Mountaintop Natural Pets

Source: Washington City Paper, July 20, 2010

When the temperature outside climbs above 100 degrees, we’re always bombarded with warnings that leaving pets and children inside cars will slowly cook them to death. This woman never got the message.

A woman in Frederick County, Maryland is accused of leaving her dog inside her sweltering car as she shopped in Costco July 6, ABC 7 reports. When she came back to the car, her yellow lab was dead. Authorities say the dog died from overheating as the car’s temperature likely hit 130 degrees and outside temperatures topped 104.

But the story only gets worse. When the woman discovered her dead dog, she allegedly turned back around and returned the pet supplies she just bought at Costco. Thrifty shopper or pure-evil?

A Costco employee called police, but the woman was gone before they arrived. Sure enough, a woman matching her description came into the Frederick County Animal Control Division with a dead dog shortly after the incident.

Source: Associated Press, July 7, 2010

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. — A New York City man has been charged with letting his dog die in a 140-degree car while he went out for a swim.

Source: rep-am.com, July 7, 2010

A Torrington man was charged with two counts of animal cruelty Tuesday evening after police said he burned one dog with boiling water and caused the death of a second dog.

Nathan Mosimann, 22, 42 Deruyter Drive, was released Tueday evening after he posted a $20,000 bond. His arrest marked the second time city police filed animal cruelty charges in the past week: Police announced July 1 that they had charged Jeffrey A. Dunlap, 46, 334 Goshen Road, after an investigator learned he hit his dog on the head with a mallet and shot it with a pellet gun.

Police said they were first alerted to Mosimann’s case on April 27, after one of Mosimann’s family members told police that Mosimann may have caused the death of his beagle Carly, who died at Mosimann’s home that day. Police were told that Carly was “lying on the floor, unable to get up and suffering a bloody mouth after Mosimann was with the dog,” Lt. Mike Emanuel said in a statement.

The dog was treated that day at a veterinarian for an ear infection and was told the dog had recently run away, but Emanuel said no x-rays were performed because of the cost. The dog died later that day.

An autopsy performed on the animal showed it had sufered a fractured skull and neck, which police say was caused by Mosimann. Police did not release details of how they believe Mosimann caused the injury.

During the course of the investigation, police learned Mosimann was suspected in the burning of another dog, named Teddy. Police said family members told them that Mosimann was home alone with Teddy and dropped boiling water on the dog, causing burns to 45 percent of its body.

Mosimann claimed the burning, which took place about eight months before Carly died, was an accident but did not report the burning for several days. It was unclear in the news release police provided whether Teddy was owned by Mosimann.

Source: OttawaCitizen.com, June 30, 2010

An Aylmer woman and her two grown children are in custody after police raided their home and found the bodies on nearly four dozen cats and dogs buried in the backyard.

The threesome — a woman in her 60s and her daughter and son, both described as in their 40s — have been charged with cruelty to animals, Gatineau police said Tuesday.

Executing a search warrant, police, accompanied by Gatineau firefighters and animal control staff, arrived at the family’s home at 22 Roméo-Gendron Street, between Front Street and Eardley Road. at 10 a.m. In the backyard, they uncovered the buried remains of 43 cats and dogs in garbage bags. Another cat and a dog were found alive inside the house.

Neighbors said police and animal control officers were wearing respirators and protective clothing when they entered the house. They expressed relief that authorities had acted after months of complaints. The house, they said, has been the scene of similar raids in the past, including one about two months ago in which numerous animals — “birds, ferrets, dogs, you name it,” as one neighbour put it — were taken away.

Neighbors said they regularly saw people dropping animals off at the house, and speculated that those who did so were looking for a quick way to get rid of unwanted pets without realizing what may await the animals.

Police did not release the names of those arrested, but said they were familiar with the family and had been to the house numerous times in the past.

Source: philly.com, June 18, 2010

Gatherers spoke of a life too short.

Activists, megaphone in hand, vowed the death would not be in vain.

At the foot of a park tree lay a makeshift memorial – farewell notes, flowers real and fake, framed tributes.

A plastic yellow bear that squeaks when you bite it.

Animal-rights advocates, their pets – and even a couple of city councilmen – assembled late Thursday afternoon in Barrett Playground at Eighth Street and Duncannon Avenue in the city’s Olney section to commemorate the life of a dog they had never met.

“The purpose is to send a unified message that violence against any living creature will not be tolerated,” said social worker Kim Wolf, a chief organizer of the event that drew roughly 100 people and a dozen dogs.

On Tuesday morning, a tennis ball’s throw from the site of the vigil, a 1-year-old female mixed-breed dog was found dead, suspended from a piece of playground equipment with a leash around her neck. Her paws were bloodied in what appeared to have been a frantic attempt to lower herself onto the ground just inches beneath her.

No arrests have been made, but according to George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, “We have established ownership of the animal.”

The PSPCA and the Humane Society of the United States are combining to offer a $4,500 reward for information leading to a conviction.

Solving cases like this, many vigil speakers emphasized, is pivotal, given the well-documented link between cruelty to animals and domestic violence.

“If we don’t stop them now, they’re going to grow up to be the next Jeffrey Dahmers,” City Councilman Jack Kelly said, referring to the serial killer. “We have to stamp them out.”

Councilman William K. Greenlee also was there. As the crowd swelled – including a few hoops players who trekked from the nearby courts to mug for cameras – visitors added fresh emblems to the tree memorial: a leash, a Frisbee, a leopard Beanie Baby, a 101 Dalmatians coloring book.

One note read, “Rest in Peace, Flora” – the name bestowed on the dog posthumously by the PSPCA.

“They’re all individuals,” said Susan Cosby, the organization’s chief executive officer. “So we give them all names.”

Source: Baltimore Sun, June 16, 2010

A $3,500 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the hanging death of a dog at a Philadelphia playground in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 15, 2010.
A female, one-year-old, brown, pit-bull mix was found by a Humane Law Enforcement officer hanging from playground equipment at the Barrett Playground, at 8th and Duncannon Sts. in Philadelphia, PA 19120. The time of death is estimated to be in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

An investigation is underway, but the Pennsylvania SPCA needs the public’s help in gathering information about what happened to this dog.

Anyone with information should call the Pennsylvania SPCA’s toll-free, 24-hour cruelty hotline at 866.601.7722.

The initial $1,000 reward was increased after the Humane Society of the United States offered an additional $2,500 in reward money.

The staff here at the Pennsylvania SPCA has named the deceased dog Flora. If you would like to make a donation in her memory, or to find out how you can help other abused and neglected animals, please e-mail development@pspca.org.

Source: kplr11.com, June 15, 2010

The Humane Society of Missouri is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who are responsible for the severe injuries.

The dog, named Desperado by his Humane Society rescuers, had a rusted, dirty chain link collar deeply imbedded around its neck. The gaping wound measured 1 ½” deep and 10″ long circling the dog’s neck. The chain link collar, which had to be cut with a bolt cutter, was only 6″ in diameter. Animal Cruelty Investigators stated the collar should have been at least 10″ in diameter to properly fit a dog of Desperado’s size.

The dog will receive continuing treatment to allow the wound to heal. Humane Society veterinarians are cautiously optimistic the dog will make a full recovery.

Desperado was discovered on the property of a Baden business, his chain tangled in equipment on the property. The owner of the business contacted the Humane Society of Missouri Animal Cruelty Task Force which brought Desperado to Humane Society of Missouri headquarters in St. Louis City.

TO REPORT INFORMATION IN THIS CASE:

Anyone with information about this crime should contact: Humane Society of Missouri’s Animal Abuse Hotline

314-647-4400

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.