Raymond woman disputes animal abuse charges

MAINE -- Julie Sutherland, the Raymond woman who made headlines last year when she rescued more than 25 roosters, setting off a public dispute with her neighbor, has been summonsed on a civil charge of animal abuse.

Sutherland, who said she is innocent of the charge, was served earlier this month by Animal Control Officer Bobby Silcott for not providing medical attention to a cat Sutherland was fostering for the Harvest Hills Animal Shelter in Fryeburg. The cat eventually died.

Silcott, who is the backup ACO for Raymond, is handling the matter for Raymond’s full-time ACO Susan Fielder since he said Fielder and Sutherland have “had a falling-out and there is some conflict there.” He wouldn’t provide details on the conflict.

Sutherland had taken possession of a 6-month-old, gray-and-white cat named BabyGirl and three of BabyGirl’s kittens in August of last year after BabyGirl was rescued from a cat hoarder in Casco.

Sutherland said BabyGirl had multiple health issues when she received the cat and that she purchased and administered more than $200 worth of medication. Sutherland also said she brought the animal to a veterinarian in Windham in October.

Sutherland said BabyGirl was riddled with worms that eventually infected the cat’s brain, and despite Sutherland’s best efforts, the cat died in January.

While not willing to discuss details of the case since it’s still in litigation, Silcott said the charge against Sutherland is valid and merits the civil case, which will be heard Tuesday, April 16, in Cumberland County District Court.

There has been no affidavit filed in the case. Silcott said he is planning to meet with the district attorney to draft one in coming weeks. If convicted, Sutherland could face a minimum fine of $500 or a maximum fine of $2,500.

Asked why Sutherland, who is known to rescue all sorts of animals at her hobby farm on Ledge Hill Road, would abuse an animal she rescued, Silcott said, “I have to agree with you there, it is a little confusing. But there was enough evidence presented to the D.A. to move forward with it.”

Silcott said the issue arose when Sutherland failed to return the fostered cats to Harvest Hills at the end of an eight-week care period. Sutherland’s role was to help socialize the animals, he said.

“She refused to return the animals, and it was their property,” Silcott said. “Julie’s role in this was to be a foster, and she was supposed to foster the mother and kittens until they were 8 weeks old and then they’d be returned. After the eight weeks, she refused to return them.”

Sutherland said she shouldn’t be held liable for BabyGirl’s condition since the cat was in bad health when she received her after last summer’s cat-hoarding incident, in which about 70 cats were rescued from a home in Casco and temporarily sheltered at the former Casco Memorial elementary school on Route 11. Sutherland visited the shelter, and according to Harvest Hills’ executive director, Joan McBurnie, Sutherland was the only person BabyGirl, which McBurnie described as wild, would allow near her.

“She was known, I guess, as the Cat Whisperer,” McBurnie said of Sutherland. “She was the only one who could get near this one cat and her kittens.”

Sutherland says she brought the cats home and did the best she could to take care of the ailing BabyGirl. She cleaned her thoroughly, brushed her, bathed her eyes with tea bags, and gave her medication for worms and ear mites. She also said she has detailed records of her efforts at providing medical attention for BabyGirl, which she intends to present in court proving she provided medical attention.

“I’ve got all the records, I’ve got charts of everything I did with her,” Sutherland said.

Sutherland also says BabyGirl isn’t the only cat to die from last summer’s cat-hoarding incident in Casco after being fostered or adopted.

“I’ve heard that BabyGirl was between the seventh to 11th cat that has lost its life because they did not get medical care prior to going into somebody’s home,” she said.

Sutherland is also accused of violating a foster agreement with the shelter by not returning BabyGirl’s kittens to Harvest Hills at the end of the fostering period. When she failed to return the cats, McBurnie called police to retrieve the cats from Sutherland’s home.

Sutherland refused to hand over the kittens when visited by a Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office deputy in October, saying she didn’t want to separate BabyGirl and the kittens. Sutherland also says she was under no formal obligation to return the cats, which she had grown attached to.

“There was no contract with Harvest Hills. I was approved for foster, that was it,” she said.

McBurnie confirmed the lack of a contract with Sutherland requiring the return of the cats and says the shelter’s board of directors has since tightened the language in their fostering agreement.

“I’ve been here 11 years. We’ve had lots of people take cats and their babies and never had a problem having them bring them back to us. She broke the mold. Subsequently that made us have to change our contract,” McBurnie said. “Our foster agreement at that time wasn’t clear, but verbally she knew.
 She knew she was fostering those kittens to socialize them to give them the best chance and then they could be readopted through Harvest Hills.”

Sutherland said her motivation to keep the kittens and adopt them out on her own via Facebook was because she thought Harvest Hills would kill the cats if she turned them over. McBurnie says Sutherland’s suspicions were baseless.

“When I approached her to tell her she couldn’t give them away, she wasn’t very nice. She was belligerent to me, told me I would never get the kittens,” McBurnie said. “For some reason, she thought if Harvest Hills got the kittens back we would just euthanize them. I don’t know why she thought that. The whole purpose of the foster care was to bring those kittens around. If they didn’t come around, we work with Friends of Feral Felines.”

Silcott said he rarely summonses people involved in foster care for not providing medical attention. He also said potential adopters or foster families shouldn’t worry about being charged with animal abuse if they follow Maine law regarding care of animals.

“If you’re responsible for an animal, it’s incumbent upon you to provide necessary shelter, sustenance and medical attention. These things are all required,” Silcott said. “As far as people wanting to foster rescue animals, I don’t think it’s anything for them to worry about as long as the animal is treated according to the law.”

(KeepMECurrent.com - March 14, 2013)

3/16/13: Disgraced veterinarian gets probation in cruelty case

MICHIGAN -- An assistant professor in Michigan State University’s veterinary school has been sentenced to probation and ordered to pay more than $10,000 in restitution and costs in an animal neglect case.

 

Patricia Schenck, of Olive Township, pleaded no contest to a reduced misdemeanor charge of malicious destruction of personal property on Friday and was immediately sentenced by 65th District Court Judge Richard Wells, court officials said.

