CONNECTICUT -- Foul odors emanating from Elizabeth Schultz's home -- and her refusal to let the dog warden inspect it -- prompted police to arrest the convicted animal abuser this week.
Schultz, 56, was arrested on a charge of violation of probation. She was convicted in 1993 of cruelty to animals after she was found harboring 56 dogs in feces-soiled cages.
Schultz received a one-year suspended sentence and 30 months' probation in the 1993 case. If convicted of violating her probation, she could be forced to serve the one-year jail term.
Schultz, who is free on bond, appeared in Enfield Superior Court Thursday, and her case was continued to Aug. 25. She declined to comment as she left the courthouse.
In two sworn affidavits seeking a warrant for her arrest, Enfield Animal Control Officer Fred Provencher said he repeatedly tried to inspect the inside of Schultz's Lox Lane house after neighbors complained of the conditions there. Under the terms of Schultz's probation, she must allow police officers to inspect her house.
On July 20, Provencher said, Schultz fled the house through the front door while he was knocking on the back door.
On July 21, Provencher and probation officer Cynthia Agyemang could hear more than one dog barking in the house, and could smell ``an overwhelming stench of ammonia/urine and feces'' emanating from the house, the affidavit says. The temperature was about 82 degrees, the doors were closed, all the windows were boarded up and no working air conditioner could be seen.
When police arrested Schultz Wednesday, firefighters had to air out the house so police could search it, but no dogs were found, police said.
In the 1993 case, Schultz was initially charged with 60 counts of cruelty to animals after her dogs were found in houses in Enfield and Windsor Locks. Police also found a total of nine dead dogs in freezers and a refrigerator in the two houses.
Under the conditions of probation, Schultz is allowed to own two dogs, and they must be spayed or neutered. She must undergo psychiatric counseling, refrain from breeding her dogs, and was required to donate $100 to the Windsor Locks dog pound and $150 to the Enfield dog pound.
(Hartford Courant - July 28, 1995)
Tuesday, June 29, 1993
Monday, May 3, 1993
Florida: "The overriding feeling of people in the community is she's disturbed" - Vikki Kittles, charged with 22 counts of animal cruelty, continues to hoard suffering animals
FLORIDA -- Quiet little Astoria, Ore. hasn`t been the same since former Broward resident Vikki Kittles arrived in town.
Vikki Rene Kittles (also known as Susan Dietrich, Rene Depenbrock, and Lynn Zellan), 45, is the woman arrested in 1985 at her mother`s Wilton Manors home on animal cruelty charges after police discovered the women's roommates were two horses, 37 dogs and three cats.
She left Broward County in 1988 only to draw attention again last month on the rural, northern Oregon coast with 117 dogs, four cats and two chickens squeezed into a school bus.
Now Kittles -- arrested on April 16 near Astoria, population 10,000 -- is charged with 22 misdemeanor counts of animal neglect.
The quiet and normalcy of Astoria has been disrupted by Kittles` appearance.
"She`s starting to lose it," said Clatsop County Sheriff`s Deputy Ed Rhoads. "She came in our parking lot (on Friday) and was ranting and raving."
Dan Carter, managing editor of the Daily Astorian, said, "She`s left four or five messages on my voice mail -- just rambling thoughts, really."
Such actions are familiar to those who encountered Kittles in Broward. She had several volatile enounters with police, claimed people were conspiring to kill her animals and routinely fired lawyers who represented her.
Kittles left South Florida in 1985 rather than go to trial on the animal abuse charges. She took her mother, Jean Sullivan -- and a lot of animals -- with her.
When Kittles was re-arrested in Manatee County in 1987, she returned to Broward to face animal abuse and other charges. Sullivan has never been heard from again -- a mystery that still baffles police, who think she is dead.
Kittles` sister-in-law, Carol Kittles of Kendall, hired a private detective to try to find Sullivan. The detective failed. Vikki Kittles has adamantly refused to discuss her mother with police.
Carol Kittles said she will not try to question Vikki Kittles about Sullivan, who if alive, would be in her late 70s.
"There's nothing I can do," she said. "She won`t speak to me, anyway."
Kittles could not be reached for comment. Directory assistance in Astoria has no telephone listing for her and it could not be determined where she is living.
Kittles spent about a week in jail on the Oregon charges before being released. Her animals were placed in a county animal shelter and a private kennel pending the outcome of her trial.
"We've gotten a lot of calls from people wanting to come down and adopt them," Rhoads said. Others have donated food and money.
Oregon authorities said Kittles picked up most of the dogs from a Mississippi shelter, supposedly" so they would not be killed". Then she drove to Colorado and Washington before ending up in Oregon.
