New York: After her elderly Husky is mauled by two Pit Bulls, owner finds out that courts can't order vicious dog owners to pay up unless you can prove they knew their dog was vicious. Now she's stuck with a critically injured dog and the bills.

NEW YORK -- This is Blaze, a gentle 11-year old Husky face-licking machine whose favorite thing to do  is to hike on trails and country roads.  Because she is a “wolfdog,” and because old age and arthritis are creeping up on her, her owner is diligent in the goal of walking her at least three miles a day.

Which is what we were doing one fateful Saturday evening when we got attacked by an unleashed mother and daughter pit bull duo on a country road.

The pit bulls pounced on Blaze, the mother locking onto Blaze’s throat and dragging her to the ground; as the daughter proceeded to chow on Blaze’s front legs like they were Thanksgiving dinner.  I desperately screamed for help, but no one responded.  

For what seemed like 10 to 15 minutes, I tried to pull the dogs off, hit them with rocks, branches, etc. but this also had absolutely no effect, and I endured multiple puncture wounds that had to be treated at the emergency room that evening due to infection. 

Ultimately, I was able to grab the choke collar of the smaller dog and drag her into an unlocked car that was parked nearby.  But when the mother saw the choke collar in my hand, she became threatened by it, and she finally let go of Blaze’s neck and trotted back towards her home.

With the neck lock broken, traumatized Blaze was finally able to stand, and limped down the road, the leash dangling on her side, and a trail of blood behind her.  My friends helped me bring her to the vet, who said the wounds were serious and he wasn’t sure if she would make it through the night.  Before shaving off her fur and cleaning up the wounds, he said it would cost $600 to euthanize and cremate her; or about $1,500 to proceed with emergency care.

But when I picked her up the next day, the bill had increased to $2,200 that I simply did not have.  In addition, the vet cautioned that the wounds were serious, and further vet visits would be required.

Blaze came home and started a long process of recovery.  The antibiotics that she was on had very little effect on the wounds, so she had to go back to the vet to get a different antibiotic and more painkillers.  This time, the antibiotics worked, but it took a full three weeks from the day of the attack until the last “plug” of puss came out of the deepest puncture wound.

At that point, the vet said he would no longer see Blaze until we cleared the $2,300 bill.

In the meantime, the pit bull owner refused to help with the bill and was brought to small claims court.  The judge was sympathetic to Blaze’s case, but he ruled this October 2017 that while the pit bull owner had a moral responsibility to pay for the medical expenses, the Judge could not mandate it.  

Turns out there is a law in New York State that says if there is no previous indication of an animal’s viciousness, then the owner can’t be held legally responsible for damages when the animal's behavior changes.  

I don't know why the judge couldn't rule on property damage. After all, animals are considered property. If this guy had knocked down your mailbox, he'd have to pay for damages. If he had let a shopping cart hit your car in the parking lot of the grocery store, he'd have to pay for damages. I think a creative judge could have figured something out...

Because of the long recovery, Blaze’s muscles have atrophied and the injuries and/or arthritis settled in.  To this date, Blaze still has not regained her former speed or gait, and she often limps and trips.  In addition, about six months after the attack, Blaze came down with urinary and/or kidney infection, likely a candida overgrowth or damaged kidneys from the antibiotics and medications that she was on.

Despite this, Blaze is eating well, drinking (maybe a bit too much), and still loves her walks on the rail trail.

However, she desperately needs a follow-up visit with the vet to see if anything else is blocking her recovery.  As of this point, the medical bills are about $2,300, but she needs lab work to find out if she has a UTI, yeast overgrowth, decreased kidney function or arthritis from all of the antibiotics and painkillers she was on.  This could be up to another $500.

Please consider helping Blaze come to a full recovery so she can enjoy her senior years without a lot of pain.  As a wolfdog, she needs to walk and run 3 to 5 miles a day to maintain flexibility and joint health.  If unresolved medical issues from the pit bull attack prevent her from doing this, she will certainly have to be put down a lot sooner.

We would be grateful for any help you can give!!!!!!!!!!