A no-contest plea is not a formal admission of guilt but is treated as a conviction.

She was charged with one felony animal neglect charge after police found 17 dogs and two cats in poor condition at her home in December.

One of the dogs was euthanized. The other animals were taken to shelters.

Schenck was suspended with pay from MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine while the case was pending. Her current status with the university was not immediately clear Friday evening.

An attorney for Schenck did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Schenck was placed on probation for two years and ordered to pay $8,000 to Animal Lodge, a kennel in St. Johns, $1,200 to the Capital Area Humane Society and $800 to a government agency to cover the cost of the animals’ care, the officials said.

She also was assessed $1,450 in fines and costs and ordered to forfeit the animals.

(Lansing State Journal - Mar 15, 2013)

Earlier:

• Dogs rescued after alleged neglect by MSU vet

Georgia: Man who rescued little boy from attacking pit bull says owner just stood there, didn't help

GEORGIA -- When Eddie Deeb heard the growls and the screams, it was almost too late.

He looked out his mother’s kitchen window and saw a gray, broad-shouldered pit bull thrashing, dragging something in his neighbor’s back yard.

“I said, ‘Oh God ... this dog’s on another dog.’ Then ... I saw arms and legs flailing,” Deeb said.

Five-year-old Anthony Ivey’s head was in the dog’s mouth.

Deeb, who had gone in the kitchen to get a glass of tea Thursday afternoon, bolted outside.

“The next thing really I knew, I had a pit bull up in the air,” he said.

He grabbed the dog by its collar and held it out.

“It was like having a good fish out of water ... then he quit fighting,” Deeb said. “He couldn’t bite me. He couldn’t do anything.”

Freed from the dog’s jaws, the boy stood up.

Anthony had cuts on both legs.

“Really bad, like torn flesh,” Deeb said. “The head and the face were completely bloody. ... The child’s scalp was laying on the ground.” One of his eyes was severely injured.

Someone took the boy inside.

And Deeb, left alone clutching the dog, thought, “I don’t know who has who.”

* * *

Rosemary Armstrong has been cleaning house and washing clothes for Charles and Teresa Gay for more than 20 years.

The Gays live near the end of Ousley Place, a dead end off Forest Hill Road in a nearly 50-year-old north Macon neighborhood.

Thursday, Armstrong had brought Anthony and another of her great-great-great-grandchildren, his 9-year-old brother, with her to the house. Their mother was starting a new job and didn’t have a babysitter.

She told the kids to watch TV.

Armstrong said she’d warned the boys about the Gays’ dog outside. “I told them that that gray dog was ... just like a demon.”

At one time, the Gays had five dogs. Three died, she and neighbors said, possibly victims of the pit bull.

She said Charles Gay took the boys outside to play on a swing set.

The next thing Armstrong knew, the older child was running to her saying, “Grandma, the dog’s out there eating up my baby brother!”

Armstrong, 78, rushed out.

Anthony wailed, “Get this dog off me!”

Armstrong spotted a shovel.

“I was gonna pick up that shovel,” she said, “and chop that dog’s head off.”

But she fell.

When Deeb arrived, he heard Armstrong yelling, “Get the dog! Get the dog!” while Charles Gay hollered “No!” to the dog.

Both Armstrong and Deeb said Gay did nothing to restrain his own dog.

Gripping the animal by its collar, raising it in the air, Deeb considered twisting its neck and killing it.

But then the dog quit fighting and quivered, Deeb said, “like a puppy that had just been whupped.”

He let go of the dog and went back to his mother’s house.

Deeb sat down on a bed, shaking his head, breathless.

“I thought he was having a heart attack,” Martha Deeb, his 85-year-old mother, said. “He couldn’t talk.”

Then Eddie Deeb saw the pit bull across the street, near his 12-year-old neighbor Destiny Jackson, who was roller skating.

The dog nipped at her brother Preston, 10. It circled him like a shark and tried to knock him down.

“I saw the pit bull had blood on his mouth,” Preston said. “He was showing his teeth.”

Both children dashed into their house.

Their father, Larry Jackson, said, “It’s just been a disaster waiting to happen.”

* * *

When police arrived, Charles Gay said the children had seemed bored with TV.

So he took them outside.

“We only took a few steps from the house and the dogs charged the kids,” Gay said, according to a police report.

Gay, a lawyer, was jailed Thursday on a child-cruelty charge and bonded out Friday.

An officer noted in a report that Gay was “very nonchalant and even laughed,” saying, “I just never seen him (dog) do anything like that.”

Charles Edward Gay

Gay could not be reached for comment.

The pit bull was euthanized.

Police records show officers were dispatched to a dispute at the Gays’ house in 2008. A neighbor, who had a pitchfork and tried to kill the couple’s dog, claimed the dog had killed his cat. It’s unclear whether the dog was the same one that attacked Anthony Ivey.

* * *

Armstrong said she’s willing to keep working for the Gays, if they still want her.

They’ve treated her like a member of the family.

Anthony was still at The Children’s Hospital at The Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon late Friday.

“That’s a strong little boy,” Armstrong said.

He’s lucky to be alive.

“If (the dog) had gotten to his throat that baby would have been dead,” Armstrong said.

When she visited him Friday, Anthony sat up in his hospital bed and said, “Grandma, don’t cry and don’t be angry. I’m all right.”

(macon.com - March 15, 2013)

Related:

• Macon Boy Mauled by Pit Bull in Critical Condition

3/19/13: Pair Arrested In Georgia Rabbit Hoarding Incident

GEORGIA -- Police who showed up last month at a Georgia home in search of a woman wanted for a probation violation came across an unbelievable sight when they discovered three adults and a 9-year-old child living in what they described as "a 'hoarding' site for rabbits."

A grotesque Dunwoody Police Department report details a scene "more alarming" than the crimes they were there to investigate--a home overrun with at least 77 rabbits as well as a "strong odor of ammonia/urine…throughout the entire residence." 

The bunnies were "freely roaming throughout the interior of the house" with "copious amounts of rabbit feces…observed on the ground, beds, couches, counters, and throughout the house."