"We`re finding out dogs died along the way," Rhoads said. One witness in Washington saw Kittles set the carcass of a dog on fire, he said.
Since her Oregon arrest, Vikki Kittles has fired three court-appointed attorneys. Now she must act as her own lawyer or hire one at her own expense.
She also has been banned from the animal shelter because she caused a ruckus during an earlier visit. At least two of her dogs have died from illnesses, and others have heartworms.
It is perhaps ironic that Kittles, the self-styled animal lover, is staying in Astoria. The town is named after John Jacob Astor, the fur magnate who established a fur trading post in the area.
"The overriding feeling of people in the community is she's disturbed," said Carter, the newspaper editor. "People aren't really amused by this whole thing. But she has had some supporters."
Kittles' next court appearance is scheduled for Friday, when she is expected to ask a judge to force the animal shelter to preserve the bodies of any of her animals that die in its custody.
(Sun Sentinel - May 3, 1993)
Vikki Rene Kittles (also known as Susan Dietrich, Rene Depenbrock, and Lynn Zellan), 45, is the woman arrested in 1985 at her mother`s Wilton Manors home on animal cruelty charges after police discovered the women's roommates were two horses, 37 dogs and three cats.
She left Broward County in 1988 only to draw attention again last month on the rural, northern Oregon coast with 117 dogs, four cats and two chickens squeezed into a school bus.
Now Kittles -- arrested on April 16 near Astoria, population 10,000 -- is charged with 22 misdemeanor counts of animal neglect.
The quiet and normalcy of Astoria has been disrupted by Kittles` appearance.
"She`s starting to lose it," said Clatsop County Sheriff`s Deputy Ed Rhoads. "She came in our parking lot (on Friday) and was ranting and raving."
Dan Carter, managing editor of the Daily Astorian, said, "She`s left four or five messages on my voice mail -- just rambling thoughts, really."
Such actions are familiar to those who encountered Kittles in Broward. She had several volatile enounters with police, claimed people were conspiring to kill her animals and routinely fired lawyers who represented her.
Kittles left South Florida in 1985 rather than go to trial on the animal abuse charges. She took her mother, Jean Sullivan -- and a lot of animals -- with her.
When Kittles was re-arrested in Manatee County in 1987, she returned to Broward to face animal abuse and other charges. Sullivan has never been heard from again -- a mystery that still baffles police, who think she is dead.
Kittles` sister-in-law, Carol Kittles of Kendall, hired a private detective to try to find Sullivan. The detective failed. Vikki Kittles has adamantly refused to discuss her mother with police.
Carol Kittles said she will not try to question Vikki Kittles about Sullivan, who if alive, would be in her late 70s.
"There's nothing I can do," she said. "She won`t speak to me, anyway."
Kittles could not be reached for comment. Directory assistance in Astoria has no telephone listing for her and it could not be determined where she is living.
Kittles spent about a week in jail on the Oregon charges before being released. Her animals were placed in a county animal shelter and a private kennel pending the outcome of her trial.
"We've gotten a lot of calls from people wanting to come down and adopt them," Rhoads said. Others have donated food and money.
Oregon authorities said Kittles picked up most of the dogs from a Mississippi shelter, supposedly" so they would not be killed". Then she drove to Colorado and Washington before ending up in Oregon.
"We`re finding out dogs died along the way," Rhoads said. One witness in Washington saw Kittles set the carcass of a dog on fire, he said.
Since her Oregon arrest, Vikki Kittles has fired three court-appointed attorneys. Now she must act as her own lawyer or hire one at her own expense.
She also has been banned from the animal shelter because she caused a ruckus during an earlier visit. At least two of her dogs have died from illnesses, and others have heartworms.
It is perhaps ironic that Kittles, the self-styled animal lover, is staying in Astoria. The town is named after John Jacob Astor, the fur magnate who established a fur trading post in the area.
"The overriding feeling of people in the community is she's disturbed," said Carter, the newspaper editor. "People aren't really amused by this whole thing. But she has had some supporters."
Kittles' next court appearance is scheduled for Friday, when she is expected to ask a judge to force the animal shelter to preserve the bodies of any of her animals that die in its custody.
(Sun Sentinel - May 3, 1993)
Saturday, October 17, 1992
Florida: Parents of little boy attacked by a pit bull while inside Delray Bait and Tackle shop file lawsuit
FLORIDA -- The parents of a boy bitten in March by a pit bull terrier while inside Delray Bait and Tackle filed a lawsuit on Friday against the tackle shop and the dog's owner.