GoFundMe: Blaze's Vet Bills From Dog Attack
Created October 19, 2017
Debra Durstewitz
  Animals
  SOUTH FALLSBURG, NY
$100 of $2,800 goal
Raised by 1 person in 3 days

Arizona: Adam Frankel, 33, beat a police K9 with a rock breaking three of its teeth. Now he's been charged with Animal Cruelty

ARIZONA -- Mohave County Sheriff’s Office says a man faces numerous charges after running from MCSO deputies and hitting an Arizona Department of Public Safety K-9 with a rock and breaking three of its teeth Thursday morning.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Adam Benjamin Frankel, 33, of Kingman on three counts of cruelty to animals, escape, criminal damage, felonies, along with disorderly conduct per domestic violence, a misdemeanor.

According to sheriff’s spokeswoman Trish Carter, at about 6:30 a.m. deputies responded to a domestic violence report at a home in the 11600 block of East Blake Ranch Road, northeast of the Petro Truck Stop on Interstate 40.

Dispatchers told deputies a woman said her nephew assaulted her. As deputies arrived at the scene, they saw a gray vehicle drive off. They also spotted two women in the vehicle when it stopped near their patrol vehicle.

As deputies exited their vehicle, a man later identified as Frankel, got out of the backseat of the gray vehicle and ran toward the home. Deputies caught Frankel and walked him back to the vehicles.

Deputies talked to the women, one who was identified as Frankel’s 46-year-old aunt, who said he was abusive, grabbed her and threw her on the ground. Deputies talked to Frankel’s mother, who said he had kicked in the door Wednesday night and assaulted his aunt.

Frankel reportedly denied the incidents. Deputies began to take Frankel into custody when he reportedly got away from the deputy’s grip and ran into the desert. The deputy lost sight of Frankel and couldn’t locate him.

The DPS Ranger helicopter and DPS K-9 officer responded to assist deputies. The officer and K-9 started tracking Frankel while announcements warned Frankel to come out.

Frankel was found hiding in a bush and he allegedly hit the K-9 in the face with a rock, breaking three of the dog’s teeth.

Frankel continued to be combative and ran toward a house. Deputies captured him after he tried to run past the house and hide behind a tree. He was transported to Kingman Regional Medical Center for medical clearance, possibly due to the heat Carter said, by the Ranger helicopter. Frankel was transported and booked into the Mohave County jail after being cleared from KRMC.

The K-9 was taken to a veterinarian for surgery. There is no word on the extent of the dog’s injuries, but Carter said there’s an estimated $8,000 in vet bills.

(Kingman Daily Miner - July 7, 2017)

Tunisia zoo to close after crocodile stoned to death

TUNISIA -- A zoo in the Tunisian capital where visitors stoned a crocodile to death is to close temporarily, the local affairs and environment ministry said Friday.

It will close its gates from Monday for "emergency cleaning and maintenance works and to set up measures to manage visitors entering and exiting", the ministry said.

The public was up in arms this week after the municipality posted gory pictures of the reptile, which it said died of an internal hemorrhage after being stoned by visitors.

The images on Facebook showed the dead animal's head next to what appeared to be a bloodied paving slab and another large rock.

Environment Minister Riadh Mouakher has decided to "increase the number of guards and deploy three environmental police agents" at the zoo, the ministry said.

Tunisia aims to introduce the environmental police nationwide from April.

“It’s terrible, you cannot imagine what animals endure from some visitors,” zoo veterinarian Amor Ennaifer told Agence France-Presse.

Ennaifer said people often hurl rocks into the animals’ enclosures, frequently targeting lions and hippos. He said problems increase during school holidays.

“There are more than 150 species in the zoo. We can’t put a guard in front of each cage,” he said. “People need to be aware of the need to respect animals.”

The capital's Belvedere Zoo has been in need of maintenance for years, and social media users have called on authorities to save its scrawny lions from cramped living conditions and stone-throwing visitors.

Pictures of the zoo filled with litter last year caused an outcry on social media.

(Yahoo - March 3, 2017)

Ohio: Police say Raymond Harris stranged and then beat tiny 16 year-old dog named Mitzi with a rock, causing her death

OHIO -- Just one week after Goddard's Law went into effect, Vermilion police have used it to charge a suspect.

Police said Raymond Harris was at the home of someone who had a 16-year-old dog. The owner decided to his little 20-pound dog named Mitzi needed to be euthanized due to her increasing health issues and was calling veterinarians to find someone to do it humanely.

