Seized Dogs From Suspected MI Puppy Mill Fly To New York
Source: kktv.com, Feb 7, 2010
The American Humane Association’s animal emergency responders loaded 34 seized dogs from a suspected puppy mill in Olive Branch Miss., onto a plane on Sunday.
The plane is operated by Denver’s Pet Airways and they’re the ones who flew them to New York ASPCA’s (American Society for the Prevention to Cruelty to Animals) headquarters for adoption.
This is a culmination of five days of working together with the Marshall County Humane Society after 95 dogs and one cat were removed from the property of a suspected puppy mill.
They discovered dogs living in feces-encrusted pens and filth. They include small breeds, such as Shih Tzus, Lhasa apsos, pugs, Yorkshire terriers, corgis, and Chihuahuas.
Manny Maciel, an animal handler volunteering with American Humane’s Red Star Animal Emergency Services™, said that many dogs appeared underweight and appear to have skin problems, among other medical conditions.
Several dead adult dogs and puppies were found.
Also on the scene with the ASPCA and American Humane, personnel from Marshall County Humane Society, Mississippi State University and Collierville (Tenn.) Humane Society were removing and transporting animals to an emergency shelter site at the Marshall County Humane Society Clinic in Byhalia, Miss.
They were triaged by a veterinary team and temporarily sheltered before being transferred to other animal welfare agencies and ultimately made available for adoption. These are the last of the 34 dogs to be transferred.
“Collaboration among animal welfare groups, such as this effort between American Humane and the ASPCA — both national organizations — as well as several local organizations, is an effective way to address the needs of animals in situations like puppy mills and other emergencies,” said Debrah Schnackenberg, vice president of American Humane’s Animal Protection Division and director of its Animal Emergency Services. “Together, we can respond quickly, assemble the best resources, and provide the necessary treatment and care to help get these animals on the road to recovery and into the new, loving homes they all deserve.”
The investigation was set into motion after local officials contacted the ASPCA several weeks ago. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, led by Sheriff Kenny Dickerson, served a warrant, along with Sgt. Kelly McMillan, Investigators Gary Byrd and David Pannell, and Officer Tracy Jefferies. Charges against the puppy mill’s owners are currently pending, but the dogs have been signed over to the ASPCA.
Puppy mills are large-scale breeding operations where animals often live in filthy conditions that foster disease, and frequently suffer from neglect and the absence of veterinary care. Adult dogs are bred excessively and often spend their entire lives in small runs or cages. For the puppies, neglect of emotional needs due to lack of socialization, isolation and the trauma of transportation at an early age is a serious problem. In addition, ignorance or indifference to good breeding practices often results in dogs with genetic problems, and puppy mills add to the already critical problem of pet overpopulation.
American Humane seeks to eliminate puppy mills through enforcement of current laws and regulations, enactment of legislation, and public education to eliminate the market for such animals.
For more information about puppy mills and how to fight animal cruelty, please visit www.americanhumane.org/protecting-animals.
Find us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/americanhumane and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/americanhumane.
The information contained in this release can be reused and posted with proper credit given to the American Humane Association.
95 Dogs Found At Mississippi Puppy Mill
By aschae and has no comments yet.
Source: wreg.com,Feb 4, 2010
A tip led investigators to a rural home where they discovered one of the worst puppy mills they’ve ever seen.
A Mississippi couple faces dozens of misdemeanor counts of Animal Cruelty. Investigators with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found 95 dogs living in what they call “deplorable conditions” early Thursday. Animal experts say the type of matted hair found on some of the dogs took years to grow. It’s proof, they say, of neglect and abuse of 95 dogs found on the property. Investigators think the operation had gone on for a while, even though neighbors say they never suspected anything. It’s possible the couple took in animals, but then just had too many to care for. At some point, authorities say they started to breed more — for profit.
“I think she’s probably a very nice person and she’s trying to help these animals out,” says Mary Champlin who lives next door.
Neighbors watch in shock, as one by one the animals are tagged and evaluated. Most have disease and malnutrition. Marshall County Prosecutor Shirley Byers says she found carcasses all over the property, skeletal remains inside pens, and a pile of ash where she thinks the homeowners disposed of dead animals.
“It’s very difficult and very time consuming to take care of 100 animals. If you don’t have a staff… this is typically what you end up with,” says Tim Rickey with the ASPCA.
It’s possible they just had too many dogs to handle, but it’s the females that prove to investigators the problem goes beyond hoarding.
“She was a breeder,” says Kelley Wier with the American Humane Association as she holds an adult Chihuahua. “You can clearly see the teats, they’re elongated, so she’s been bred more than once.”
As the workers with the AHA trim lumps of matted hair from a shivering dog, they place it in bags that will entered into evidence that will eventually help charge the couple with animal abuse. The prosecutor says the Sheriff’s office knew of a problem back in 2008, but nothing happened. Byers says the woman responsible used to work at the Sheriff’s office, and her husband is the Assistant County Coroner. Charges could come in the next week.
In the meantime, the neglected dogs will stay at the Marshall County Humane Society Clinic in Byhalia. They are not up for adoption until the court process gets underway, however cash donations are needed to help care for the animals. Contact the Marshall County Humane Society Clinic, the American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org or the ASPCA at www.aspca.org.
33 dogs seized from breeder
By aschae and has no comments yet.
Source: thenews-messenger.com, Feb 8, 2010
Animal cruelty charges are expected against a township dog breeder after officials seized 33 dogs living in a filth of feces on the resident’s property Friday, authorities said.
