Three-year old boy recovering after pit bull attack

CALIFORNIA -- A three year old boy is recovering at a local hospital after being attacked by a dog on Sunday.

The boy was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries to his face after a friend's pit bull attacked.

 

"I was just sitting down and the kid walked up with his hand raised to the dog and the dog bit him in the face," said Cole Birchard, the dog's owner. "As soon as the dog grabbed him on the face, I grabbed ahold of the dog."

He says as soon as his five year old pit bull latched on to the child's face, the damage was apparent.

The boy and his mother were visiting the family friends when it all happened just before midnight Sunday.

"He had sustained injuries to his face, nose and lip," said Birchard.

The boy was then rushed to Arroyo Grande Community Hospital.

"It's just horrifying all around, I feel bad for everybody," said Birchard.

Deputies said when they arrived at the hospital and saw the child, they immediately began searching for the dog and its owner; however, the owner turned over the dog to Animal Services shortly after.

Right now, the dog is quarantined at the San Luis Obispo County Animal Services. According to officials there, what happens to a dog in a situation like this really depends on the circumstances.

"Certainly any past history of aggression or bite history problems go into consideration," said Eric Anderson, Director of Animal Services.

He says in this case, the dog does not have any, meaning investigators will need to depend on statements from witnesses.

"There are potential criminal charges in this case regarding child endangerment on the part of the dog's owner, as well as the mother of the child but that will be determined by the District Attorney's Office," said Tony Cipolla of the San Luis Obispo Sheriff's Office.

KSBY reached out to the family of the boy but they could not speak with us Tuesday. They will continue to stay with him while he recovers in the hospital.

(KSBY - Oct 23, 2013)

Braveheart goes home, original owner facing cruelty charge

LOUISIANA -- Braveheart now has a 'fur-ever' home and family, and his original owner is now facing a felony animal cruelty charge.

Caddo Animal Control Director Everett Harris confirms that the pit-bull puppy's original owner signed away rights to the dog Thursday night, clearing the way for Bo and Ronda Spataro to adopt.

As a result, Braveheart was released into the care of a veterinarian in Caddo Parish Thursday night. On Friday, after being given a clean bill of health, he went home with the Spataros.

They brought Braveheart up to the Benton Animal Hospital where Ronda Spataro works on Friday afternoon for a brief visit and to announce Braveheart's adoption.

Shreveport Police Cpl. Marcus Hines confirms 31-year-old Gabriel Lee of the 3100 block of Devaughn Street in Shreveport turned himself in to the Caddo Correctional Center just before 3:30 p.m. Friday. He is charged with 1 count of aggravated cruelty to animals. His bond is set at $5,000.

Animal control investigators had been working to identify the man who rented the storage unit at a facility off of Youree Drive, where the emaciated dog was found chained back on September 11.

While police made the initial report upon Braveheart's discovery, Caddo Parish Animal Services did not begin investigating the alleged abuse until after learning about it from a local reporter October 9.

That's when the dog was taken from his foster family, the Spataros. That created an uproar among those who felt the dog should be allowed to recover at their home, rather than the sterile confinement of the animal shelter.

A protest was planned and a petition was circulated, gathering more than 10,000 signatures in just over 24 hours before it was shut down with word of Braveheart's release to a local vet Thursday night.

The Spataros say Braveheart is doing well, and that they are happy to have him home.

(KSLA - Oct 25, 2013)

Woman allegedly admits to cutting dog's ears off

PENNSYLVANIA -- A 19-year-old Haverford Township woman who said she found a pit bull puppy with its ears cut off last week has allegedly admitted to removing the dog’s ears herself, according to officials with the Delaware County SPCA.

 The woman, who lives in an apartment on Glendale Road, provided a written statement to humane investigators from the SPCA on Thursday afternoon in which she allegedly said she unintentionally cut off the dog’s ears.

She had earlier claimed to have discovered the dog already injured near the 69th Street Terminal in Upper Darby Township.

SPCA officials said they intend to file a complaint with the District Attorney’s office next week seeking charges of misdemeanor animal cruelty. The puppy, since nicknamed Van Gogh, was taken to the Stoney Creek Veterinary Hospital in Ridley Township by the woman, whose name is being withheld because she has not been charged with any crime, last week.

“Things didn’t match up,” said Justine Calgiano, director of community relations for the Delco SPCA, of the woman’s original claims. Humane Investigator Bill Vernon conducted interviews in the area of 69th Street where she claimed to have found the dog and said that the details of her story were inconsistent. He quickly determined that the dog wasn’t found there.

“That’s when Bill and Ron (Riggle) took over the investigation,” Calgiano said of the SPCA’s two investigators.

The woman allegedly changed her story on Thursday, saying that she obtained the dog from a breeder and it was infested with fleas and had scabs all over its body.

“I took him home to clean off the scabs and fleas,” the woman’s statement reads. “I was cutting old scabs off when I cut his ear off. I panicked and cut the other one.”

The statement further reads that she bandaged the dog’s head so the bleeding would stop, and then said she found him “so he could get medical care that I could not afford.”

Van Gogh has been at Stoney Creek since being dropped off by the woman, and is doing well according to Calgiano.

“We’re very happy that he’s there,” Calgiano said. “He’s obviously receiving the best care possible, which is care that we wouldn’t able to provide here at the SPCA. They’re great people over there. We feel really confident that he’s going to do very well over there.”