  

In the meantime, Harris is accused of taking the dog outside and trying to choke it to death.

When the owner found out, he called police.

The dog, which was found unconscious and barely breathing, was later put to sleep.

In the video, the owner said he found her "with her eyes bulging out, barely breathing and with the blood vessels to her eyes burst". He also says Harris beat Mitzi in the head with a piece of concrete, which was lying in his yard. Poor Mitzi was still alive, through all this torture. 

Harris pleaded not guilty.

Goddard's law makes it a fifth degree felony to cause serious physical harm to a companion animal.

Note: This is the LEAST serious felony charge; typical of aggravated animal cruelty charges in most states. You face actual prison time for burning an abandoned building than for doing something like this to a little dog - likely this guy will receive no jail/prison time and will just get probation.

(Fox8 - Sept 22, 2016)

California: Jorge Ramos, 22, gets probation after beating his puppy with a rock until he killed her then dumping her body into the trash

CALIFORNIA -- A former Pacific Beach man with schizophrenia who abused and beat his small puppy to death was sentenced Feb. 26 to a suspended one year jail term with probation conditions while he lives with his parents in South Gate in Los Angeles County.

Some former neighbors of Jorge Ramos, 22, spoke to San Diego Superior Court Judge Michael Groch about their concerns that he not return to the apartment complex where he lived in Pacific Beach.

“The neighbors were horrified. The puppy cried out in pain for an hour (before he finally killed her),” said a woman named Janice. “Ramos did not show mercy on behalf of his puppy; mercy should not be shown to him.”

Deputy District Attorney Karra Reedy said a restraining order blocked Ramos from returning to the apartment complex and his belongings were moved out by someone else as he relocated to his parents’ home.

“This is a case the Pacific Beach community did care about as it happened in public,” said Reedy, showing the judge a stack of 25 to 30 letters written to her office.

Ramos was seen hunched over hitting something with a rock. Tragically, by the time the witness realized it was a small black puppy, it was too late; Ramos picked the lifeless animal up by its tail and tossed it into the dumpster.

When the neighbor approached him and asked him why he killed the puppy, Ramos stated the puppy had cancer. He then reached in and pulled the dead puppy out of the trash.

When police arrived, Ramos said the "spirits" commanded him to kill the pup.

Investigators found that the pit bull puppy named Luna, had been beaten and  killed with a rock and her small body was abandoned in a dumpster on Oct. 20 in an alley near Oliver Avenue and Jewel Street. Ramos pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty. 

Ramos’ attorney, Danaly Barajas, told the judge he suffers from schizophrenia and hears voices. “Being off his medication led to this incident, this case,” she said.

Ramos is now enrolled in college while with his parents in Los Angeles County and is also working, said Barajas. “This is never going to happen again,” she said. She said he is seeing a psychiatrist regularly.

Groch ordered Ramos not to drink alcohol or possess it during his five year probation time. He was barred from possessing or owning any animals. “Not even a goldfish,” said Groch, who asked Ramos if his parents had pets.

“We don’t have any pets,” said Ramos.

Groch ordered Ramos to pay restitution to the county animal services department and he received credit for spending 68 days in jail.

(San Diego Community News Group - Feb 29, 2016)

Prince George police shoot dog after attack on woman, pet

VIRGINIA -- Prince George County police fatally shot a dog that police say attacked a woman and her small dog Sunday.

The attack happened in a cul-de-sac in the 2000 block of Manitoba Drive as a woman was walking her dog. Police received calls of "a woman screaming and running down the road," at 11:55 a.m., said Lt. John Leach.

A neighbor helped the woman and dog escape by hitting the medium-sized pit bull with a rock. The dog then turned on the neighbor, who was bit on the hands and arms.

Another neighbor stabbed the dog several times with an unknown object before it retreated to the victim's porch.

The incident lasted about two minutes, Leach said.

Shortly after police arrived, the dog attacked an officer, who shot and killed it.

The owner of the dog was located and animal control officers charged the owner with "dog running at large." Other charges were pending, Leach said.

The victim and the first neighbor were treated for minor injuries at the scene and were encouraged to seek medical assistance at a hospital, Leach said. Investigators have no reason to believe the dog had rabies, he added.

