 20 days Hubble spent at the clinic, he was able to gain 21 pounds with regular feeding and weighed 43 pounds when he died on Sept. 23.

Joseph Abeyta, Hubble’s original owner, said that when Hubble disappeared roughly a year and eight months ago, he was in good health. He told the court that he was up to date on all his vaccines and was greatly missed by his family.

In his closing arguments, Silva said the prosecution is speculating that Alirez is the owner of the residence and that he resides there. Quintana called the abuse and neglect a form of torture.

(Las Vegas Optic - October 8, 2015)

Earlier:

• New Mexico: Maggots found eating malnourished dog from inside
• New Mexico: Alex Alirez, owner of "Hubble" has had troubled past with animal cruelty