Van Gogh needed to have additional procedures done to his ears to clean up the ragged cuts that appear to have been made with scissors, Calgiano said. She added that he is also receiving cold laser treatments to ease the pain on his ears and to help his wounds heal.

On Friday, Vernon removed 10 animals from the woman’s apartment, including two Chihuahuas, a German Shepherd, a Beagle-Yorkie mix and a kitten. A turtle, two fish, an iguana and two large exotic birds were also removed. Calgiano said the woman signed over all but two of the animals to the SPCA. The other two don’t belong to her, Calgiano said, so she couldn’t sign them over.

“They all appear to be fed and cared for,” Calgiano said of the removed animals. It did not appear to be a hoarding case, she added.

Once the animals are rehabilitated and spayed or neutered, they will be available for adoption.
Donations for the care of the 10 removed animals can be made online at delcospca.org/donations.

In addition to the animal cruelty charges, Vernon will also request a psychological evaluation for the woman

(Delco Times - Oct 26, 2013)

Former breeder charged with 20 counts of animal cruelty

ALABAMA -- A former champion dog breeder is charged with 20 counts of animal cruelty after his dogs were found emaciated and neglected at his Cherokee County home.

Nineteen dogs and a cat were removed from Rud Tietjen’s Ball Ground home Wednesday after the animals were found living among dog carcasses, bones, rancid meat and feces, according to Alexa Huston with the Cherokee County Marshal’s Office. Tietjen was arrested following the search of his Creighton Road property.

Five of the dogs were purebred Great Pyrenees and the remainder were Sheltie dogs [aka Shetland Sheepdogs], Huston said.

Tietjen’s animals participated in dog shows more than a decade ago, she said.

Investigators were called to Tietjen’s home Wednesday after a neighbor complained of terrible smells and barking coming from the property, Huston said. The marshal’s office executed a search warrant at the home, accompanied by animal shelter staff, a veterinarian and other inspectors.

Tietjen was booked into the Cherokee County jail and later released after posting $1,000 bond, according to the sheriff’s office.

(AJC - Oct 17, 2013)

Oklahoma: Tashina Hawk arrested and charged with Animal Cruelty; accused of starving her Pit Bull

OKLAHOMA -- A Dewey woman is in custody after being arrested on a warrant allegedly abusing a one-year old female pit bull dog. 

Thirty-on-year old Tashina Hawk (aka Tashina Hawk Sutton) is charged with cruelty to animals. 

Back on June 5th, 2013, Dewey police noticed an emaciated dog lying in a cardboard box on the front porch at a home in the 700 block of East 3rd Street.

Online records list Hawk as residing at 718 East 3rd Street.

According to a court affidavit, the dog appeared to have been starved and had sores on the animal's body.  The next day, Hawk told the police she took the dog to a friend's house because the animal began losing hair and getting sick.

Hawk also told the authorities that she used penicillin and putting ointment on the sores.  Hawk claimed she hadn't seen the dog in a week.

The police took pictures of the dog and let a veterinarian take a look at the photos.  The doctor concluded that the dog had not been property fed or tended and should have not been allowed to reach that condition. 

Hawk's next court date is November 15th.  Bond was set at $25,000.

(Bartlesville Radio- October 25, 2013)

Couple fined for not getting treatment for dog that ate an umbrella

UNITED KINGDOM -- A couple from Kent have been fined and told to do unpaid work [community service] after failing to get treatment from a vet after their cocker spaniel ate an umbrella.

The dog, Paddy has since been treated and is now on the road to recovery.

(ITV - Oct 26, 2013)

Four arrested in drug raid at Tuscaloosa K9 camp

ALABAMA -- A drug raid at a canine training camp has escalated into an animal abuse investigation. Four employees of the Tuscaloosa K-9 Training Academy, or Camp Mayhem, were arrested on Wednesday on marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges.

 

Investigators say they conducted undercover buys at the training facility, which also included methamphetamine. They do not believe the meth was manufactured at the dog training camp.

While on site during the raid, investigators also discovered the bodies of several dogs in a freezer on the property. Many of the other animals also showed signs of poor health.

Veterinarians and employees of the local humane society came to Came Mayhem on Thursday to evaluate the health of over 130 dogs that were on the property. Cats, kittens, goats, and pigs were also located.

Veterinarian, Jimmy Canant, says it's probably the worst abuse case he's ever seen. "Some of the dogs are in bad shape," Canant explains. "The smell was incredible inside the buildings. Some of the outside runs were okay, but inside, just filth and environmental conditions were unbelievably bad."

Canant says some of the dogs had injuries, skin conditions, respiratory conditions, and eye
conditions. However, he was most concerned about the number of animals locked in small crates in such tight quarters.

"It looks like a hording situation to me," he says.  "Now I'm not a professional in that area, but I look strictly at their health, and this is a very unhealthy environment."

Some of the animals are family pets who were sent to the facility for obedience training. Those owners are not able to be reunited with their pets yet. 

"Because we're still working the case,"says task force commander, Richard White.  "And I apologize for that, it just takes a while to get this all done."  White recommends that any owners that have pets at Camp Mayhem should get forms of identification ready for when the animals are released.

Heather Litz, Bryan McQueen, Charles Vance, and Nancy Vance are currently in the Fayette County jail.  No bond has been set yet for their release.

The Fayette County Sheriff's office plans to release more information as soon as it is available on how pet owners can be reunited with their animals.

(WIAT - Oct 25, 2013)