The residents--Louis Massood and Dena Guevara, both 47--claimed that they were keeping the rabbits for "'rescue purposes,'" but, as noted by an officer, the home lacked food and water for the animals.

With the consent of Guevara, cops called a bunny rescue that took 64 of the rabbits while an additional 13 rabbits were also turned over to county animal control. But, as police note, they were unable to confirm that there are not more animals "possibly hiding throughout the debris filled house."

Both Massood and Guevara, seen in the above mug shots, were booked into the DeKalb County Jail and charged with animal cruelty. Guevara was also hit with drug possession and an obstruction charge. They are both scheduled for an April 17 court arraignment.

(The Smoking Gun - March 19, 2013)

‘Definitely starving’ horses seized, taken to rescue center

WASHINGTON -- Four emaciated horses are being treated for apparent neglect at Center Valley Animal Rescue after Jefferson County seized them last week.

Sara Penhallegon, director of the rescue center at 11900 Center Road near Quilcene, said the Sheriff’s Office called the center to a home north of Port Hadlock on Thursday to retrieve the four horses, who she said were “definitely starving,” infested with parasites and in need of thousands of dollars in veterinary care.

“They’re crawling in lice, like millions of lice,” Penhallegon said Friday.

Jefferson County Sheriff Anthony Hernandez said Alex Mintz, the county’s animal control officer, served a warrant on the home to seize the horses after receiving a tip of their condition.

Because the sheriff’s investigation is ongoing, Minz would not comment on the case nor name the person whose horses were seized.

Hernandez said he will forward suggested charges of animal cruelty or neglect to the county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

Center Valley Animal Rescue personnel expect to spend the next several months rehabilitating the horses.

The horses are now the temporary property of Jefferson County, and the county will pay the veterinary bills.

This was not the first time deputies have contacted this particular horse owner about his animals’ health, Hernandez said.

“In the past, we worked with him to get the animals out,” Hernandez said.

“Obviously in this particular situation, we felt the animals were in poor enough health we felt they needed to be seized.”

Because of the horses’ health, Hernandez said, his office could seize them without yet citing their owner.

“One of the things when you’re taking somebody’s property is you want to make sure it is absolutely necessary,” Hernandez said.

“That’s why Deputy Minz asked the judge for a warrant: to make sure we were acting with that constitutionality.”

The horses, three mares and one gelding, scored sickly low on a test of their body scale, Penhallegon said.

She and Minz weighed the animals and measured their body fat to rate their bodies on a score scale of 1 to 9.

The oldest horse, a mare about 20 years old, “would have scored 0.5” if the scale went that low, Penhallegon said.

“She just looks like a skeleton,” Penhallegon said.

Two more were rated with a 2 and the other a 3. All four are adult horses.

Healthy horses should have a body scale score of 5, said Jan Richards of Chimacum, who serves as the on-call large-animal veterinarian for the center.

The horses will need to have their teeth repaired and have multiple rounds of treatment to rid them of lice and worms, Penhallegon said.

The horses will start their rehab on a diet of bland grass hay, a low-quality dried cut intended to inject fiber through their digestive systems.

Penhallegon said their weakened systems would not tolerate rich, green hay. Sometime next week, they will begin eating food that is easy to swallow and high in fat.

“They all have the potential of being beautiful horses,” Penhallegon said.

The horses are among some 150 animals being cared for now at the rescue center.

Penhallegon said she has seen an increase recently in the number of animals that have been turned in to the center.

Both Penhallegon and Hernandez blamed economic woes as the primary cause of neglect or abandonment.

“People just don’t have the money anymore, or they’ve lost their jobs and they can’t afford high-quality feed for their animals,” Penhallegon said.

“I don’t think it’s intentional,” Hernandez said.

“A lot of times, owners, because of the economic situation we’re in right now, they get in over their heads.”

The rescue center is a no-kill facility that provides rehabilitation for unwanted, injured or abandoned domesticated and wild animals, ranging from small animals such as dogs, cats and birds to larger animals.

Some are offered for adoption, while others are given a permanent home.

The center operates primarily on donations and uses volunteer labor.

Visiting hours are the first Friday of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

(Peninsula Daily News - March 31. 2013)

3/06/13: Gwinnett County man charged after 3 horses found malnourished

GEORGIA -- Gwinnett County police are investigating a case of animal cruelty after three horses were found suffering from malnutrition.

"When we got there, one horse was down and could not get up. It had urinated all over itself.  It was freezing cold that morning. There were two other horses in the back side of the pasture were underweight," said Michael Chatham with Gwinnett County Animal Control.

 

  

 

Once the horses were discovered, a veterinarian had to euthanize one of them because of the severity of his condition.

"It's very disturbing, nothing should be in this condition, especially a horse. They are dependent on people to get food. There was nothing in that pasture for them to eat but mud," said Chatham.

The owner of the horses, Andres Ramirez, turned himself in to police on Feb. 28 after he was accused of leaving the horses for two months without food.

Police charged Ramirez with three misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. He told police he went to Mexico (back in December) and told his nephew to care for the horses. Police said they never located Ramirez's nephew.

The Georgia Equine Rescue League took custody of the two surviving horses. They are with a foster family in Monroe.

Cindy Farris is carrying for them.

"It makes me really sad that people get animals like this and treat them this way," said Farris.
Farris said this is the worst case of neglect she has seen.

"You can clearly see both horse's ribs and their hip bones are sticking up," said Farris.

The horses are eating and showing signs of recovery after only being with Farris one day.

Farris said it will take about eight months to nurse them back to health.

(cbsatlanta - Mar 6, 2013)

Sheep killed in horror dog attack in Newsome

UNITED KINGDOM -- A woman has spoken of her horror after her pet sheep was savaged to death by a pit bull-type dog.

Christine Wood, of Newsome, said she couldn’t bear to think about what had happened to her sheep of 16 years, which was killed by a dog which got into her smallholding.

The dog also attacked a pygmy goat, called Herbie, ripping his face.

