NEW YORK -- A 12-year-old Herkimer girl was violently attacked and injured by two pit bulls recently as she waited for her school bus on North Main Street.
Herkimer Police are just releasing details of the early morning incident which happened on May 31.
Police say at no time did the children who had gathered at the bus stop ever approach or antagonize the dogs, but they say the two pit bulls became aggressive with the young girl and one latched onto her arm and flung her into the air.
The child suffered two broken bones in her arm and severe puncture wounds. She had to undergo emergency surgery and will likely have to do so again in the future, police said.
The owner of the dogs, 25-year-old Aaron Brown who lives at 424 North Main Street, let his dogs out, unleashed at just about the time the kids were gathering at the bus stop, police said.
He is facing charges for violating statutes under the state department of Agriculture and Markets for failing to restrain and register the dogs, among other things. Police also charged Brown with reckless endangerment in the second degree, a misdemeanor.
Additionally, police said Brown was wanted on an active arrest warrant for a charge of criminal trespass in St Johnsville. After being arraigned on the incident connect with the dogs attack, Brown was turned over the St. Johnsville authorities, police said.
No other children were hurt in the incident, Police Chief Michael Jory told WIBX.
The dogs remain in the possession of the town’s Animal Control Officer, Jory said.
Aaron Brown, 25, is charged with third-degree assault and possession of a synthetic substance.
Police say around 2:15 p.m. Thursday, they responded to 424 N. Main St. for a report of a domestic disturbance. Upon investigation, police found that Brown, who lives at that residence, had assaulted a female in the home.
Brown was found a short time later on North Main Street and was then arrested. At that time, Brown was found to be in possession of a synthetic substance.
Brown was arraigned in the Village of Herkimer Court and sent to the Herkimer County Correctional Facility on $500 cash bail or $3,000 bond.
NEBRASKA -- The mother of a Sheridan Elementary student bit by a dog attacked by a Pit Bull on the school's playground last year has sued Lincoln Public Schools and the dog's owners.
Jena Lambert and her daughter, Olivia, who was a kindergartner at the time,
were at the playground after school April 4, 2016, when the dog, a pit bull mix, got close enough to the girl to bite grab her and start attacking her. The dog was on a leash.
Lambert and her daughter were left with more than $20,000 in medical-related expenses after the girl was attacked bit, then the mother [was also attacked] when she tried to intervene, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Lancaster County District Court.
Attorney John Weis said they suffered multiple dog bite wounds to their hands and to the girl's stomach. Her daughter had to endure multiple surgeries to remove damaged tissue from the mauling.
BLAMING THE VICTIMS
Lambert also explained that her family has felt a backlash from the outcome of the attack, being blamed for the euthanization of the animal. A notion she is willing to argue.
"It's not that little girls fault that she was attacked. Those owners made a decision to take that dog into a place where it did not belong and those owners made the decision that created the situation that caused that dog to need to be destroyed, and that shouldn't be laid at my family's feet," Lambert said.
The lawsuit names LPS, as well as the dog's owners, Kristine Griffin, a paraprofessional at the school, and her husband, Brian Griffin.
In the suit, Weis alleges LPS failed to enforce its rule of not allowing dogs on the playground and failed to properly train its employees.
The Lamberts are seeking their expenses, plus damages for their pain and suffering.
TEXAS -- Five students were attacked Tuesday afternoon by a stray pit bull during seventh-grade recess at YES Prep College School, officials said.
School officials said the dog got onto the playground on the campus in the 300 block of Crenshaw Road.
They said it happened right after lunch during seventh-grade recess, while the children were on the playground.
The dog attacked five children.
The school said they suffered minor injuries and were being treated on the campus.
Police said the dog was detained by staff members.
Emergency medical services and animal control were called to the scene.
Police said the dog was a brown pit bull.
BARC said its officer has to investigate to determine what will happen to the dog.
The children were sent home so the officer has to find them to get statements about what happened.
If the owner comes forward, the dog has to be quarantined for 10 days from the time of the bite to see if the dog has rabies.
But right now, BARC said, the dog is a stray, and its priority is the victims.
Per Texas state law, BARC said, they will euthanize the animal after 72 hours, and then send a sample to a lab. This would let them know sooner if the dog had rabies.
Right now, there are no identifiers showing the dog belongs to anybody.
Maria Hinojosa said her granddaughter saw the attack.
"Apparently, a little boy was [attacked and being] dragged through the field [by the pit bull], and the other four kids tried to run and protect him. And I think that's how the other ones got injured," Hinojosa said.
CONNECTICUT: A woman attending a boy's hockey game over the weekend was horrified to learn about a longstanding tradition involving a lobster.