The dog that was attacked was transported to an emergency veterinary clinic.

(Richmond Times-Dispatch - Dec 27, 2015)

Roy Lee Miller, 45, found guilty of bashing in the head of an elephant seal pup

CALIFORNIA -- A homeless bum who used a rock to kill an elephant seal pup near San Diego Bay was convicted Friday of felony cruelty to an endangered or protected animal.

Roy Lee Miller — who has been to prison twice for battery causing serious injury and petty theft — faces five years behind bars when sentenced Jan. 15.

In her opening statement at trial, Deputy District Attorney Karra Reedy told jurors that Miller, 45, bashed the head of the seal pup “again and again and again” in a “vicious and extreme act of animal cruelty.”

Reedy said the seal pup — thought to be about a month or two old — had multiple skull fractures and a brain hemorrhage.

Boaters alerted officials to the newly weaned Northern elephant seal pup on Feb. 27.

A seal pup has a distinctive call or “cry,” calling for its mother, the prosecutor said.

Researchers kept an eye on the animal, but it ended up under the Sonar Bridge near Spanish Landing, where Miller and friend Mark Valentine had been hanging out, Reedy said. Miller was on his second bottle of vodka when he attacked the seal, according to the prosecutor.

Deputy Public Defender Joey Super said Miller mistakenly thought there was something wrong with the animal and felt he was doing the right thing by putting it out of its misery.

“A mistake is not malice,” Super told the jury.

Super said Miller and Valentine described the sounds the animal was making as “worse than a baby crying.”

The defendant and Valentine tried to feed the seal pup, and when that didn’t work, Miller hit the animal in the head to end its suffering, Super told the jury.

A marine mammal veterinarian testified in September that the seal pup — not normally found in San Diego Bay — was fine and making normal seal “calls” when she observed the animal on Feb. 27.

The veterinarian said a lay person could think that a seal was in distress if they heard the “unique” pup calls.

Harbor police Detective Robert Twardy testified that Miller approached him after the detective found the seal’s body on the beach.

“He said he was responsible for putting the seal out of its misery,” Twardy testified.

When asked why he didn’t call 911 when he came upon the seal, Miller said he didn’t know and was “distraught,” Twardy testified.

(Times of San Diego - Dec 11, 2015)

Warren man, Kashaun Williams, 22, charged with animal cruelty

OHIO -- A Warren man is facing an animal cruelty charge after reportedly hitting a dog with a rock on Monday.

Kashaun Williams, 22, was found by police at his minivan at his apartment complex with blood on his hands and boots. Inside a van, officers found a dog with an eye wound, blood on its face and mouth.

Williams told police his dog ran away and came back bloody.

According to a woman in the apartment, Williams became angry with the dog for relieving itself in his apartment.

A police report states an anonymous caller witnessed Williams hit the dog with the rock.

Officers found blood and feces in the apartment.

The dog was taken to a 24 hour emergency clinic.

Williams pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released from the Trumbull County Jail after posting a $2,500 bond.

(WFMJ - Nov 25, 2015)

Highland teen accused of torturing and killing goose says he was 'hungry'

NEW YORK -- Michael Sebastian Vargas, one of two Highland teenagers accused of torturing and killing a wild goose, said he and Jarett Gonzalez were hungry, with no place to stay and no money to buy a meal.

“We didn’t want to be cruel to it (the goose),” Vargas said. “All we wanted to do was get something to eat.”

Vargas, 18, and Gonzalez, 16, were charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty on Saturday, according to Town of Lloyd police.

"They are accused of stoning the (goose) with rocks, then beating it with a wooden plank, stepping on it and cutting its head off," said Lt. James Janso via email.

Vargas, a recent Highland High School graduate, said he doesn’t live with his parents and had been staying with friends for the past month, Gonzalez among them. But Gonzalez “got kicked out” of his home, too, Vargas said.

The teens borrowed some fishing poles from a friend and went to a pond behind a small business plaza on Route 299.

“We used all the bait … we were fishing all day and only caught two small sunfish,” Vargas said.
As the two were walking away from the pond, “trying to find a place to sleep somewhere in the woods, we saw a flock of geese,” Vargas said. “We were going to try to kill it and cook it for food.”