The goat was saved by quick-thinking neighbours Kevin Baldwin and his auntie Lynne Strafford who rushed to help without a thought for their own safety.

Mrs Strafford grabbed the dog by the collar and pulled it off petrified Herbie, which had been rescued by Mrs Wood after a previous attack by a dog.

Mrs Wood, 57, hailed her neighbours and said: “They were so brave in tackling the dog.

“They didn’t care about themselves. They just wanted to stop it killing the goat.”

Herbie, dripping in blood, had his nose slashed and was left breathing through a gaping wound. He has been treated by a vet and had the wound stapled. If it fails to heal poor Herbie will have to be put down.

It was only when Mr Baldwin, 27, took Herbie into a stable straight after the attack that he found the body of the sheep, ironically named Lucky.

It had been suffered horrific facial injuries, a broken jaw and broken leg.

Mr Baldwin told how the blood-soaked dog seemed exhausted as Mrs Strafford pulled it off.

She ordered the dog to sit and put it on a lead. The animal immediately became docile and obedient.

The attack happened at the smallholding in Manor Street at about 1pm on Thursday.

Mrs Wood was out at the time and Mr Baldwin only became aware of the horror when he saw two men standing nearby.

He opened his front door to see the goat being attacked and the strangers apparently watching.

Mrs Strafford went for the dog while Mr Baldwin got some salt water to treat the goat – and then found the sheep. They called police and held the dog for half-an-hour.

Before a police community support officer arrived on foot, a man appeared from woods and asked what had happened.

Mr Baldwin said: “We told him the dog had attacked and killed a sheep and attacked a goat and in a matter of seconds he had unclipped our lead, attached his own and was gone with the dog. I followed him up the hill but by the time I’d got to the top he had disappeared.”

The two men he first saw nearby went and came back and “seemed to be enjoying themselves”, said Mr Baldwin.

The dog, whose muzzle was covered in blood, was described as a pitbull or Staffordshire bull terrier-cross. It was a light tan colour with white markings on its paws and a thick collar.

The man who took it away was white, aged 25-30, of medium build, about 5ft 8in tall, with light strawberry blond hair and ginger stubble. He wore a blue body warmer, blue tracksuit bottoms and a grey woolly hat.

Mr Baldwin said: “It was terrifying. It could be a child next.”

Mrs Wood, who has another sheep and a goat, said she hoped the dog and its owner were found and added: “People should be accountable for their dogs. This man was just so callous it’s unbelievable.”

PC Leeanne Dickinson of Huddersfield South NPT is investigating and said: “This was an appalling incident and extremely distressing for the owners of the animals. Both were regarded as family pets. They clearly had no chance against the strength of this dog.

“The owner also appeared unconcerned, having made away from the scene in full knowledge of what had happened. It is important that we trace the identity of this man and ensure he answers for this extremely upsetting incident.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact PC Rebecca Calpin at Huddersfield Police Station on 101.

(examiner.co.uk - Mar 25 2013)

3/18/13: Owner defends dog killed for attacking police

CANADA -- A pit bull was shot and killed and an officer is recovering from a bite wound after a routine patrol on Annacis Island turned violent Saturday night.

Delta police said two officers and a police dog were walking along the shoreline near the 700-block of Chester Road when they were charged by two pit bulls.

Police said one officer struck one of the attacking dogs with his baton, causing it to flee, but the other pit bull bit the second officer’s hand and then attacked the police dog.

After trying to fend off the attack the officer was forced to fire his gun, fatally wounding the pit bull with one shot, police said.

The owner of the six-year-old pit bull, named Diesel, said he was asleep at around 10:30 p.m. when the altercation happened.

Gerard Brewer's pit bull Hena walks on a dock outside his houseboat in
Delta, B.C. Brewer's other pit bull, Diesel, was shot and killed by police
officers who said the dog attacked them and their police dog.

“I was in bed asleep, Diesel went out rushing, I heard bang bang bang, that’s it,” said Gerard Brewer, who resides in a houseboat under the Annacis Channel Bridge.

Brewer claimed his son Mike and his girlfriend arrived shortly after and the pair were immediately arrested on suspicion of obstruction of justice. They were also accused of setting the dogs loose on police.

Brewer denied those accusations, saying there’s been bad blood between him and police ever since he parked his houseboat under the bridge two years ago.

He said his dog Mary was put down by authorities last year, and Mike Brewer said the houseboat has previously been raided by police.

“We all got arrested for possession of stolen property, they never found any. The charges were dropped,” Mike Brewer said.

As for the dogs, he said they aren’t the vicious animals they were made out to be.

“All of our dogs that we’ve ever had are the most friendly dogs you’ll ever meet,” he said. “They’d never ever even think of biting a person.”

Just across the water in Queensborough, a resident familiar with the derelict houseboat is asking why Brewer can live where he does without paying moorage.

“We tried to have the houseboat removed, then we got referred to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, they weren’t it,” Tom Nichols said. “Then it was referred to the Attorney General and they’re trying to hang an injunction to have it removed and it’s still sitting there.”

Nichols also said police suspected somebody living in the houseboat of committing a series of burglaries that took place in his neighbourhood.

“We don’t know if they’re responsible for everything, but the major break-ins, the police in New Westminster suspect that’s who did it.”

Brewer said he doesn’t want to stay in the houseboat, which occupies federal waters, but he needs to do numerous repairs before he can move it.

Meanwhile, the officer bitten in Saturday’s incident was taken to hospital where he received stitches for his wound, while the police dog suffered puncture wounds to the head, ear and eye area. The dog is still receiving medical attention, police said.

Police are conducting an operational review into the incident.

(ctvnews - March 18, 2013)

Despite dog having attacked two people, owner says it's unfair to label dog as 'dangerous'

IDAHO -- A Soda Springs woman believes city and police officials have unfairly labeled her dog as vicious, and she said she plans to continue fighting their designation even if she has to take the issue to court.

Angela Stoor said she’s had her dog, Tank, a mixed Rottweiler and American Bulldog breed, for nearly seven years. And she thinks its unfair that city and police officials have decided to label him as vicious based on two incidents — years apart —in which she believes the animal was simply trying to protect her children.