Jill Craft was in the crowd with parents and fans from the Loomis Chaffee School just as the boys’ varsity hockey team was set to take on the Avon Old Farm School over the weekend.
The crowd chanted for the Zamboni driver to bring out "Larry the Lobster," a live lobster that's slid onto the ice for good luck.
"Tradition is about dignity, it's not about shame. And, they certainly need to stop this tradition today,” Craft said, adding that she didn’t expect to see that at the Savage Johnson Rink in Windsor.
"The gentleman who was driving the Zamboni ran out from the back area with a huge, live lobster and he threw it onto the ice. The lobster was sliding towards Loomis fans,” Craft said.
The tradition of "Larry the Lobster" dates back several years, and it was inspired by similar traditions at some professional and college hockey games.
At Loomis Chaffee, the lobster is slid onto the ice between the second and third period of the game for good luck.
"While it was sliding, it must have caught on something because it detached its right front claw. So, his right front claw went in a different direction than the poor lobster,” Craft said.
She says it appeared the lobster was trying to move, but it was too icy and it couldn't get any traction.
Craft snapped a photo of it to share with Channel 3. She said the Zamboni driver then got back onto the ice, picked up the lobster in one hand and the claw in the other and held "Larry" above his head and walked off.
"You have to think, what is the message you're sending your students? Having them chant and applaud torture to a live animal,” Craft said.
Some in Windsor said they are now wondering if the school can find another way to incorporate the lobster without actually using a live one.
"It's kind of an odd tradition, I mean, it's kind of cruel. I hate even throwing him into a hot water, to be honest,” said Alice Scott of Windsor.
"I think they should try something else, you know? I think it's a little bit off beat,” said John Dudack, of Windsor.
While others contend there's no problem with it, especially because the lobster is consumed after the game.
"I guess if it's their tradition, they're free to continue as they like,” said Cynthia Knotts, of Windsor.
In a statement, Loomis Chaffee officials said “the school, working with the coach and the athletics department, will review the matter and consider what kinds of traditions work best in our community." I love a good lobster like most people - lots of butter! HOWEVER, this tradition needs to stop. Children should not be taught that live creatures exist to be tortured for our amusement. Yes, we eat meat (most of us) and wear leather and eat eggs, etc. However, children should be taught that we treat the animals we use for our consumption humanely. It's not just pets that get treated humanely. ALL creatures need to be treated humanely and with respect.
ALABAMA -- A Birmingham City Schools employee arrested last week with $500,000 worth of heroin could face additional charges for an alleged dog-fighting ring.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Friday announced the arrest of 45-year-old Charles Edward Walker Jr. The suspected drug dealer was taken into custody Thursday, said Sr. State Trooper Chuck Daniel.
Birmingham police on Monday released more information about Walker's arrest, and said they found 22 pit bull dogs at his home - 17 adults and five puppies.
"The dogs appeared to be in an unhealthy condition and were obviously used for dog-fighting operations,'' according to a statement released by the department.
Walker is an employee of the city school system, and works in technical services and computer support. Schools' spokeswoman Chanda Temple confirmed Walker's employment, but said because it is a personnel matter she could not further comment. He is currently on leave from his job.
Law enforcement officials who announced Walker's arrest did not mention any involvement related to schools or Walker's position with the system.
The arrest culminated a joint narcotics investigation by ALEA and its State Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Birmingham Police Department's Neighborhood Enforcement Team, Homeland Security Investigations and the Alabama Fusion Center.
Daniel said investigators seized 1,700 grams of heroin with fentanyl that has a street value of $500,000, as well as 90 grams of crack cocaine valued at $9,000 on the streets. They also confiscated $55,000 in cash, a handgun and a vehicle.
Police said agents conducted a controlled delivery of a suspected drug package to Walker's home. Following a successful delivery, agents made contact with Walker, who tried to flee the scene on foot. He was captured following a short foot pursuit.
Once Walker was taken into custody, lawmen returned to Walker's home and secured it while they waited for a search warrant. That's when they found the drugs, money, and the nearly two dozen pit bulls.
Birmingham police then summoned animal cruelty deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office to the scene, who determined the dogs were in an unfit condition and had been used in fighting.
All of the dogs were removed from home, and investigators said animal cruelty charges against Walker are likely.
The dogs were taken to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, where workers say they are treated the dogs and trying to socialize them. They will hold and care for the dogs until a judges decides what to do with them. For now, they are on "police hold."
Already, Walker is charged with trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in heroin and trafficking in a synthetic controlled substance. According to the Jefferson County Jail, Walker was booked in Thursday night and released early Friday on $15,000 bond.