Vargas grabbed a rock and threw it at the goose, which “stunned it,” he said, and Gonzalez threw a stick at it, but missed.

At that point, Gonzalez “stood on” the goose to hold it down, and Vargas cut its head off with a pocket knife, Vargas said. “We were taking it back to where we were going to cook it … with the fish” when police showed up, following up on a complaint from a business owner.

The teens “didn’t have” anything else they could use to kill the goose, Vargas said. “I would have loved to kill it way more humanely. We didn’t want to be cruel to it.”

Vargas said neither teen has a criminal record.

Before Vargas shared his side of the story, the Journal spoke with Kim McNamee, the senior humane law enforcement officer at the Dutchess County SPCA.

To charge an individual with felony animal cruelty in New York, "you need to be able to prove that (the act was) intended to cause extreme physical pain; or is done or carried out in an especially depraved or sadistic manner,” McNamee said. Proving such an allegation can be difficult.

But in general, "I don't favor how reserved people are with charging" felony animal cruelty, McNamee said,

Vargas and Gonzalez were released on appearance tickets and are due in the Town of Lloyd Court Aug. 6. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, which assisted Lloyd police, also issued tickets to the teens.

Vargas said they have not secured legal counsel for their upcoming court date.

(Poughkeepsie Journal - July 27, 2015)

Earlier:

• Police: Highland teens tortured and killed wild goose

Police: Highland teens tortured and killed wild goose

NEW YORK -- Two Highland teenagers tortured and killed a wild goose, according to Town of Lloyd police.

Michael Vargas, 18, and Jarett Gonzalez, 16, were charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty on Saturday.

"They are accused of stoning the (goose) with rocks, then beating it with a wooden plank, stepping on it and cutting its head off," said Lt. James Janso via email.

Police say the two allegedly tortured and killed the goose behind a Highland-based business on Route 299.

They were released on appearance tickets and are due in the Town of Lloyd Court on Aug. 6. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police, which assisted Lloyd police, also issued tickets to the teens.
(Poughkeepsie Journal - July 27, 2015)

Alleged puppy clubber arrested after 11 animals bashed with rock — only one survived

AUSTRALIA -- THE man at the centre of a horrific act of animal cruelty in the state’s Hunter region has pleaded guilty to killing 10 puppies earlier this week. 
 
Nathan Thompson, 25, loaded 11 bull terriers cross puppies into his car and took them to bushland at McLeods Road, Kurri Kurri on Wednesday.

 

 

 A witness, who was out walking his own dogs, saw Thompson begin to kill a number of the puppies by clubbing them over the head with a rock, then throwing them into the bush.

The witness confronted the man, who drove from the area with five of the dogs still alive.

Thompson is said to have bought the dogs online a week earlier after the owner had tried unsuccessfully to sell them elsewhere. (putting in a craigslist tag even though it's the "online" ad may not have been craigslist but still online buying/selling of animals)

The RSPCA was contacted and attended the location, before taking the attacked puppies to a vet. Only one of the animals survived. He has since been named Lucky by those who took him in.

 

Police and RSPCA arrested Thompson at a house in Kurri Kurri on Thursday.

Police say he allegedly told them four of the five remaining puppies were destroyed and the fifth was rehomed.

Magistrate Caleb Franklin granted Thompson bail to be sentenced on April 28. He also ordered him not to own or buy any animal for a decade.

(Daily Telegraph - March 13, 2015)

Dog owner convicted following terrier's attack on schnauzer

NEW ZEALAND -- A Queenstown woman was yesterday found guilty of failing to keep her American Staffordshire terrier under control when it attacked a miniature schnauzer at Frankton Beach last May.

Pauline May (55) was found guilty of two charges laid under the Dog Control Act 1996 - one of which carries with it a maximum penalty of a $3000 fine, plus compensation for treatment received by the injured animal, and a mandatory order for the attacking dog's destruction unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Under questioning from Michael Walker, representing the Queenstown Lakes District Council, Sofitel executive chef Varick Neilson said he owned two miniature schnauzers, named Frank and Stevie Nicks.

About 7.30am on May 22 Mr Neilson was walking both dogs on leads along Frankton Beach when two dogs came down a bank behind him.