But city and police officials don’t see it that way.

They say the animal bit a boy while he was walking down the street, and a UPS employee who was delivering a package.

“This is a pretty serious incident. Two people have been bitten unprovoked,” said Teresa Watkins, the city’s animal control supervisor.

Under the city’s vicious dog ordinance — which has been in place since 2001, but has never been used until Tank’s case — authorities can deem a dog vicious if they feel they have probable cause to do so. Police and city officials both held hearings on the matter, and both came to the same conclusion: Tank is a vicious animal.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Watkins said, adding that she knows Tank means a lot to Stoor’s family, but at the same time, officials believe he presents a threat to people. “If a dog bites people more than once, especially unprovoked, we have to protect our citizens.”

But Stoor doesn't think Tank presents a threat to the public. She said he’s been around people for the past seven years with only the two incidents — the first involving the boy, which occurred back in 2010, and the second which occurred in January. And despite officials’ conclusions, she believes the animal was provoked in both situations since he likely perceived the individuals as threats to her children.

Stoor said the boy ran up to her children while shouting a greeting; Tank bit him, breaking some skin, but he didn’t have to have any stitches, she said, adding that she felt terrible about the incident and did everything she could to make sure the boy was OK.

In the second more serious incident, Stoor said she left two of her children at home while she went to pick up her son from Boy Scouts. While she was gone, a UPS employee stopped at the home to deliver a package.

The children didn’t answer the door at first, but they later opened it wide enough to grab the package while the UPS employee was heading back to his truck. Stoor said her children told her that the man started hollering at them not to let the dog out and that’s when Tank exited the home and bit him. She believes the dog once again perceived the situation as a threat to the kids.

But whether or not Tank was protecting the children, officials say he still bit two people who weren’t intentionally doing anything to provoke him. And that’s why they decided to label him as vicious.
“He’s protective (and he may have been) protecting the family, but he can’t bite people, especially if they’re unprovoked bites,” Watkins said. “Unfortunately, animal control has to step in and take steps.”

Under the ordinance, the vicious animal designation means the Stoors will either have to get rid of the animal, or take several precautions to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone again. They will have to get a $500,000 liability insurance policy on the dog, and keep him muzzled and on a leash anytime he leaves the property. In addition, they will have to display warning signs at their home, and keep Tank in a locked enclosure among other conditions.

Although the family only has 30 days, as of March 6, to comply with the conditions, Stoor said she plans to continue fighting the designation and the requirements that come with it.

“We feel it’s inhumane to do that to our dog,” she said, adding that if anything, the conditions will turn a good dog — which has been allowed to move freely on the property for years — into a bad one.

And she said Tank is a good dog.

“We have three kids and we could not afford to harbor a viscous dog in our house,” she said, adding that she would have no qualms about getting rid of him if he was a dangerous animal.

But she describes Tank as a family dog who goes with them on camping trips, and even swims and rides snow machines with them.

“He’s like one of my kids,” she said. “He’s such a sweet dog.”

(Idaho State Journal - Mar 29, 2013)

Tempe woman attacked by dog wants owner to pay medical bill

ARIZONA -- A Tempe woman was attacked by a female Pit bull mix while on a walk with her dog.

"I picked up my dog and before I knew it the Pit bull bit me on my arm and knocked me on the ground," said Joanne Penneso.

She tried holding onto her small dog Rudy, who was also bitten on his backside.
 

Penneso said she "…was basically staring at death in the face."

Her arm was nearly ripped off and the bite left her skin black and blue.

"I was on the ground. I was wrestling with a Pit bull saying ‘My life could be over just like that.’ It was the scariest thing I've ever had to go through and on top of that to deal with animal control who in my opinion really needs to change their system," said Penneso.

She called Maricopa County Care and Animal Control (MCCAC) several times to find out what happened to the dog, but heard nothing.

Penneso wanted the dog's owner to pay her $300 medical bill.

Instead of getting an update, she got a letter from MCCAC asking her to pay for public records, something Penneso considered a slap in the face.

3TV learned the dog was euthanized because no one claimed her.

MCCAC’s policy is to only share this information with the pet owner, not the victim.

That's why Pennesso was left in the dark, but according to MCCAC spokesperson Audie Greabear this could change.

"We could start looking into, letting the victims know, disclosing the information of the outcome of the animal to the victim, so they could feel more secure in their neighborhood and feel more safe." said Greabear.

A change in policy is exactly what Penneso wants.

"If I hadn't called you I would still be afraid right now not knowing if that dog was euthanized or went back to an owner," she said.

As for her medical bill, she has to pay it because the dog didn’t have an owner.

(azfamily.com  - March 28, 2013)

Bleeding Clinton woman crawls, screams to escape attacking dog

WASHINGTON -- A young Clinton woman feels she was lucky to escape death when attacked by a vicious dog, leaving her with serious head wounds and other bites to her back and arms.

Amanda Gates, a slim 19-year-old brunette, was housesitting March 20 for an acquaintance, Elisbetta Poggie-Blethen, at her home on Deer Lake Road. Three dogs were chained outside: two 5 month old dogs named Sprocket and Tazzy and an adult male dog named Axel, a German Shepherd / Siberian Husky mix chained to a runner.

On her way to run some errands, Gates noticed the two younger dogs were tangled up in their chains. She went to straighten things out as the guard dog was barking. She took notice when the barking stopped.

“I looked up to see him charging straight at me,” she said Thursday morning, recovering at the home of her step-mother Tresha Machemia who lives at the bottom of Swede Hill Road. “My brain stopped working. I just turned around to run.”

While the dog was attached to a strong chain, he pulled the chain from the runner and went after the girl, according to Carol Barnes, Island County Animal Control Officer.

The big dog knocked Gates down and started biting her. He got a grip on the back of her neck, ripping a big hole in the hood of her thick winter jacket. “There were deep cuts on the hood where my neck was and on the jacket where my spine was. The jacket saved my life,” she said.

