California: Edward Vantassel Arrested on Animal Cruelty Charges After Bound Dog Discovered in House Fire

CALIFORNIA -- A 37-year-old Lompoc man was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty after firefighters responding to a house fire found his dog’s muzzle and rear legs had been bound with rubber bands.

Lompoc police detectives arrested Edward Kyle Joseph Vantassel, whose last name also has been spelled as Van Tassel, on Wednesday outside a Santa Barbara County Animal Services building for a hearing on custody of the dog.

The charges stem from an afternoon blaze on June 6 when Lompoc firefighters responded to a structure fire in the 1400 block of Crown Circle where the man was found outside the residence.

Vantassel told firefighters his dog was still in the residence on the second floor, leading to a search of the building.

“Firefighters located the dog inside of an overturned, weighted-down box in a room on the second floor of the residence,” police Sgt. Kevin Martin said. “Firefighters also discovered the dog's muzzle and rear legs had been bound with rubber bands. “

Firefighters got the dog to safety and cut off the rubber bands before providing the animal with water and alerting Animal Services.

The dog named Pooh was transported to a local veterinarian for treatment.

Pooh “is doing much better” and is with a foster family, Martin said.

Lompoc police detectives began an animal cruelty investigation, culminating in an arrest warrant for Vantassel.

He was arrested for suspicion of felony cruelty to an animal, with bail set at $100,000.

Vantassel was transported to the Lompoc Police Department where he was interviewed and booked before being transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, police said.

In 2008, Vantassel protested the Iraq War with a four-hour standoff on La Cumbre Road overpass near Calle Real.

Sporting a ski mask and military-style fatigues, the man eventually surrendered his revolver. Earlier in the protest, he demanded an Obama-Biden sign that was delivered by a bomb squad robot.

Months later, a judge sentenced the man to five years of probation, 200 hours of community service and ordered him to pay $500.

Authorities previously said that Vantassel, an Army veteran, served in Iraq and was seen for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.

(Noozhawk - June 15, 2017)

Massachusetts: Cocker Spaniel with injuries, from having mouth muzzled with rubber bands, returned to owner

MASSACHUSETTS -- This was posted on Facebook, the story of  a Cocker Spaniel that Animal Control is saying has to go back to her abuser:

I've been trying to deal with this situation without involving the media. However, no one is doing anything and I have no other option.

On Friday, a 9 year old cocker spaniel came in for an "ear appointment". When the dog got to the clinic, our reception girls noticed the dogs face was super swollen. They then realized why. The dog had three rubber bands tied around her muzzle.

We immediately took the dog in back and started treating. The owner is elderly, blind, and super sick. She can't take care of herself, never mind her animals. Her PCA (Personal Care Assistant) is in charge of taking care of the animals, and I believe he is the one who put the rubber bands around the dogs muzzle. (The PCA lives in the house).

I tried calling Worcester animal control multiple times, left messages.. And they have not returned my calls. I then contacted MSPCA. They investigated and told me we have to give the dog back and if in two weeks anything got worse, we can then either go to court or take the animals depending on what happens. But [they] won't charge anyone because there's no proof who did it. So you're telling me it takes something worse than wrapping three rubber bands around a dogs muzzle for something to be done? 

If the elderly owner is blind and sick and has a home care aide that actually lives with her, he is the ONLY one who could have done it. Have the Animal Control worker have the elderly woman - who probably has arthritis in her hands - try to manipulate not just one, but three rubber bands with her hands to show that it would have been impossible for her to pull them open and then wrap them around the struggling dogs' muzzle. It's impossible. 

The PCA, by law, is the owner - harborer - caretaker of the elderly woman and her dog. Therefore, he is the one responsible for what has been done to the dog. He needs to be charged with animal cruelty. If they cannot determine who exactly did it, charge them both. After all, they're both in the house and both responsible for the animal. Just because she's blind doesn't mean she didn't pet her dog and feel the rubber bands on his mouth - did she not wonder why he yelped or couldn't bark properly? 