They were described as being ''like a Staffie - big, puffed up chests; stainless-steel collars; teeth gnarling; black and brown colours - typical, squat-looking dogs''.

The two dogs attacked Stevie Nicks, one gripping the back of her neck with its teeth while the other was trying to get its teeth into her lower back.

Mr Neilson, who was wearing steel-capped boots, managed to get ''a few boots into'' the dogs and released Stevie Nicks' lead, to give her a chance to escape.

''Those dogs would not let go of my little dog at all.

''They were salivating, foam coming out of their mouths, eyes were popping out. It was so aggressive. I've never seen anything like it.''

Mr Neilson said Frank bit the hind leg of one of the attacking dogs, distracting it enough so it released its grip on Stevie Nicks.

The other, however, continued its attack.

Mr Neilson picked up a large rock and threw it at the dog, connecting near its rib cage.

''It was enough to knock the wind out of that dog and it let go.''

Stevie Nicks ran away. Mr Neilson said he picked up the rock again and threw it ''at full force on the other dog's head'', causing it to be knocked over into Lake Wakatipu.

''[I] picked up the rock again and I was going to [throw] it at the dog again and finish it once and for all.''

The dog moved before the rock hit it, walked out of the water, ''staggered and fell over'' before both dogs began retreating up the embankment.

He said he heard a woman's voice commanding the two attacking dogs to ''Get here, get here now'', but did not get a good look at her.

Stevie Nicks required surgery for her injuries and Mr Neilson laid a complaint with the council.

He returned to the area every day to try to find the dogs and on May 26 saw May and the dogs he believed were involved in the attack, in a car near the track.

He took photos and forwarded them to the council.

Defence counsel Sarah Law argued May's dog was not responsible for the attack and she was not present at the time of the incident.

While May accepted she was the owner of Milley, and Stevie Nicks was attacked on Frankton Beach on May 22, she did not accept Milley was the dog involved.

Photos taken by a council staff member in June were produced in court showing Milley with a head wound, allegedly caused by the rock hitting her.

May said Milley had received the injury earlier the previous month, when her son's dog attacked her after she tried to eat its food. The wound had healed by May 22, but was reopened on June 3 by her other dog licking it.

May said her dogs had never been walked along Frankton Track. Her husband normally ran the dogs alongside a vehicle around Lower Shotover.

She and the dogs were at home on the morning of the attack with a caregiver, who visited five mornings a week to assist her with her elderly mother.

Judge Turner said he rejected the defence evidence and was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt Milley was involved in the attack.

He convicted May and remanded her to April 13 for sentencing.

He did not call for a presentence report and said the only issue would be Milley's destruction.

(Otago Daily Times - Jan 14, 2015)

Future Serial Killers? Teens plead guilty to animal cruelty after beating goose to death

MICHIGAN -- Two teens from Dexter pled guilty to animal cruelty related to an incident involving a pair of mated Canada geese that happened April 13.

The boys received a deferred sentence with six months of probation and mandatory community service.

“The two boys, who happen to be baseball players, admitted to throwing rocks at a pair of Canada geese,” said Michele Baxter, HSHV Cruelty Investigator. “When we arrived, the female was protecting her nest and her male partner was lifeless in the water. According to a witness, he confronted the boys, but was too late to save the male.”

The deceased goose had a USGS band which was placed on him in 2011 as a fledgling.

“This is a very sad situation for all involved,” said Tanya Hilgendorf, HSHV President and CEO.

“We know taking pleasure in tormenting an animal can be a troubling red flag. We also know that the seeds of compassion are within all of us, but they must be nurtured. We hope these young men will receive meaningful intervention.

"In the meantime, HSHV will keep working to not just protect animals, but to prevent cruelty by providing humane education that teaches children compassion and respect for life.”

(Heritage Newspapers - Jul 29, 2014)

Fort Worth mail carrier faces animal cruelty count

TEXAS -- Fort Worth police say an arrest warrant has been issued for the mail carrier accused of hitting a couple's Yorkie with a rock, injuring it badly enough that it had to be put down.

Lawrence and Taiesha Brown told police on May 17 that their dog Maxwell was injured after wandering across the street into a neighbor's yard. Initially, Lawrence wasn't sure what happened or whose dog had been injured, and asked the letter carrier what happened.