As she screamed, the dog went for her head, grasping it in his jaws and shaking her. “It was like a dream, I felt teeth, my head shaking, then screaming, then the worst pain I’d ever felt,” she recounted.

The young woman crawled, crying and screaming for help, toward Deer Lake Road with the dog still nipping at her body.

When she reached the road she managed to stand up and flag down a passing car. Amazingly, an occupant was a nurse who has not yet been identified. “She was so supportive and kind and used her own jacket to pillow my own head which was bleeding a lot,” she said.

The nurse’s male companion confronted the dog which lunged toward him, but then ran into the woods.

Gates was taken by Whidbey General Hospital by ambulance. Doctors in the ER used 29 stitches to patch two gashes in her skull, which are barely visible through her thick hair. Another wound required three stitches, and bandages were used to cover bruises and scratches, some from the dog and some from crawling through weeds to the road.

Gates said she had difficulty sleeping Wednesday night because of the pain. She spent some time looking on the Internet and on one site she heard a dog bark. “I was paralyzed with fear,” she said.

Officer Barnes issued three citations to the dog’s owner, beginning the process of having it declared a dangerous dog. Its shots were up to date, included rabies, so she allowed the owner to keep it in her house, or take it outside on a leash.

“The investigation is continuing,” Barnes said. “The kid is very fortunate.”

She commended the helpful nurse for her actions and would like to know who she is. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call ICOM’s non-emergency number, 360-341-4400. A fund to help with medical expenses is established at Whidbey Island Bank.

(South Whidbey Record - March 28, 2013)

3/14/13: Pit Bull attack in Blair leaves one dog dead another injured

OKLAHOMA -- Two dogs in the Blair community were severely wounded after pit bulls entered a fenced yard Sunday and attacked them. One of the dogs died after the attack, and the other is still being treated.

According to the dog’s owner, Joanne Watkins, the dog that died was a neutered, 14-year-old German Shepherd/Lab/Shar Pei mix named Boomer, and the other dog, Jimmie, is a neutered Saint Bernard/Shar Pei mix, who has been kept inside the house since the incident.

According to reports, the Watkins dogs were inside a chain link fenced yard Sunday morning when two Pit Bulls came into the yard by going under the fence, and attacked them. Watkins said that a neighbor saw the attacks and tried to fend the Pit Bulls off with a rake.

Blair Police have the Pit Bulls in custody, and have cited their owner, Stefin Vargas, twice for dogs running at large. Blair Police Chief Joe Poulin said that he is currently talking with the District
Attorneys office about how to continue with the matter. Poulin said that the dogs will be held at least until Vargas can provide proof of rabies vaccination for one of the dogs.

The incident happened in east Blair in the Stonehocker area on Sunday morning, March 10.

A signed document from the Watkins’ veterinarian stated that both dogs sustained severe bite wounds over a large portion of their body. “There was little indication that they fought back as there were no wounds about their mouth. Jimmie’s wounds were primarily over the back quarters, indicating that he was trying to get away. Boomer’s wounds were primarily about the chest and neck thus preventing him from self-defense.”

The document from veterinarian Kenneth O’Hanlon also stated, “The two dogs that attacked these dogs should not ever be considered safe around other dogs or children.”

(Altus Times - Mar 14, 2013)

3/22/13: Akita dog seized as girl, 9, savaged in Holme Wood, Bradford, street

UNITED KINGDOM -- A nine-year-old girl has undergone plastic surgery after being mauled by a Japanese Akita dog in Bradford.

She was walking to a shop when she was dragged to the ground and badly bitten on her forearm. It is believed she also suffered a lesser facial wound.

The incident happened in Broadstone Way, Holme Wood, after the Akita is understood to have pulled away from its handler. Witnesses said the handler ran off with the dog after the attack.

Staff at the Co-operative store in Broadstone Way took the injured girl inside and looked after her while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

One worker, who did not want to be named, said: “It was a disgusting incident that should not have happened. The young girl had simply walked past the dog which was on a lead.”

A man, who described himself as a relative of the girl, said he had seen pictures of her injuries, including a bite to her lip.

Another woman said she was told the Akita’s handler ran off afterwards.

The woman, who did not want to be identified, said: “The Akita is the only dog of its kind living on the street and it is well-known by local residents. It is an angry dog and out of control.”

(Telegraph and Argus - March 22, 2013)

Child recovering after dog attack in Monroe

LOUISIANA -- A 5-year-old boy is recovering at his Bienville Parish home after a dog attacked him in Monroe.

Children were dodging rain drops this Easter for the chance to play outside, but Aiden Stevenson can't go outside to play. Last week while staying with his grandmother in Monroe, a pit bull attacked Aiden, biting him in the face.

"They always tell them not to come back here because they know about the dogs or whatever," says the dog's owner, Chelsea Carter. She says Aiden was playing with her children when they went into the backyard where the dogs were chained. When he got too close, the dog attacked.

After two emergency surgeries, it's not over for the Kindergartner.

"They went into his jaw, and that's whenever they realized it's not just fractured, it's pretty much crushed," says Aiden's father Joe Stevenson, "the doctor says he will have to have plastic surgery at some point for the scarring, and depending on how the jaw heals, they may have to go back in and do an adjustment there, too."

The dog was taken by Ouachita Parish Animal Control to be monitored for rabies, but will be released to its owners later this week.

"The only thing they can say is, well, if it happens again we'll put the dog down. Well if it happens again, it may kill another child," says Stevenson.

Because the dog was on a leash, animal control officers say no laws were violated.

(KNOE - Mar 31, 2013)

Warren county official addresses shelter cruelty allegations in Tennessee

TENNESSEE -- On Thursday, Warren County Executive John Pelham, gave WSMV News a tour of the Warren County, Tenn., animal shelter in response to allegations that dogs at the facility are being neglected, and possibly abused.

Pelham advised WSMV News that the dogs who appeared to be starved may have looked that way because the facility had not fed them on the day that they were to be transported to the rescue agency, Big Fluffy Dog Rescue.

 

The explanation strikes most as "absurd."