"We know too well the cost of drug use and its effect on family,'' BPD said in a statement. "We are thankful as a department to be a part of this operation and thank the community for assisting us in the reduction of crime."
TEXAS -- Undercover footage of golden retrievers used for medical experiments at Texas A&M shows emaciated, crippled, and drooling dogs in barren cages, eating mushy gruel because their weakened jaw muscles and swollen tongues make swallowing difficult.
The disturbing footage, released Thursday by PETA, appears to be the first glimpse inside the university's Golden Retriever colony, where researcher Joseph Kornegay has been investigating treatment method for a an aggressive strain of muscular dystrophy for over 30 years.
(The footage was obtained within the last three years, but only just made available, according to PETA).
In letters to A&M President Michael Young and officials at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, PETA called for an end to experimentation on dogs.
The video shows staggering or crippled dogs having trouble eating, and living in slat-floor cages furnished only with buckets of water, rapidly pacing and chewing on the cage bars out of frustration. According to PETA, some dogs live for years in the cages.
Alka Chandna, PETA's laboratory oversight specialist, stated, "Three decades of painful experiments on generations of debilitated and suffering golden retrievers have failed to result in a cure or even a treatment that can reverse the course of muscular dystrophy in humans."
Citing medical journals, the letters to A&M and the National Institute describe some of the research, stating that Kornegay and his colleagues:
"repeatedly stretch the muscles of the dogs with levers to induce mechanical damage...By six weeks of age, the hind legs are shifted forward and some are unable to open their mouths or jaws. Eventually, muscles undergo hypertrophy and the dogs may develop aspiration pneumonia and cardiac failure."
As we wrote in 2015, one experiment involved levers attached to a tiny motor called a servomotor, which was used to repeatedly stretch muscles "to induce mechanical damage." The dogs underwent three sets of ten stretches with a five-second rest between stretches and a four-minute rest between sets.
The most common form of muscular dystrophy, Duchenne is caused by a protein deficiency affecting muscle strength, according to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke website. Its toll is brutal:
"Onset is between 3 and 5 years and the disorder progresses rapidly. Most boys are unable to walk by age 12, and later need a respirator to breathe. Girls in these families have a 50 percent chance of inheriting and passing the defective gene to their children."
But, PETA claims in its letters, these suffering children "are receiving no benefits from canine research." Kornegay's own research shows that muscular dystrophy "in dogs is not analogous to MD in humans," according to the organization.
Chandna, said in the press release that :
"Cutting-edge techniques, such as utilizing unneeded cells from DMD patients to develop disease-specific cures, developing ways to grow healthy human muscle cells that could be transplanted into patients with MD, and creating human-relevant drug-screening platforms, have led to the development of more promising therapies."
Texas A&M, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and the University of Missouri-Columbia are the only three institutions where dog-related Duchenne research is conducted, according to PETA.
We reached out to A&M and the National Institute for comment and will update accordingly.
Nazi-like torture on dogs at Texas A&M University
At Texas A&M University, experimenters led by Joe Kornegay breed dogs to develop different types of muscular dystrophy (MD), including Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is particularly severe. These diseases ravage their bodies, causing progressive muscle wasting and weakness. Studies with these dogs haven’t led to a cure or even a treatment to reverse disease symptoms.
Video footage shows that Kornegay’s appallingly thin dogs were caged, sometimes alone, in barren metal cells and struggled to swallow thin gruel—the only food that they could eat, given how easily they could choke. Long ropes of saliva hung from the mouths of dogs whose jaw muscles had weakened. Even balancing was difficult. Dogs with this condition are also at great risk for pneumonia because they can easily inhale liquid into their lungs.
Dogs who didn’t have the disease but carried the DMD gene were used for breeding. Deprived of loving homes, they frantically paced the slatted floors and bit the bars of small cages in frustration. They didn’t even have the comfort of a blanket.
To gauge just how much a dog’s muscles have deteriorated, Kornegay has invented a crude technique that could pass for medieval torture: He repeatedly stretches them with a motorized lever in order to cause muscle tears.
Kornegay has been at this for more than 30 years. Puppies in his laboratory who are born with DMD are so weak at birth that they require extra nutrition. By 6 weeks of age, their hind limbs have shifted forward, making walking difficult, and some are unable to open their mouths or jaws.
HIDDEN VIDEO INSIDE LABS AT TEXAS A&M AND IN FRANCE
TEXAS -- Another 10 goats were found dead, and eight injured, Monday morning at Lubbock Independent School District’s ag barn, just a few weeks after nearly 30 goats died after being shot.
This time, Lubbock ISD police believe dogs are to blame for the deaths.