"I asked him, 'What did you do to that dog?'" he told NBC 5. "He said 'I got me one,'" Brown says. "I said, 'You got you one? Did you mace him?' He said, 'No, I hit him with a rock.'"

Brown didn't find out the carrier was talking about Maxwell until he walked across the street and found his dog in his neighbor's yard.

The Browns called the police that afternoon and officers completed an animal cruelty investigation.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Postal Service, the carrier maintains that he was defending himself from an attack by the 10-pound dog and has been on paid leave since the incident.

The warrant for the mailman was issued Tuesday. His name will not be released, police say, until he is arrested.
(Dallas Observer - June 20, 2014)

United Kingdom: Family's Chocolate Labrador has to have 79 stones removed from his stomach after eating them during walk on the beach

UNITED KINGDOM -- When Kim Woollard’s dog Barney started feeling under the weather, she had no idea what could be wrong.

He’d been on a long walk on the beach the day before, and had seemed perfectly perky. But when Mrs Woollard took him to the vets and they gave him an x-ray - the answer was right in front of him.

Barney had eaten a staggering 109 pebbles during his walk on the beach.

The vets found 79 pebbles in stomach cavity - and Mrs Woollard found a further 30 stones in his basket when she returned home, that had already passed through his system.

Mrs Woollard, 52, who lives with husband Andrew, 58, a builder, in Chessington, Surrey, said: ‘We were absolutely astounded when we saw the x-ray and it showed why Barney was feeling under the weather.

‘No wonder he had been feeling sluggish when there were more than a hundred stones in his stomach.

‘When the vet showed us the x-ray I was gobsmacked. You could see lots of the pebbles still in his stomach and intestine.’

Mrs Woollard, a jeweller, had enjoyed a walk on a beach in Kent the previous day in September, with Barney her chocolate labrador.

She said: ‘Barney was always full of energy and he loved going for walks on the beach. It was a pebbly beach and I let him off the lead there as there wasn’t anyone on the beach apart from us.

‘Andrew and I were chatting and watching Barney, but we didn’t see him do anything out of the ordinary. He was racing along enjoying himself.’

Mr Woollard noticed a few stones in Barney’s basket when the couple returned home, but didn’t think anything of it.

But then the following day, Barney seemed off colour and some more stones were in his basket, so Mrs Woollard decided that she would take him down to the vet.

She said: ‘It looked like he had passed some pebbles, so I took him to the vet for a check up.

‘Andrew had ran his hand under his belly and we could actually hear them rattling, so we knew that there was a few more still in there.’

The x-ray showed that Barney had gobbled more stones that Mrs Woollard had even suspected.

She said: ‘I was astounded when I saw how many had eaten, and we hadn’t seen a thing whilst we were on the beach.

'He’d kept going into the sea and if he’d had his mouth open then he may have swallowed the stones then. I thought he may have swallowed a few, and then passed them in his basket, but I’d never imagined that it would be so many. The vet told us that it had been a good job that we had acted so quickly.’

Barney had an operation to remove the stones - and vets counted a staggering 79 in total, in addition to the 30 later found in his basket.

Luckily Barney made a full recovery from the operation. But vets also discovered that eating the stones had damaged his teeth and he needed a further operation on one of his front teeth a few weeks ago.

Mrs Woollard, who has three daughters Katie, 17, Holly, 15, and Emily, 13, added: ‘Since he was a puppy Barney has always chewed things. He’s always stealing washing off the line and tissues. He grabs them and hides them in his basket.

‘But we never imagined that he’d be swallowing stones when we took him to the beach. I think pebbly beaches are out of the question for him now.’

(DailyMail - Feb 24, 2013)

Mom: Four-year-old daughter is unrecognizable after pit bull attack

CALIFORNIA -- A 4-year-old girl suffered extensive injuries after a 65-pound pit bull terrier attacked her in a National City courtyard, police said Wednesday.

The pit bull terrier mauled Hailey Nunez outside a National City apartment building shortly before 10:30 a.m. when she tried to pet it in the central courtyard at the Laurel Avenue complex, where she and her family live, according to police.

"At least five guys tried to take the dog away but he wouldn't let go,” Nunez's uncle Angel Torres said. “One guy grabbed a rock and hit [the dog] in the head five times, but he wouldn't let go.”

