Mountaintop Natural Pets

Source: theledger.com, May 27, 2010

Deputies took custody of 261 dogs Thursday – the largest seizure in Polk County history – and arrested the owners of a Polk City non-profit dog rescue organization on animal cruelty charges.

Chuck and Diane O’Malley, who operate Mid-Florida Retriever Rescue Inc. at 15195 Angus Road were booked into the Polk County Jail with bail set at $130,500 each. Each was charged with 261 counts of animal cruelty.

Sheriff’s deputies were called anonymously Wednesday by someone who complained about the condition of the dogs and the environment they were living in, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said.

“What we found was absolutely startling,” he said.

When agricultural and animal control deputies arrived at the home Wednesday, they were greeted by a herd of emaciated dogs inside and outside the house, officials said.

Judd said the deputies asked to check on the well-being of the dogs, and the O’Malleys were “very reluctant” to let them into the home.

When deputies entered, they were met by the stench of urine and feces, officials said. The smell was so pungent, some officers chose to wear gas masks or other coverings over their faces.

Once inside, the dogs in the home stampeded the deputies, Judd said. And some were unfriendly, biting the deputies several times and forcing them back outside.

The O’Malleys agreed to bring the dogs out one at a time for inspection.

After viewing 117 dogs, the O’Malleys were advised by their lawyer, whose name was not immediately available, to make the deputies get a search warrant if they wanted to inspect more, the Sheriff’s Office said.

When they did, the deputies found a 3,000-square-foot home that appeared to have been severely damaged by the presence of so many dogs, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The bed in the master bedroom was so tattered, springs in the mattress were exposed. Sheriff’s officials said furniture was piled up, along with numerous dog cages, and dirt and feces were on the walls and floors.

“If they wanted to live in that house that’s their business,” Judd said. “The house wasn’t fit for humans or dogs.”

According to its website, Mid-Florida Retriever Rescue is a nonprofit organization that places “purebred Labrador retrievers and other working dogs in loving, permanent homes.”

The dogs seized between Wednesday night and early Thursday were of a variety of breeds and were being examined by veterinarians. By Thursday afternoon, about 100 of the dogs had been examined. None were euthanized.

One dog died while deputies were seizing the animals.

Dr. Joseph Ertel said all the dogs were infested with fleas, and most had some form of dermatitis. Others were found to have hookworm or whipworm or were in need of dental care.

Many of the dogs appeared to be severely underfed and had lost significant muscle mass.

“We are treating everything we are finding,” Ertel said. “If this continued, they would lose their life.”

The case was shocking for animal control deputies, who knew the couple from their work with the rescue group and numerous adoptions of animals from the animal control facility.

A man who said in an e-mail to The Ledger that he has fostered dogs for the O’Malleys defended the couple.

David Lundeen said in the e-mail that while he was surprised at the number of dogs found at the home, the couple’s hearts were in the right place.

“These are good people, with good intentions, who have helped rescue and place hundreds of dogs a year throughout Central Florida,” Lundeen wrote.

He said the dogs he fostered had received veterinary care.

“I know they have worked tirelessly to care for and feed the dogs they had in their possession,” Lundeen’s e-mail said.

Judd said the seizure of 261 dogs is having an impact on the county animal control facility. Donations of blankets or food by the public can help.

Sheriff’s Office lawyers will prepare court documents to take possession of the animals.

Adoptions of the animals won’t happen until a judge rules on the custody of the dogs in the case. But Judd said there are many other dogs at the facility that can be adopted now and are in need of homes.

Source:  wset.com, May 26, 2010

Bedford County authorities say they’ve dealt a huge blow to a national dog fighting ring by locking up one of its top breeders.

The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that they arrested Jeffrey Denny, 36, of North Carolina in an undercover sting at the Exxon in Montvale Monday night.

Denny was there to sell a female pit bull and planned on driving to Charleston, West Virginia to sell another dog, authorities say.

He has been charged with two counts of transporting animals for the purpose of fighting.

Investigators say Denny has delivered dogs all over the country, and they believe he’s responsible for hundreds of dog fighting deaths.

The good news is the two dogs taken from him are now in an animal shelter, saved from a life of violence.

Deputies say he has a reputation for breeding good fighting pit bulls.

“Mr. Denny is a nationally known and admitted dog fighter,” Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown said. “He’s acknowledged that he’s sold hundreds of game-bred dogs throughout the United States.”

Investigators seized Denny’s mini-van, rigged to transport multiple dogs. These dogs were going for $900 apiece. The business of dog fighting is reported to be a multi-million dollar industry.

“And not too many of them put in 1099s to the IRS,” Brown said with a laugh.

The US Humane Society says they’ve had Denny at the top of their watch list for months.

“He’s been a long-standing breeder of dogs that are for the purpose of fighting,” US Humane Society Cruelty Investigator Chris Schindler said.

They’re certain word of his arrest will get around.

“It’s this effort that’s going to send a ripple effect cross the country to other animal fighters that this crime is not going to be tolerated,” Schindler said.

And they say the goal is to save the lives of dogs.