Denny Hammond, Sandusky County humane officer, said he plans to file 35 misdemeanor charges against the resident this week in Sandusky County Court District 1 in Clyde. The maximum punishment for one count of animal cruelty is 90 days in jail and a $750 fine.
“They weren’t malnourished,” Hammond said. “It was feces and the urine they were wallowing in. That was very unsanitary for anyone.”
Five or six children at the rural Fangboner Road property also were moved to a neighbor’s home until the home can be cleaned up, said Deputy Eric Arquette of the Sandusky County sheriff’s office. Children’s Services and the Sandusky County Health Department have become involved and are expected to check the home Monday, according to Sandusky County sheriff’s reports.
Hammond executed a search warrant on the property Friday with Arquette’s help. Hammond also confiscated two exotic birds in addition to the dogs and puppies.
The dogs were mostly basset hounds and Pomeranians, and those breeds had the puppies, he said. There also was a St. Bernard and a Chihuahua, he said.
The animals were spread out in cages in the garage and in rooms of the house, he said.
“Their cages were pretty filthy,” he said. “The cage was too small for the St. Bernard.”
Hammond took the dogs to the Humane Society of Sandusky County. They may need foster homes while the court decides what to do with them, he said.
The exotic birds already have been placed in a foster home, he said.
Hammond said he sought the search warrant after he responded to a complaint of pigs running loose on the property. While he was there, he knocked on the door at the home and noticed a large number of dogs there, he said.
Dog Goes Missing in Deadly Crash
Source: kaaltv.com, Feb 3, 2010
The search is on for a Rochester dog that went missing during a 40-car pile-up in Iowa.
The Johnson family is now hanging missing posters across the area, hoping to bring their little Pomeranian home.
Condolence cards are mixed with wanted posters in the Johnson household.
“We’d really love to have him back. He’s a part of the family. They’re just like kids you know,” said Kathy Johnson.
Johnson is talking about her dog “Bear”.
He’s been missing since January 25th; the day Kathy and her husband Craig got into a 40-car pile-up on I-35.
Kathy, and her other Pomeranian “Boo” survived. Craig did not.
“I’d rather have Craig, but second best would be everybody’s safety, and having the family whole again, and that would be Bear,” said Johnson.
There have been alleged sightings. Farmers saying they’ve seen Bear on their land, or perhaps the most promising story…
“We’ve also heard where a trucker stopped and told the state trooper that he found a little dog,” said Johnson.
ABC 6 NEWS tracked down that trooper, who confirmed that a man came up to him at the accident scene with a dog that he found running around.
“We’re just hoping that maybe he has bear,” said Johnson.
The trooper needed to focus on the accident, so the man offered to take the dog with him on a work trip to Oklahoma, saying he’d check back in when he got back to Albert Lea in a few weeks.
“We’re not absolutely certain it’s Bear, but he described it as a small dog with a tag,” said Johnson.
The problem is no one knows who the trucker is, or if the dog he found is even Bear and the Johnsons are hoping someone in Albert Lea will see this story and make the connection.
“It’s just heartbreaking to think of them in the cold, or wandering around, so I’m just hopeful that someone has him and is taking good care of him,” said Johnson.
Bear is a larger copper-colored Pomeranian.
He’s between the ages of 2 and 4, with long hair and white spots.
Johnson says he’s extremely timid and afraid of loud noises.
If you have any information, please call the ABC 6 NEWS tip line at 1-866-6-NEWSTIP.
*****
UPDATE: Since the airing of this story, the Iowa State Patrol has confirmed that the dog the trucker picked up is not Bear. So the search for continues.
Dog wakes people to natural gas leak at 4 a.m.
Source: SummitDaily.com, Feb 3, 2010
Occupants of two rental units in a single-family home at American Way on Peak 7 may have been spared a tragedy thanks to a dog waking one of the families at 4 a.m.
The owners of the dog awoke to the smell of natural gas, grabbed their 6-month-old child and evacuated the house. They tried unsuccessfully to wake their neighbors.
When firefighters arrived, they awakened the other residents and found that a burner on a gas stove had been left on — leaking raw gas into the home.
The house was ventilated and the occupants returned inside.
“The occupants are very lucky that the dog woke them up,” RWB deputy chief Jay Nelson said in a press release. “With the amount of gas inside the house, it could definitely have had a very different outcome if a spark ignited that gas.”
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Vet technician and groomer charged for dog fighting
By aschae and has no comments yet.
Source: Animalsfriends.org
A former pet healthcare professional and groomer has been charged with running a dog fighting ring.
Nicole Marie Caruso stunned her Baltimore County area when her court case brought out a host of friends as well as current and former bosses that attested to her love of furry friends and her animal welfare activism, the Baltimore Sun reported.
Colleagues called the charge bewildering and the tenant who was renting a part of the house she allegedly hosted dog fights in said the former veterinary technician “wouldn’t let anyone hurt [those creatures].”
However, police said they found three aggressive pit bulls bearing signs of injury as well as blood smeared on walls, weights, chains, collars and a treadmill.
Among the charges is the claim that Ms Caruso used her veterinary training to “suture, stitch and staple wounds on the dogs when they get injured”.
Recently, residents of Bloxwich near Birmingham got a dog fighting scare when a bleeding Staffordshire bull terrier limped into a tyre repair centre, eliciting concerns of a nearby dog fighting ring.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is investigating this possibility, according to the Express and Star.
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