Paramedics took the girl to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, where she was admitted in serious condition with injuries to her face and upper body, Lt. Keith Fifield said.

"I wanted to die because when I saw her I couldn`t believe what happened,” the victim’s mother Ruby Nunez said. ”She had deep cuts under her nose, her shoulder and under her face.”

The 4-year-old is now in stable condition, but her injuries have made her almost unrecognizable, according to her mother.

Officers stopped the owner of the pit bull, 22-year-old Brittany Morgan Gardiner, as she tried to drive away from the complex, where she also lives, according to Fifield.

Gardiner was booked into county jail on suspicion of child endangerment, resisting police and allowing a vicious animal to inflict injury, with arraignment scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The dog was impounded and will undergo a rabies quarantine, after which it likely will be euthanized, the lieutenant said.

Gardiner told officers she had given the neighbor child permission to pet the canine, believing it had no aggressive tendencies, according to Fifield.

(fox5 - Oct 10, 2012)

Earlier:

• Woman Arrested After Pitbull Mauls Toddler

Florida: Randall Konarik, 34, beat and tortured a peacock to death

FLORIDA -- A man has been charged with animal cruelty on the suspicion that he killed a peacock, then cut off the bird's wings, claws and feathers and stuck the carcass in his freezer for a later meal.

Randall Jude Konarik, 34, of 1220 Palm St. was arrested Monday morning on a charge of cruelty to animals. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $10,000 bail.

Clearwater police on Saturday received a report that Konarik had captured a peacock in Dunedin, then brought it to his home, tied it to a brick and killed it.

When police talked to Konarik, he told them he struck the bird in the head with a rock, then kicked it. He told police he then picked up the bird by its wings and feet and carried it 2 miles to his home, an arrest affidavit states.

Konarik told police the bird struggled during the walk, which he said "caused the bird to die from heat exhaustion a few hours later," an arrest report states.

Konarik said the death was accidental and occurred while he was trying to relocate the bird.

Once the bird was dead, Konarik removed the bird's wings, claws and some of its feathers. When asked why, he told officers: "Because that's what hunters do," the arrest report states.

He then skinned the bird and placed it in his freezer to eat later, police said.

It was unknown exactly where in Dunedin the bird was captured.

Peafowl have recently created some controversy in one north Clearwater neighborhood. Some residents have tried to remove the birds, complaining they are noisy and messy. That hasn't gone over well with other neighbors who enjoy their beauty.

"I'm in shock to say the least," said Susan Sander, one of the peacock lovers. "To me, animal cruelty is equal to a person. They're God's creatures. I'm so saddened."

Though the birds are very pretty, some who live in neighborhoods where they roam don't appreciate their harsh squawks, particularly during mating season, which is around May. The birds also are known to tear up flower gardens, and even to peck at cars when they see their image reflected.

The birds have lived in the area of the Clearwater-Dunedin border since the 1920s, when there was a peafowl farm there. The birds were raised for their tail feathers, which were a popular fashion item.

When the farm folded decades ago, many of the birds were simply let loose. They have strutted the area ever since.

Rick Chaboudi, executive director of the Humane Society of North Pinellas, said he has never heard of someone killing a peacock, then saving it to eat.

"I have never heard of anyone ever hunting peacocks," he said. "You can't just execute them or mutilate them or things like that."

ARREST INFO:
Full name: Randall Jude Konarik
Sex: Male
Race: White
DOB: 11/10/1967
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 160
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Green
Address: 2108 Palmetto St, Clearwater FL 33765

APRIL 24, 2011 UPDATE:
Randall Konarik is dead.

Konarik was riding his bike across US 19 N and East Bay Drive when he was hit by a car and seriously injured, Tuesday.

Officials said the bicyclist was riding against the traffic signal when he was hit by Skylar Martz, 26, of Largo, who was driving a 1994 Nissan Sentra. Martz was traveling eastbound on East Bay Drive through the intersection when Konarik came into his lane in a southbound direction, officials said.

According to Largo Police, witnesses said Konarik was crossing the intersection outside the crosswalk and against the traffic signal at 10:04 p.m. when he was hit.

(St. Petersburg Times - June 12, 2002)