Police are investigating the incident at the ag barn, along Marsha Sharp Freeway west of Slide Road, in which three dogs entered the goat enclosure and attacked the livestock early Monday.
“We were able to get a vet to do an autopsy and confirm that it was dogs that caused the damage,” said Jody Scifres, Lubbock ISD police chief. “We couldn’t catch (the dogs), unfortunately. They are still at large.”
Roger Green, the district’s ag farm manager and Monterey High ag teacher, said he received a phone call around 10 a.m. from another ag teacher telling him about the dead and injured goats. Lubbock ISD officials initially believed some of the animals were shot.
“I was coming back from Ruidoso and I got a call from the other teacher and he said, ‘We have a goat problem,’” Green said. “Immediately, they suspected it was gun shots again because that is what happened weeks ago. This time, it was definitely dogs. We took four to the vet and had them x-rayed and I went to animal control and went through them (the goats’ injuries) and they were all teeth marks.”
Lubbock ISD police already were investigating a case of 29 goats shot by unknown assailants sometime late July 14 or early on the morning of July 15 at the school agriculture barn. Only one survived; 18 were already dead when a caretaker found them last month and 10 were euthanized after medical evaluations.
Scifres said police have no updates on that case and are still looking for suspects.
“It’s going to take some time, but, (with) something like that, it is highly unlikely that it was just one person that was involved,” he said. “There’s more than one person with information that is out there.”
Green said the eight goats that survived the dog attack are recovering and expected to heal.
“They’re going to make it,” Green said.
More security has been added at the barn after the July shooting, with Lubbock ISD police surveying the area more often. But Green said dog attacks are something they can’t control.
“As far as dog attacks, that has happened at every ag farm across the United States. That is something that we deal with,” Green said. “The only security you could do to keep a dog out would be a 24-hour guard, and that’s not feasible. But we’ve set dog traps here.”
In total, 39 goats have been killed at the Lubbock ISD ag barn in the last month.
Green said he is hopeful investigators will find out who is responsible for shooting and killing the other goats.
“(Students) have been just contacting me about this (attack), and they are still devastated about the last one,” Green said. “They take care of them and it’s their pets and they have fun with them. We had so much publicity that they are probably so scared now, it’s going to take them a while before they say something. But eventually somebody will say something to somebody. It might be a year or whenever it is.”
How to help
To report information about the recent attacks on goats in the Lubbock Independent School District ag barn, call Lubbock ISD police at 219-0212 or Crime Line at 741-1000, or text the word “LBKTIPS” to 274637.
A $600 reward is available for anyone with information that leads to a conviction in July’s attack that left nearly 30 goats dead.
Additionally, a Lubbock realtor, Robin Long, is raising money in a separate reward account for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Long said he is concerned that whoever killed the goats will move on to more serious crimes in the future.
“The goats have been replaced,” Long said. “I thought that’s good. But my ultimate goal is to catch whoever did this.”
Donations to the reward fund can be made at any First Bank and Trust location, but Long said he will personally go out and collect checks if needed.
Long said he has raised between $3,400 and $3,500 before leaving on a business trip recently.
WYOMING -- Green River Police Department is asking for information helping to identify the owner and dog in a recent dog bite report.
On July 19, 2016, at about 7:08 p.m., Animal Control Officers responded to an address on East Teton Boulevard, in reference to a report of a dog bite that occurred on the Greenbelt Pathway behind Harrison School.
It was reported an adult Caucasian male, with a bald head wearing a white tank top and an adult Caucasian female with brown hair were pushing a toddler aged child in a stroller on the Greenbelt Pathway, north behind Harrison School.
The couple had a black and white Pit Bull type dog walking in front of them. The dog reportedly bit a 12-year-old juvenile male who was riding a scooter on the Greenbelt Pathway.
The couple didn't stop, but continued walking north on the Greenbelt Pathway and turned southeast on East Teton Boulevard near Alabama Street.
It is Wyoming State Law to report a dog bite and for dogs to have a current rabies vaccination. We would like to identify the owner of the dog and verify rabies vaccination to avoid possible rabies treatment for the juvenile who was bitten.
If you have any information that can help identify the owner of the dog, please contact the Sweetwater County Combined Communication Center at 307-875-1400, the Green River Police Department at 307-872-0555, or Green River Animal Shelter at 307-872-0570.
UPDATE TO STORY:
Officers were contacted by the owner of the dog in the reported dog bite incident, which occurred on the Greenbelt Pathway behind Harrison School on July 19, 2016. The owner of the dog saw a post on social media regarding the incident and contacted the police department.
The owner of the dog provided paperwork, which was verified that the dog was current on its rabies vaccination.