No District Attorney / Prosecutor wants to charge an elderly, blind person with animal cruelty - BUT MAYBE THAT'S WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE - to get her to fire this PCA and get him out of her house and away from her pets, which depend on her to be safe from abuse. She can take a plea agreement that gives her like a 90 day probation period and then the charge is dismissed - however, part of the plea agreement is that this man be fired and never allowed on her property, near her or her animals ever again. Another PCA can move in and care for her.

 

So I've left messages with animal rescue league of Boston and I am waiting to hear back. I've also reached out to the news in hope we can get the story to go viral so we can do something for this poor dog. It absolutely disgusts me that someone would even do that to a dog, never mind the fact that no one is doing anything about it. What is wrong with this world?! The laws need to be changed!!! Please share this post and make it go viral!

June 17, 2016 Update: 
The owners ended up coming tonight to pick the dog up and take her home. And we can't by law stop her. So she is no longer with us and it very much upsets me. BUT I am not giving up.

Also, MSPCA stopped by work today. And I have to apologize to the officer I've been talking to. She showed up at work upset because of my post. I didn't mean it against you. I know you are doing exactly what you are legally allowed to do, you're doing your job and deep down wish you could do more. You are very strong and even called your boss to see what else we could do for me and I appreciate that. Thank you for your hard work and help. This post was to more push for laws to be changed and to help this dog find a better home. It was not to go against MSPCA. I want to change the laws. I want them to be in favor for the animals. To show they aren't just property. They're actual living things.

Massachusetts law regarding animal cruelty
"...whoever, having the charge or custody of an animal, either as owner or otherwise, inflicts unnecessary cruelty upon it, or unnecessarily fails to provide it with proper food, drink, shelter, sanitary environment, or protection from the weather... shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 7 years in state prison or imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2-1/2 years or by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by both fine and imprisonment"

(Facebook - June 16, 2016)

Texas: Someone wrapped rubber bands around legs of friendly cat, causing them to rot off

TEXAS -- There is an outpouring of support on social media for an abused cat that was rescued by a good Samaritan.

We want to warn readers that some of the photos below are very upsetting and may be disturbing to some.

Neighbors, who fed "Little Gray" for nearly a year before it went missing, said the cat was found with rubber bands tied around two of the cats legs, which cut off circulation. One leg, veterinarians think will heal. The other had to be amputated.

 

"It was really pretty gruesome there for a while," said Bill McGhee, the vet at Castle-West Animal Hospital who helped the cat. "I really can't even understand how she can even be alive with a leg that was looking like that."

Mcghee said there has been an outpouring of donations coming for the care of Gray.

  

 

(KEN5 - September 3, 2015)

Romeo Lucero pleads guilty to reduced animal cruelty charges

UTAH -- A man who had caused the death of his dog after binding its muzzle shut with rubber bands pleaded guilty to reduced charges of aggravated cruelty to an animal Thursday.

Romeo Lucero’s attorney negotiated with county prosecutors to reduce the initial third-degree felony charge of torture to an animal companion to a class A misdemeanor of aggravated cruelty to an animal.

Prosecutors read some of the pertinent facts of the case to Judge Michael D. DiReda of Ogden Second District Court, namely that Lucero’s dog had chewed up some of his items, so he got upset at his dog and wrapped rubber bands around her muzzle 15 times.

That act lead to the suffocating and killing of the family pet, a 3-year-old female canine named Remmy. Witnesses also reported on March 10 of seeing the pit bull tied to a post with an extremely short cord and it was trapped there for at least 12 hours overnight.

A necropsy determined “the rubber bands had been so tight that they actually indented the dog’s tongue on the inside of the dog’s mouth.”

Ogden Animal Services supervisor Stefanie Butte said that this case was the first to have a felony animal cruelty charge go to the courts from the city, something she has been trying to achieve for a long time.

“Are you frikkin’ kidding me?” Butte said of the plea deal. “We wanted a felony charge, we want him to do jail time. You have no idea what that dog went through.”

Butte said she worked a long time on that case and believed that the evidence shows that Lucero also had intent to torture the dog, something that the felony charge requires according to recent Utah state law.