The lawsuit, filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court by George and Jamie Biegler, seeks more than $15,000 in damages against the shop and Patty Morris.
The suit said George Biegler and his son, Kevin Biegler, were in the shop on March 15 buying fishing bait when the pit bull bit Kevin while Morris socialized with shop employees.
The Bieglers are suing for their son's bodily injury, mental anguish, and pain and suffering. They also are seeking damages for mental anguish and medical costs they incurred.
(Sun Sentinel - October 17, 1992)
The lawsuit, filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court by George and Jamie Biegler, seeks more than $15,000 in damages against the shop and Patty Morris.
The Bieglers are suing for their son's bodily injury, mental anguish, and pain and suffering. They also are seeking damages for mental anguish and medical costs they incurred.
(Sun Sentinel - October 17, 1992)
Wednesday, January 9, 1991
Florida: Timothy Jenk, 42, accused of ripping the tail off a kitten
FLORIDA -- A man was jailed on an animal cruelty charge after he tore the tail off of a kitten he was carrying at a soup kitchen on Monday, police said.
Timothy Lee Jenk, 42, was arrested after a witness told police Jenk was holding a bloody kitten at the First Lutheran Church. Jenk was confronted by a police officer when he returned to the soup kitchen, apparently after changing his shirt, police said.
Jenk lied and told the officer a veterinarian had removed the kitten's tail the day before. Police said the black 12-week-old kitten appeared to be in severe pain and the injury was fresh.
When the officer told Jenk he was going to call Broward Animal Control, Jenk fled, police said. After a short chase, the officer caught Jenk and found a blood-soaked shirt.
Jenk was jailed in lieu of $100 bail, which was raised to $5,100 on Tuesday. The cat was turned over to Animal Control and underwent an operation for its injury on Tuesday.
(Sun Sentinel - January 9, 1991)
Timothy Lee Jenk, 42, was arrested after a witness told police Jenk was holding a bloody kitten at the First Lutheran Church. Jenk was confronted by a police officer when he returned to the soup kitchen, apparently after changing his shirt, police said.
Jenk lied and told the officer a veterinarian had removed the kitten's tail the day before. Police said the black 12-week-old kitten appeared to be in severe pain and the injury was fresh.
When the officer told Jenk he was going to call Broward Animal Control, Jenk fled, police said. After a short chase, the officer caught Jenk and found a blood-soaked shirt.
Jenk was jailed in lieu of $100 bail, which was raised to $5,100 on Tuesday. The cat was turned over to Animal Control and underwent an operation for its injury on Tuesday.
(Sun Sentinel - January 9, 1991)
Saturday, January 5, 1991
Florida: Girl, 9, bitten by John Trucks' Pit bull. Police officer who responded also attacked by the same Pit Bull
FLORIDA -- A police officer and a girl were bitten by a Pit Bull mix that attacked children who were walking home from Flamingo Elementary School, police said on Friday.
Officer Jay Seiler was bitten twice on Thursday on the right leg, one puncturing the skin and the other failing to penetrate his leather boot, police spokeswoman Christine Murray said.
The dog also bit Jessica McClung, 9, on the hand but did not puncture the skin, Murray said.
The pit bull's owner released the dog to authorities, and the animal is expected to be euthanized and tested for rabies, police said. The dog has never had a rabies shot, Murray said.
A second police officer, Scott Kiso, saw two pit bulls run up to a group of children, and then go after a second group of youngsters. He did not know whether anyone was bitten during those incidents, Murray said.
Jessica told her mother that children near her who were walking home from school had yelled at one of the dogs and stomped their feet at it before it ran over to her and bit her, said Jessica`s mother, Ella Burdick.
Police were called to the 700 block of Southwest 133rd Terrace when a passer- by reported that two dogs were attacking children.
The officers saw the dogs run under a trailer and into a yard. Officer Seiler was walking to the front door of the trailer looking for the owner when he was bitten by the dog that bit Jessica, Murray said.
No charges had been filed against the dogs' owner, John Trucks, Murray said. An investigation is continuing.
The second dog, also owned by Trucks, a female who had puppies recently, will be quarantined for 10 days to determine whether she has rabies. Murray said the dog`s rabies shots were not up to date.
(Sun Sentinel - January 5, 1991)
Officer Jay Seiler was bitten twice on Thursday on the right leg, one puncturing the skin and the other failing to penetrate his leather boot, police spokeswoman Christine Murray said.
The dog also bit Jessica McClung, 9, on the hand but did not puncture the skin, Murray said.