One individual who commented on the WSMV publication stated:

“Dogs don't appear starved after missing one meal. I'm amazed at some of the bone-headed excuses people make when they get caught doing something wrong."

According to the rescue agency which spear-headed the allegations against the Warren County animal shelter, they believe that officials are utilizing "spin control" to avoid the truth.

Big Fluffy Dog Rescue noted "lie #1," from the facility is their statement that they have only "euthanized" three animals in the last several months. One of those animals, they admit, was the husky named "Mila."

There does not appear to be any explanation as to why Mila's body, which was discarded in "the pit," is bloodied, and why she appeared to have been attacked, rather than "euthanized."

Though the facility officials claim that they have only put three dogs down, the rescue agency has a recent photo of a pile of puppies in the pit behind the facility - puppies who likely were not all "road kill," as the facility contends.

Which leads to the next alleged "lie," that the only dogs in the death pit are those which are road kill.

One savvy reader of the most recent Big Fluffy Dog Facebook post noticed that the only animals in the pit are dogs - there are no signs of other wildlife which would typically be found as casualties on a roadway.

The rescue agency intends to continue releasing proof that their allegations against this facility are true, stating:

“until they own up to the problem, we will continue to prove that they are lying. This is a game they cannot win."

(Examiner - Mar 29, 2013)

3/19/13: Mother of little boy killed by pit bull hopes for criminal charges in the case

ILLINOIS -- The mother the 7-year old boy killed by a pit bull in Galesburg says she is hoping some kind of criminal charges are filed in the attack.

Ryan Maxwell died March 2nd after the pit bull lunged for his throat and face.

“I’m angry at myself. I’m angry at the dog. I’m angry at the dog’s owner. Sometimes I’m angry with God, because it’s not fair, it’s not fair, said Sarah Mead, the boy’s mother in an interview Monday with News 8.

She says Ryan had gone rollerskating at a local rink for the first time. He was sleeping over at the home, owned by Sarah’s fiancee’s family.

“I called him the next morning and he said ‘I want to stay and play longer, Mom’.. I said alright, I love you. He told me he loved me too and those were the last words I said to him”, Mead said.

“I thought the dogs were in the garage or in the backyard chained up”, she said, adding there were three other children who lived in the house.

Police are still investigating the circumstances that lead to the attack. Ryan’s grandfather Tom Mead says he plans to meet with Galesburg’s mayor about steps that can be taken to strengthen the city’s ordinances.

He said he wishes pit bulls could be banned from the city, but outlawing specific breeds is not allowed in Illinois.

“Something’s got to be done to stop this from happening to another kid”, Mead said. “My wife and I wake up crying and go to bed crying. There’s just constant sorrow around here. He was the center of everything here”, Mead said.
 

The pit bull was shot by police after he refused to let go of the little boy, and then turned on the officers.

“I’ll never know what happened out there that day. What made that dog do that? I feel there needs to be justice for Ryan. Something needs to be done for Ryan”, Mead said.

(WQAD - Mar 19, 2013)

Earlier:

• A family speaks out after losing their son to a pit bull
• Dog kills 7-year-old boy in Galesburg

Animal Control seeks Pit mix in dog bite incident

OREGON -- Douglas County Animal Control is looking for a dog that they say bit a woman in Sutherlin on Monday.

The County Environmental Health department said a spotted black and white Pit bull (possibly a mix) bit a woman at 8 pm Monday when she was trying to break up two fighting dogs at the corner of W 6th and Grant Street.

Officials said they are looking for the dog only for observation, which is required by law.

Anyone with information about the dog or its owner is asked to call Environmental Health at 541-440-3574 or Douglas County Animal Control at 541-440-4471.

(KPIC News - Mar 29, 2013)

Manatee dad kills family dog to retrieve son's finger, but doctors can't re-attach it

FLORIDA -- How far will a father go to help his young son out of danger?

Luis Brignoni, 41, a Bradenton-area landscaper, found out Friday when one of the family dogs bit off his son's pinky finger and swallowed it.

Brignoni rushed out to his fenced backyard with a gun and killed the dog, cut its stomach open, and retrieved the digit, carefully sending it with his bleeding son aboard a helicopter to a St. Petersburg hospital.

The child, Fernando Brignoni, 11, was later transferred to Tampa General Hospital, where doctors were unable to re-attach his finger during emergency surgery, but the boy is doing well, said his dad today.

"You don't know what you will do for your child," the elder Brignoni explained. "You don't know where you get the strength from."

Brignoni, who said he had been a hunter for many years, said his son had attempted to pet the caged dog, a Malamute-wolf mix named Sassy, at about 6 p.m. Friday when the animal grabbed his hand.

Hearing screams, Fernando's brother, Luis, 13, hit the dog over the head so it would let go. When Fernando finally got free, the finger had been entirely bitten off, and the dog who had swallowed it was running around the yard.

The boy's dad knew he had no choice: "I said, 'I've got to go find the finger,'" Brignoni said. "I got my gun and I popped him."

[Earlier story says he removed the dog from its kennel and shot it multiple times. If you've been a "hunter for many years", do you not know how to do a kill shot that causes the least amount of terror and pain to an animal? And why, if the dog was in a 'cage', was he then 'running around the yard'? This story is not making sense.]

By the time a sheriff's deputy got there, Brignoni was cutting the dog open.

Doctors decided that nerve damage precluded the finger's re-attachment, Brignoni said.

Brignoni and his wife, Millie, returned to their home on 22nd Street Court East Saturday at 6:30 a.m. after seeing Fernando through emergency surgery in Tampa.

On his iPhone, Brignoni carried a picture of Fernando, a student at Oneco Elementary, lying peacefully in bed at the hospital.

Deputies said a preliminary investigation supported Brignoni's account of the events, and the incident appeared to have been an accident, according to a release from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

Manatee County Animal Services took possession of the remains of the dog, the news release said.

Brignoni, who is an ordained minister for the nondenominational Love Family Church, planned to postpone Easter services for a week.

He recalled that Fernando had mentioned that it was Good Friday, an important day for Christians, when Jesus Christ is said to have died on the cross.