“It’s really hard to get a felony because there has to be intent,” Butte said

Lucero was scheduled to come back to court on Sept. 10 for sentencing.

According to Utah’s court website, possible sentencing for a class A misdemeanor includes up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine, whereas third-degree felony sentencing includes 0-5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

“I am very discouraged by this, but I will continue to push for it, I’m still going to try,” Butte said.

(standard Examiner - July 16, 2015)

Earlier:

• Police: Ogden man, Romeo Lucero, fatally tortures family pit bull

Husky puppy who suffered terrible cruelty 'at the hands of US Marines': Dog had its legs broken and mouth tied shut so tightly his snout was scarred to the bone

CALIFORNIA -- Two Marines are being investigated after a husky puppy was beaten so brutally his hind legs were broken and his snout was bound with rubber bands that cut through to the bone.

Five-month-old Kane was allegedly abused by the married couple, but is on the road to recovery and has found a new home.

When he was discovered by California-based Ranch Dog Rescue, the dog weighed just 11-lbs and his mouth had been bound shut for so long that his teeth had rotted and his snout was scarred to the bone.

 

Kane hadn't even been able to cry out when his legs were broken. He underwent surgery at Butterfield Animal Hospital in Temecula, California to repair his legs earlier this month.

Maureen Keo, founder of Ranch Dog Rescue, said: 'I could not have asked, or hoped, for a better prognosis.

'All three veterinarians who treated Kane agree that the extent of his injuries are a clear sign of neglect and the result of severe abuse.

'Now, Kane finally has a voice but best of all, he has found a home.

'In six weeks or so, when the beautiful baby boy has recovered from surgery, Kane will join a loving family experienced with special needs pets.'

A statement from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton said: 'Two Camp Pendleton Marines, a husband and wife, are under investigation by the military police aboard Camp Pendleton and their unit for allegations of animal abuse.

'Command is focusing their attention on the matter and will come up with a determination on what action will be handed down.'
(Daily Mail - May 26, 2015)

Police: Ogden man, Romeo Lucero, fatally tortures family pit bull

UTAH -- An Ogden man bound his pit bull’s muzzle with tightly wound rubber bands, suffocating and killing the family pet after it chewed his belongings, charging documents say.

An arrest warrant was issued Friday for Romeo Lucero, 23, in the torture death of the 3-year-old female canine, Remmy.

The charge — third-degree felony torture of a companion animal — is a landmark in Ogden City’s pursuit of animal cruelty cases.

“This is the very first cruelty felony charge that has ever gone through from Ogden City,” Stefanie Butte, Ogden Animal Services supervisor, said Saturday. “I’ve worked a very long time on this case ... it has been my goal to push some of these cruelty cases through to felonies.”

On March 10, witnesses reported to authorities that Lucero’s pit bull had been tied to a post with an extremely short cord. Her snout was bound shut by six elastic bands wrapped around 15 times, said an arrest warrant affidavit filed in 2nd District Court on Friday.

Remmy was trapped, unable to lie down or move comfortably, for at least 12 hours overnight and suffocated and died, the document said. A necropsy determined “the rubber bands had been so tight that they actually indented the dog’s tongue on the inside of the dog’s mouth.”

The Utah Legislature a few years ago passed a law allowing for felony animal cruelty prosecutions. Butte said now people who torture animals may pay a greater penalty.

Felony charges require evidence of intent, which she said Lucero’s case shows.

Witnesses recorded video of the torture and provided it to investigators.

”You have no idea” of the pain and terror the dog endured, Butte said. “She suffered horribly and for a very long time.”

Ogden police investigators interviewed Lucero, whom they said admitted tying and binding Remmy “because he was angry that it had chewed on his belongings.”

“She was a blue-nosed pit bull,” Butte said. “She was beautiful and it’s very sad. She was the family pet, his little boy’s dog.”

In the past, consequences for animal abusers often have been too lenient, she said.

“I have worked on some heinous cases and it is very discouraging. Often they plead down to one charge and they get a $200 fine and that’s a slap on the hand.”