The pit bull's owner released the dog to authorities, and the animal is expected to be euthanized and tested for rabies, police said. The dog has never had a rabies shot, Murray said.
A second police officer, Scott Kiso, saw two pit bulls run up to a group of children, and then go after a second group of youngsters. He did not know whether anyone was bitten during those incidents, Murray said.
Jessica told her mother that children near her who were walking home from school had yelled at one of the dogs and stomped their feet at it before it ran over to her and bit her, said Jessica`s mother, Ella Burdick.
Police were called to the 700 block of Southwest 133rd Terrace when a passer- by reported that two dogs were attacking children.
The officers saw the dogs run under a trailer and into a yard. Officer Seiler was walking to the front door of the trailer looking for the owner when he was bitten by the dog that bit Jessica, Murray said.
No charges had been filed against the dogs' owner, John Trucks, Murray said. An investigation is continuing.
The second dog, also owned by Trucks, a female who had puppies recently, will be quarantined for 10 days to determine whether she has rabies. Murray said the dog`s rabies shots were not up to date.
(Sun Sentinel - January 5, 1991)
Saturday, July 21, 1990
Illinois: Notorious Pit Bull Kills Sleeping Baby
ILLINOIS -- Nearly everyone on the street knew the mean, doe-colored pit bull who growled crazily from his owner's back porch and tugged wildly on his leash more like a bronco than a 55-pound dog.
In February he bit a neighbor's foot, and before that he mauled a cat in one of the yards, neighbors said.
"If he was on the porch, you`d just go back downstairs," said Yolanda Applewhite, who was visiting her mother at 1339 W. 112th St. on Wednesday night when the dog lashed out with its final and most tragic attack.
About 9 p.m., Applewhite laid her sleeping 6-month-old daughter, Tionna, onto a couch in the apartment of Tyrone and Deanna Harding, who lived in an upstairs apartment.
The dog, owned by the Hardings, was on the back porch.
Applewhite said Thursday that before the attack, she and Deanna Harding went to the store.
"We were gone 15 or 20 minutes,"` she said. "Tyrone was supposed to be watching her. The dog was locked up.
"When we came back, my baby was almost dead."
The dog repeatedly bit the girl`s head, face and chest, police said, and she died that night at Cook County Hospital.
"We heard the noise, but when you live in a house and hear it all the time you think, `That`s probably Tyrone playing with the dog,'" said Renee Applewhite, the victim`s grandmother, who was still trying to put her thoughts together Thursday morning.
"Then he came down and said, `Renee, Renee, come quick. The dog just bit the baby.`
"A couple of friends ran upstairs," she said. "They wouldn't let me go inside.
"When they brought her down, all I could see was the back of the baby`s shirt, and it was all covered with blood."
"She was a beautiful baby," Applewhite added. "She was really cheerful, somebody you`d like to be around when you`re in a bad mood."
Police said no charges are expected to be filed against Harding, who, following the attack, was quoted by relatives of the victim as saying, "I'm sorry, I`m sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."
Investigators said they were uncertain how the dog got into the apartment from the porch, and Harding could not be reached for comment by the Tribune Thursday night.
The fatal attack on the Applewhite baby, and other recent incidents involving dogs that were at least part pit bull, have rekindled the debate over pit bulls.
On June 29, a 2-month-old Lansing girl died after she was attacked by a mixed-breed dog.
And Wednesday in Crest Hill, a suburb of Joliet, police killed two dogs they described as pit bulls after the animals attacked and slightly injured a newspaper delivery boy and two other dogs, according to a police spokeswoman. On 112th Street, there were only angry words for the breed.
"A pit bull is a killer, a fighting dog," said Wanda Eggelston, a neighbor. "It`s not supposed to be around human beings."
Renee Applewhite said after she and her family moved into the tiny, two-story frame house in March, "The Hardings were OK. We got along fine as long as they kept the dog upstairs."
By one neighbor`s count, the animal bit three people on the block before it killed Tionna.
After the fatal attack, the Hardings' dog was taken to the David R. Lee Animal Care Facility, 2741 S. Western Ave., where it remained "tremendously aggressive," according to Peter Poholik, executive director of the City Commission for Animal Care and Control.
It was photographed by a police evidence technician, tranquilized and given a fatal dose of phenobarbital just before noon Thursday.
The pit bull was gone.
So was a 6-month-old girl.
(Chicago Tribune - July 20, 1990)
In February he bit a neighbor's foot, and before that he mauled a cat in one of the yards, neighbors said.