"He said, 'Dad, this is Good Friday, and it's not so good,'" the elder Brignoni recalled.

Fernando is slated for release from Tampa General Hospital on Monday, he said.

(bradenton.com - Mar 30, 2013)

Earlier:

• Bradenton boy loses finger in dog bite

Family 'shattered' by dog attack death

NEW ZEALAND - The family of a woman mauled to death by two dogs on Good Friday say they are "shocked" by the violent incident.

They say the loss has shattered the family and they are in deep pain and agony trying to cope.

Police confirmed yesterday Chloe Jane Mathewson, 31, was attacked by two of three Rottweilers at the Auckland property where her savaged body was found early on Friday.

Her father, Jim Mathewson, said the family was struggling to cope with the shock of her violent death.

"We're shattered, just shattered. We're still trying to process everything," he said.

In a statement he said, "Chloe is our only much loved daughter and sister to Ben. She was a much wanted child. I was present at her birth and gave her her first feed and we bonded forever. We called her Chloe which is Greek for 'blooming, beautiful'."

He said she tragically looked after everyone but herself.

"She has had serious addictions which Ben and I have worked to exhaustion to help her overcome. This beautiful young woman, when clean and free from her addictions, would have made a truly positive contribution to our society."

Severe attack
The attack was so severe police were initially unable to tell if the dogs had killed Mathewson or mauled her body after she was dead, disguising evidence of a homicide.

Detective Inspector Greg Cramer yesterday said a post-mortem examination confirmed Mathewson suffered horrific injuries inflicted by the dogs.

"It appears she has wandered out of the dwelling and shortly afterwards was set upon by two of the dogs," he said.

Police made no comment on whether Mathewson had been taking drugs. The pilates instructor was a known visitor to the house where she died.

A source familiar with the scene said it was his understanding she had gone outside the house on Rodeo Dr in Auckland's North Shore and started dancing, prompting the attack.

All three Rottweilers from the property were seized by Animal Control and put down within hours of the attack. The 52-year-old man who lived at the property was "assisting with our investigation", Cramer said.

Fatal canine attacks in New Zealand
1969 - farmer killed by a mixed-breed farm dog.

1997 - 59-year-old Te Puke man killed by two bull-terrier-cross dogs. The dogs were trained to hunt pigs, but turned on their owner when he tried to stop them fighting.

2003 - 73-year-old Northland woman dies after being bitten on the foot by one of her three pure-breed Alaskan malamutes. The bite hits an artery and she bleeds to death in her chair.

2004 - 39-year-old Dunedin woman savaged to death by her pet bull mastiff dog. The dog weighed 55kg -- the women weighed 46kg.

2007 - 56-year-old Murupara woman attacked by a pit bull terrier and a staffordshire cross in a suburban street. She loses a large amount of blood and dies of shock in an ambulance on the way to hospital.

(New Zealand Herald - Mar 31, 2013)

Earlier:

• Attack not the first for killer dogs
• Redvale woman killed by dogs

Dogs killed Jade. They nearly killed our Keiron. Why is no one to blame?

Family of savaged boy demand change of dangerous dog laws

UNITED KINGDOM -- THE parents of a toddler savaged by a dog are demanding a crackdown on dangerous pets after teenager Jade Lomas-Anderson was mauled to death.

Stacey Drury and Anthony Guess told last night how two-year-old son Keiron is recovering after almost being killed by a neighbour’s dog.

And they said Jade’s death showed Britain’s dangerous dog laws need an urgent overhaul so that owners are brought to justice when their animals attack.

Stacey, 23, said: “Owners cannot be prosecuted if their dog attacks on private property.

“This means that legally no one was responsible for what happened to Keiron, and probably no one will be held responsible for the horrific death of Jade.

“Our goal is to see owners prosecuted regardless of where their dog attacks someone.”

Anthony, 26, added: “We’ve got to make owners accountable for their dogs’ actions.

“It was a miracle Keiron survived his attack, this time a young girl has died. We’ve got to do something, this can’t keep happening. These laws need to be changed, now.”

Keiron needed life-saving surgery after he was attacked by a Staffordshire bull terrier in a back garden near his home in Swindon, Wilts, last June.

He lost the sight in his left eye and had an ear bitten off.

The dog was put down but no one was charged over the attack.

Keiron just after the horror attack

Stacey and Anthony joined forces with The Sun to campaign for new laws to prevent a repeat — and last month legislation was passed meaning all dogs must now be microchipped.

But Stacey said Jade’s killing by a pack of dogs this week in Atherton, Greater Manchester, brought memories of Keiron’s attack flooding back — and showed the new law does not go far enough.

Stacey said: “It was horrible to hear about Jade, we were both really upset. It makes us think how lucky Keiron was to survive. We’ve been to hell and back, but at least he is alive — we still have our son. Our hearts go out to the family of that poor girl.”

Keiron’s injuries were so severe that doctors gave Stacey and Anthony the chance to say goodbye to their son.

Stacey said: “I couldn’t kiss his face, it wasn’t there any more, so I kissed his stomach and told him, ‘Mummy loves you’.”

Surgeons spent ten hours operating on Keiron to save his life, then put him in a coma for a week to give his tiny body a chance of recovering. But he amazed medics by battling through, and has since undergone TEN operations to rebuild his face.

Keiron, who has a four-year-old brother Mackenzie and a baby sister Holly-Marie, still faces another series of ops — including one to reconstruct his ear.

Stacey said: “We were devastated to learn he would never be able to see out of his left eye, and that’s it for the rest of his life. But we focus on the fact he survived.

“Hospitals have become a way of life for him and he never complains. After the attack he had terrible nightmares and sudden bursts of anger. He may need counselling when he gets older, but for now he’s back to his old self — a happy little boy.”

Scaffolder Anthony said: “The surgeons performed miracles. They not only saved Keiron’s life, they’ve given him back his face.”

(The Sun - Mar 28, 2013)

Earlier:

• Toddler suffers severe facial injuries in horrific dog attack
• Family of dog attack victim can't wait to see his smile again
• "The dog tore Keiron’s face to pieces"