In Lucero’s matter, the torture was so egregious, ”we want him to do jail time,“ Butte said.

Conviction on a felony torture charge could bring a greater fine as well as time behind bars, something those convicted of misdemeanor cruelty counts usually do not face.

Ogden police said Saturday they did not know whether Lucero had been arrested yet.

(Standard.net - May 24, 2015)

Owner Arrested for Animal Cruelty After Dog Found With Severe Neck Wound

NEW YORK -- A dog owner whose pooch was found with an elastic hair band around her neck that led to a severe and painful neck wound has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty, according to police.

Victor Colon, 36, brought his dog, a small Maltese-Shih Tzu type named Oreo, to the ASPCA on Monday, where a doctor recommended treatment for the pet's gash.

However, Colon rejected the doctor's recommendation and left the hospital with Oreo, after which the ASPCA called the NYPD.

Officers Dona Czvekus and Eveling Veloz from the 42nd Precinct brought the dog back to the humane center on Tuesday to be evaluated and treated.

Oreo, who is about a year old, has a wound going under her neck from her left ear to her right ear caused by an elastic hair band that was still around her neck as of Wednesday, according to police and court documents.

The wound is infected and causing Oreo severe pain. It cuts through her left ear canal, meaning that she will need reconstructive surgery to save her ear, the criminal complaint said.

Deputy Inspector Steven Ortiz, who commands the 42nd Precinct, said he believed the band had been placed around Oreo when she was younger and then became embedded as she grew up.

"You take a puppy and put a collar on it, and the dog becomes an adult and you never change it, you’re basically choking the dog," he said.

This is the latest in a string of recent animal cruelty cases in the South Bronx.

On Friday, a puppy was taken to the ASPCA after being beaten with a shovel and buried in the snow on East 167th Street. In January, a malnourished dog was found abandoned in a suitcase behind 700 Morris Ave.

(DNA Info - Feb 5, 2015)

Brian Patrick Murphy pleads guilty to felony animal cruelty

CALIFORNIA -- A man who injured an 8-week-old dog by closing its muzzle with rubber bands pleaded guilty to one felony count of animal cruelty on Thursday, Jan. 8, according to Riverside County Animal Services and Superior Court records.

Brian Patrick Murphy, 67, was sentenced to 37 days in jail, received three years formal probation and cannot own an animal for 10 years. The incident happened in Desert Hot Springs.

Raquel Mims, the owner of the terrier-Chihuahua mix named Snookie, has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.

The dog, whose tongue was cut, had to have reconstructive surgery.

A Yucca Valley family adopted the dog and renamed him Chopper.

(Press-Enterprise - Jan 9, 2015)

Connecticut: Abused dog Snowflake to be adopted Monday, reward increased

CONNECTICUT -- Snowflake, the dog found earlier this month malnourished and with a rubber band around its snout, will be released from the Meriden Animal Hospital today and be formally adopted.

Cassie Carnio, an employee at the animal hospital said the adopter wished to remain anonymous. Carino added, however, that the person has other pets and is “very well liked” by animal hospital staff.

“We’re definitely happy to see her find a home,” Carino said.

Animal Control Officer Bryan Kline said Monday that the woman has adopted from Meriden Animal Control in the past, and has adopted a previously mistreated dog before as well.

“There’s no concern at all about the care she’ll get,” Kline said of Snowflake.

The one-year-old white Maltese/Poodle was found wandering in the area of State Street two weeks ago. She was taken to the animal hospital where she was cared for. Doctors performed surgery on her snout after the rubber band sliced through both sides of the dog’s mouth, exposing a tooth and a sinus.

The surgery was successful, police spokesman Sgt. Darrin McKay said. There has been an outpouring of support from people in the area, he added.

“The response from our community and beyond has been overwhelming and because everyone who donated so generously, Snowflake was able to receive the prompt medical treatment which she needed,” McKay said.

Snowflake was named by the staff of the animal hospital.

McKay said there have been numerous people interested in adopting Snowflake. There have also been significant donations, and there “is no further need for additional monetary donations... Snowflake’s care and treatment has been satisfied.”

The reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for Snowflake’s abuse has been increased from $500 to $2,000. An anonymous donor put forward the $500 and more has been raised through the Animal Control Office, McKay said.

Any information regarding the abuse case can be reported to police by calling (203) 630-6201.

(Meriden Record-Journal - Dec 15, 2014)

Earlier:

• Reward offered in Meriden dog abuse

Connecticut: Reward offered in Meriden dog abuse

CONNECTICUT -- There is a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who severely abused a Meriden dog.

The Maltese Poodle mix named Snowflake was found with a rubber band around her mouth, wondering State Street. She was malnourished and dehydrated. A Meriden Animal Control officer said it was the worse example of animal cruelty he has seen on the force.

  

Snowflake has extensive injuries that require surgery and recovery time but Meriden police say she is being well cared for.  Meriden police and Animal Control officers thank everyone for their concern and help caring for Snowflake.

 

An unidentified person has also offered up a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people who abused Snowflake. Anyone with information about who is responsible for this is asked to contact Meriden Animal Control Officers at 203-235-4179.

Additional information can also be found on the animal control’s Facebook page.

(WTNH - December 9, 2014)

Maine: Cat neutered with rubber band, abandoned

MAINE -- Officials say a local animal shelter is caring for a cat that someone tried to neuter with a rubber band and then abandoned in a vacant apartment.

The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society received the cat from a Lewiston landlord Tuesday evening, just before closing. Shelter Manager Zach Black said the landlord found the cat in a vacant Blake Street apartment after the renters had moved out. The cream-colored, lynx-point cat appeared to be injured.

The shelter's veterinarian discovered that someone had tried to neuter the cat with a rubber band and the area was badly infected and rotting.

The cat underwent surgery and treatment at a vet hospital. He was returned to the shelter Thursday, where he is recovering and receiving antibiotics.

Despite the injuries, Black said, "He is super friendly — a purr machine."

The shelter named the cat Blake after the street where he was found. They believe he is about 3 years old and part Siamese.

Lewiston Animal Control Officer Wendell Strout said he had spoken to two witnesses and the District Attorney's Office, and he expects to charge someone soon with cruelty to animals.

"I've seen this before," Strout said. "Somebody did it, I think, on a dog once. They tried to claim, 'Well, they do it on sheep.' They don't even use rubber bands on sheep. It's a banding process. And there's a correct way to do it. Under no circumstances do you use that on a dog or a cat."

Black called what was done to the cat "cruel," and unnecessary, because the shelter offers free spaying and neutering for cats.

"Maybe these people just may have been uneducated on the proper way that you take care of it. We don't really know," Black said. "But we just really want to encourage people to take advantage of our spay-neuter program. If this cat was being a nuisance or something because he was spraying or marking or being aggressive because he wasn't neutered, we just want people to reach out to us as a resource to help them with those types of things, rather than taking it into their own hands."

The Greater Androscoggin Humane Society provides free vouchers to anyone in Androscoggin County or the towns it serves outside the county, including Canton, Hebron and New Gloucester. The vouchers allow owners to get their cats spayed or neutered and vaccinated against rabies at no cost.
Ten area vets accept the vouchers.

The program is not income-based.

The shelter runs a similar program for owners of pit bulls. 

Blake is expected to be put up for adoption when he recovers, which is likely to take another five to seven days.

(Lewiston Sun Journal  - ‎Aug 1, 2014‎)

Man accused of animal cruelty in Morgan City

LOUISIANA -- A Morgan City resident was booked recently on an animal cruelty accusation after a rubber band tied around a dog’s tail led to an amputation, police said.

Tyrone F. Thomas, 49, was booked on one count of cruelty to animals at 12:13 a.m. Friday, Morgan City police Lt. James Blair said in a release.

Following a tip, animal control employees took the dog from Thomas’ Sixth Street home and found its tail, which had a band wound around it, was infected, Blair said.

“The animal was seized by the animal control officer and after being evaluated, it was learned that the dog’s tail would have to be amputated,” Blair said.

Thomas was released from jail after posting bail.

(The Advocate - March 17, 2014)