“Save possibly hundreds and hundreds of other dogs from being maimed and killed in the most gruesome way,” Brown said.

Authorities in Randolph County, North Carolina also seized 16 pit bulls from Denny’s home. They’ve charged him with 16 counts of dog fighting and 11 counts of cruelty to animals.

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Source: Dallasnews.com, May 22, 2010

The man at the center of the disappearance of more than 80 dogs from the city of Ferris’ animal shelter was arrested Friday on animal-cruelty charges.

James “Soaring Eagle” Vonda was arrested at his home in Leonard, where witnesses described squalid conditions and 65 emaciated dogs, 10 cats and a horse at the property.

Melinda Pappa, 45, Yolanda Duke, 46, and Cody Sims, 22, also were arrested at the home in the 800 block of Flanagan Road in Fannin County and jailed on animal-cruelty charges.

“The animal conditions here are very sad,” said Maura Davies, a spokeswoman for the SPCA.

Dogs nursing open wounds were left tethered, and sickly cats were running loose or cramped into pet carriers.

Piles of charred animal carcasses were found in burn barrels throughout the 6.5-acre property.

“In one you can see the top half of a cat. In one, there’s kittens,” Davies said.

The site is believed to be the headquarters of Vonda’s Domestic Animal Rescue Emergency Shelter Services, as well as a domestic violence shelter called Safe Harbor Foundation.

The animals seized Friday were taken to the SPCA’s McKinney facility.

Beginning in November, Vonda, 54, had operated a nonprofit no-kill animal shelter under a contract with the city of Ferris. In April, the city canceled its contract after learning that the dogs and cats kept there were underfed and living in crowded, filthy kennels.

Vonda, the manager of the nonprofit, said that when the contract with the city expired, he took 80 animals to an undisclosed Native American reservation in Oklahoma. He declined to give the exact location because he said he didn’t want to jeopardize the safety of clients at the domestic violence shelter.

Animal advocates grew concerned about the animals because of Vonda’s secrecy surrounding their whereabouts.

“They all are in very good health right now,” Vonda said in an April interview with The Dallas Morning News. “Every Native American wants to have a dog and a cat because it relates to their spirit guide.”

When authorities questioned Vonda about the animals found Friday, he said that about 40 of the dogs were once kept at the Ferris shelter, Davies said.

Alex Fender, the man who reported the Fannin County situation to authorities Friday morning, said he was horrified by the conditions he saw when he visited the property Thursday night.

“Several of the dogs I was able to get close to, they were severely aggressive, but you could see the wounds on their necks for being tied to the chains for so long,” Fender said.

When Fender looked inside the dilapidated ranch-style house, he saw it was no more than a kennel. He said the carpet had been stripped away to the concrete slab and the sheetrock had absorbed animal urine like a sponge.

“I walked into the house for just a second,” he said. “I couldn’t believe the smell.”

Fannin County Sheriff’s Lt. Daryl Parker said the house was so unlivable that residents were living out of one of three large camping tents.

It’s unclear whether anyone besides the four arrested were living at the property.

Fender said he had placed a horse trailer for sale on Craigslist and received a response from a woman representing Safe Harbor earlier that day.

The woman told him she was the animal caretaker for a private domestic violence shelter and safe house. She said in the e-mail that she needed to transport a mare from Leonard to Deming, N.M.

“She is not only a well-loved pet to our facility, but she also a plays a major role in therapy sessions for our residents who have suffered some of the severest cases of abuse,” the e-mail stated. “Because our secret location has been compromised, we need to move her ASAP.

“We have another facility in New Mexico where we will be relocating all the residents and the animals to and we are in need of a fast, discreet and speedy relocation to that location, but we have run into a problem and could use your kind generosity in this urgent matter.”

Fender said the woman told him the nonprofit had only $200.

“This is a very touchy situation, and we need your help urgently,” the e-mail continued.

When Fender went to the home, he spent about 45 minutes on the property taking mental inventory of the animals’ conditions for the report he’d later file with authorities.

“I drove out there to do a good deed for this lady,” Fender said. “There’s some crazy stuff going on over there.”

Source: Associated Press, May 26, 2010

An internal government report says dogs are dying and living in horrific conditions due to lax government enforcement of large kennels known as puppy mills.

Investigators say the Department of Agriculture agency in charge of enforcing the Animal Welfare Act often ignores repeat violations, waives penalties and doesn’t adequately document inhumane treatment of dogs. In one case cited by the department’s inspector general, 27 dogs died at an Oklahoma breeding facility after inspectors had visited the facility several times and cited it for violations.

The review, conducted between 2006 and 2008, found that more than half of those who had already been cited for violations flouted the law again. It details grisly conditions at several facilities and includes photos of dogs with gaping wounds, covered in ticks and living among pools of feces.

The report recommends that the animal care unit at the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service immediately confiscate animals that are dying or seriously suffering, and better train its inspectors to document, report and penalize wrongdoing.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday that the department takes the report seriously and will force immediate action to improve enforcement, penalties and inspector training. He noted the investigation was conducted before his time in office and called it troubling.