Kolene Anderson, age 36 of Green River, was issued a citation for vicious animal and given warnings for animal at large and city license required.
Green River Police Department would like to thank the public for their assistance and remind citizens according to Green River City Ordinance 6-5(a) any animal which bites a person shall be reported to the animal control officer or the police department.
PENNSYLVANIA -- Five teen football players in Columbia County have been cited for killing animals.
The teens posted a picture of themselves holding baseball bats and posing with the dead animals on social media. The dead animals included a snake, raccoon, frogs, opossums, and pigeons.
“I just don't think it's right. There's no reason to be going around and beating innocent animals and killing them. I just don't think it's right,” said Matt Mindler of Catawissa.
The teens were cited and face fines. Four of the five cited were members of southern Columbia's state championship football team who graduated earlier this month.
Blake Marks, Austin Knepp, Gabe Delbo, and Nick Becker helped lead the Southern Columbia Tigers to a state title in the fall.
Becker was WNEP’s offensive dream team player of the year. Marks was also on the dream team.
Mark Kitchen a football player from Danville was also cited.
"Some kids that are good kids, college bound. Never has any trouble with the law, trouble in school, made a bad decision," said Jim Roth, the head football coach at Southern Columbia. "Some of these kids are not even aware of all the laws as far as small animals."
"I had animals myself and I would rather help them and hurt them,” said Cyril Kowalick of Catawissa. “The punishment they get, the punishment they get and you do the time or whatever."
Newswatch 16 spoke with some people in this community who did not want to talk on camera, they told us they consider the behavior to be stupid. Others say it's more serious than that.
Mindler said, “I understand that to an extent but at the same time, I just don't think you should be going out and killing living creatures like that."
Newswatch 16 did try to contact the wildlife conservation officer who filed the citations. He did not return our calls.
NEBRASKA -- A retired Omaha school principal said he can't believe an animal neglect charge has been filed against him, but the Nebraska Humane Society claims a lack of timely care for a pet rabbit amounts to neglect.
After his granddaughter scrambled for a bunny at the Sarpy County Fair, Ray Perrigo hopped into action. "I was considerate of the bunnies and tried to provide the best home I could for them," he said.
Don't you love how they try to make this a joke... "hopped into action"? Seriously, news reporter Mike McKnight is a moron.
Reporter Mike McKnight finds it funny to add humorous phrases to a story which involved an animal suffering horribly for a prolonged period of time before dying
Perrigo built a bunny ranch for the rabbits to get their exercise. He also built a heated shed so his grandkids could play with the bunnies.
But when he took a sick harlequin rabbit to the humane society, Perrigo got a misdemeanor ticket for animal cruelty.
"This rose to the level of an animal cruelty situation with the severe infection and broken right leg," said Mark Langan of the Nebraska Humane Society. "The rabbit was in such poor shape our veterinarians immediately had to euthanize it."
Perrigo said he didn't know the bunny had suffered a broken leg and he had been putting vet prescribed ointment on the infected ear.
"His ear was back up and he was jumping around good, so I never even gave it a second thought there was any problem because the way he was moving every time I'd open the gate," Perrigo said.
Then why did you dump it at the shelter?
Perrigo has supporters writing the NHS and prosecutors to drop the case, but he had to appear in court, where he pleaded not guilty.
It's not the habitat, but the necropsy photos of the rabbit that are the focus of the investigation.
"We have a picture of the infection in the right ear the size of golf balls," said Langan. "Mr. Perrigo neglected to get proper veterinarian care for this rabbit at least a couple of months and this rabbit was in terrible condition when he brought it in here to us."
Of course his granddaughter Peyton Venneman is going to defend him. How could she not have known the rabbit had a broken leg and also "golf ball sized" infected ears??
The retired principal said the investigation doesn't add up. "If I had been knowingly cruel to that animal, I would not have taken it to an agency that enforces those laws," he said.
If convicted of misdemeanor animal neglect, Perrigo could face up to six months behind a fence much tougher than what he built around the rabbit hutch.
Perrigo said the bunny hid in the shed and he didn't see the severe infection until moving the rabbit to the outdoor pen in the spring. Still, City Prosecutor Matt Kuhse said it's a strong case of animal neglect and will go to trial in early August.
I'm wondering WHEN he took the rabbit to the vet? Did he take it to the vet BEFORE its leg was broken and the ear was only minimally infected? That would make sense that he had ointment for the ear... that he never bothered to take the dog back to the vet after the infection got worse and the poor rabbit's leg was broken. And how did its leg get broken? And if it was his grandkids' pet rabbit, why is he dumping it at the shelter???