"If he was on the porch, you`d just go back downstairs," said Yolanda Applewhite, who was visiting her mother at 1339 W. 112th St. on Wednesday night when the dog lashed out with its final and most tragic attack.
About 9 p.m., Applewhite laid her sleeping 6-month-old daughter, Tionna, onto a couch in the apartment of Tyrone and Deanna Harding, who lived in an upstairs apartment.
The dog, owned by the Hardings, was on the back porch.
Applewhite said Thursday that before the attack, she and Deanna Harding went to the store.
"We were gone 15 or 20 minutes,"` she said. "Tyrone was supposed to be watching her. The dog was locked up.
"When we came back, my baby was almost dead."
The dog repeatedly bit the girl`s head, face and chest, police said, and she died that night at Cook County Hospital.
"We heard the noise, but when you live in a house and hear it all the time you think, `That`s probably Tyrone playing with the dog,'" said Renee Applewhite, the victim`s grandmother, who was still trying to put her thoughts together Thursday morning.
"Then he came down and said, `Renee, Renee, come quick. The dog just bit the baby.`
"A couple of friends ran upstairs," she said. "They wouldn't let me go inside.
"When they brought her down, all I could see was the back of the baby`s shirt, and it was all covered with blood."
"She was a beautiful baby," Applewhite added. "She was really cheerful, somebody you`d like to be around when you`re in a bad mood."
Police said no charges are expected to be filed against Harding, who, following the attack, was quoted by relatives of the victim as saying, "I'm sorry, I`m sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."
Investigators said they were uncertain how the dog got into the apartment from the porch, and Harding could not be reached for comment by the Tribune Thursday night.
The fatal attack on the Applewhite baby, and other recent incidents involving dogs that were at least part pit bull, have rekindled the debate over pit bulls.
On June 29, a 2-month-old Lansing girl died after she was attacked by a mixed-breed dog.
And Wednesday in Crest Hill, a suburb of Joliet, police killed two dogs they described as pit bulls after the animals attacked and slightly injured a newspaper delivery boy and two other dogs, according to a police spokeswoman. On 112th Street, there were only angry words for the breed.
"A pit bull is a killer, a fighting dog," said Wanda Eggelston, a neighbor. "It`s not supposed to be around human beings."
Renee Applewhite said after she and her family moved into the tiny, two-story frame house in March, "The Hardings were OK. We got along fine as long as they kept the dog upstairs."
By one neighbor`s count, the animal bit three people on the block before it killed Tionna.
After the fatal attack, the Hardings' dog was taken to the David R. Lee Animal Care Facility, 2741 S. Western Ave., where it remained "tremendously aggressive," according to Peter Poholik, executive director of the City Commission for Animal Care and Control.
It was photographed by a police evidence technician, tranquilized and given a fatal dose of phenobarbital just before noon Thursday.
The pit bull was gone.
So was a 6-month-old girl.
(Chicago Tribune - July 20, 1990)
Thursday, April 19, 1990
Florida: Pit bull chases down boy, 15, and attacks him. Sheriff's Office gives the pit bull right back to its owners
FLORIDA -- A teenager was injured on Wednesday when he was attacked by a pit bull terrier at a mobile home park near Davie, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.
Justin Wilson, 15, was treated by paramedics for puncture wounds to his back and referred to his family doctor, Sheriff's Office spokesman Al Gordon said.
Justin and his brother Chris, 16, who live in the 3500 block of Southwest 57th Avenue, went to another home at the Silver Oaks Mobile Home Park to visit a girl, Gordon said.
When they knocked on the front door, the dog threw itself against the door and opened it. Justin ran, and the dog attacked him, Gordon said.
The dog was taken into the custody of Broward County Animal Control. If it is properly vaccinated, it will be returned to owners Eugene Saunders and Linda Saunders, Gordon said.
The dog was running loose and attacked a child! No vicious dog ticket?
(Sun Sentinel - April 19, 1990)
Justin Wilson, 15, was treated by paramedics for puncture wounds to his back and referred to his family doctor, Sheriff's Office spokesman Al Gordon said.
Justin and his brother Chris, 16, who live in the 3500 block of Southwest 57th Avenue, went to another home at the Silver Oaks Mobile Home Park to visit a girl, Gordon said.
When they knocked on the front door, the dog threw itself against the door and opened it. Justin ran, and the dog attacked him, Gordon said.
The dog was taken into the custody of Broward County Animal Control. If it is properly vaccinated, it will be returned to owners Eugene Saunders and Linda Saunders, Gordon said.
The dog was running loose and attacked a child! No vicious dog ticket?
(Sun Sentinel - April 19, 1990)
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