“USDA will reinforce its efforts under its animal welfare responsibilities, including tougher penalties for repeat offenders and greater consistent action to strongly enforce the law,” he said.

The investigators visited 68 dog breeders and dog brokers in eight states that had been cited for at least one violation in the previous three years. On those visits, they found that first-time violators were rarely penalized, even for more serious violations, and repeat offenders were often let off the hook as well. The agency also gave some breeders a second chance to correct their actions even when they found animals dying or suffering, delaying confiscation of the animals.

“(Animal care) generally took little or no enforcement actions against these facilities during the period,” the investigators wrote, adding that the agency placed too much emphasis on educating the violators instead of penalizing them.

You can download the USDA Inspector Generals report here: http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/33002-4-SF.pdf

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Source: Media-newswire.com

Scores of new complaints from heartbroken puppy buyers are streaming in to The Humane Society of the United States after Animal Planet Investigates: Petland premiered Monday night. In the one-hour special, Animal Planet followed HSUS investigators as they tracked down puppy mills that supply Petland stores. The expose also featured tragic stories from several buyers who discovered their puppies were ill. After the airing, The HSUS began receiving additional complaints from across the U.S. about Petland puppies with severe congenital disorders and diseases like parvovirus and pneumonia. At least two people reported the awful news that their puppies died the day after they were purchased.

“The stories are heartbreaking,” says Stephanie Shain, senior director of The HSUS’s puppy mills campaign, who was interviewed for the special. “But as heartbreaking as the reports are, we are encouraged to know that the show will help warn potential puppy buyers never to buy a puppy from a pet store or from any seller whose operation they haven’t personally visited and screened.”

Excerpts from some of the heartbroken families’ stories include the following:

“I can not begin to describe the heartbreak and emotional turmoil we went through with the death of [our puppy ….] It was horrible on our entire family. Weeks of unanswered and unreturned phone calls from the Petland owner, crying kids, crying mom, no puppy at Christmas time…” – Stephanie, El Paso, Texas

“I bought my beautiful little Havanese puppy, took him home for five days, and fell in love with him. He became ill on the fifth day with vomiting and diarrhea, was hospitalized, diagnosed with Canine parvovirus which was incubating in the puppy when I purchased him, as confirmed to me by the hospital. He died after 5 days of treatment for this terrible and highly contagious virus. We are heartbroken.” – Janet, Bronxville, N.Y.

“Petland told us she was from a good breeder, we even had her certificate of registry, and that there were no genetic problems or health problems. The vet prescribed Mindy drops and ointments to take several times a day, but it wasn’t working and her left eye was looking worse, so we took her to a specialist. She needed surgery right away that cost us $2,500 dollars. They saved her eye but now she has monthly appointments and medications that come to about 250 dollars a month, she will need these treatments for the rest of her life.” – Christina, Tucson, Ariz.

“Normally, I would NEVER buy from a pet store, but I went to [a Petland store] to purchase bird food for my brother’s birds every few weeks and Little Red was in one of those tiny cages and I watched her grow until she could no longer sit upright in the cage. I couldn’t leave her there – she looked so sad. Within a few days, she developed a limp. She had bilateral hip dysplasia. In fact, according to the vet – she had the worst dysplasia he had ever seen in all his years of practice. Both hips were completely disarticulated. Surgery was not an option due to the degree of malformation of both the hip sockets and heads of her femurs. The vet said there was no way the breeder didn’t know this condition was present in his dogs.” – Melissa, Poteet, Texas

“I had asked time and time again if the dogs today are from puppy mills and the employee expressed over and over that their company may have received puppy’s from mills back then, but DO NOT deal with any form of puppy mills today. This was assured to me after explaining my previous history and concern with Petland. […]Frustrating and expensive is what this clearance puppy has been to our family. We will do the best we can, but none of it is surprising to me anymore!” – Amy, Park Ridge, Ill.

“Sadly I learned a hard lesson. I had heard from people before tell me ‘oh don’t buy from pet stores’ but I felt like oh no my husband did business with [the pet store owner] Peter and he assured us he buys from breeders, I guess you just don’t expect to be lied to, everything he said in the Animal Planet Investigation were a lot of the same things he told us. I’m very sickened that he would cover up where the dogs really come from and make up lies.” – Christina, Tucson, Ariz.

The HSUS urges consumers who have purchased a sick puppy or who want to report a puppy mill to share their concerns with The HSUS at humanesociety.org/puppymillstory.

Source: Fox59.com, May 18, 2010

A coroner says an Ohio woman suffered a heart attack before collapsing in her driveway while bringing in the pet Rottweiler that was destroyed after being blamed for mauling her to death.

Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller said Tuesday that there were few dog bites on 63-year-old Carolyn Baker of Cleveland Heights, who died in February. He says there were signs of pawing, showing that “the dog was trying to help her.”

Baker had gone outside in a nightgown to bring in the 140-pound dog named Zeus. Miller says hypothermia also contributed to the death of Baker, who was outdoors for several hours before a neighbor heard the animal barking.

Baker’s family had believed the 9-year-old dog was trying to rescue her.

The Cleveland Municipal Court ordered the dog destroyed in April.