Mountaintop Natural Pets

Source: NZHerald.com.nz, Jan 28, 2010

SPCA staff who inspected bloody carcasses of 33 dogs after they were slaughtered in Northland earlier this week have been offered counselling.

The SPCA said it was still deciding what charges it would lay against two men who went onto Russell Hargreaves’ property near Wellsford north of Auckland and shot dead 33 of his 39 dogs.

SPCA executive director Bob Kerridge said what staff saw was a turn-around of what they stood for and they were very emotional.

“Abuse to animals is totally contrary to how they feel,” Mr Kerridge said today.

One of the men who shot the dogs ran a store advertising pet care.

Russell Mendoza and another man used a .22 calibre rifle and shotgun to shoot the dogs on Monday night, blaming one or more of them for the mauling death of Mr Mendoza’s fox terrier. The slaughter included 23 pups and 10 adult dogs.

Mr Hargreaves described the dogs as his family and said he was in shock.

Mr Mendoza refused to speak about the killings yesterday, but a friend said he was preparing a statement with his lawyer.

Mr Mendoza and his wife run Home & Garden Wellsford, which advertised pet care, but Mr Hargreaves said there was no logic to that if he was an animal lover.

SPCA investigator Sascha Keltie said the death scene was “not unlike a massacre”.

She said bullet entry and exit wounds on some of the dogs indicated they had not died instantly, and blood trails were consistent with an injured dog moving.

Six adult dog bodies were piled on top of one another as if they had been trying to protect themselves.

Mr Kerridge said 10 dog bodies had been taken to the SPCA for investigation and until reports on their deaths was completed, charges would not be laid.

He also said Mr Mendoza would be interviewed as part of the inquiry.

Mr Kerridge said the animals had been well looked after and neither the police, the SPCA nor the Rodney District Council had received any complaints about Mr Hargreaves’ dogs.

“They were very, very healthy, very well cared for animals.”

Source: 14wfie.com, Jan 4, 2010

A lucky dog in Kentucky is recovering after being shot by an arrow.

The vet says someone was obviously using the young black lab for target practice.

The dog had an arrow removed from his side that had gone in one side and out the other. The arrow miraculously missed all of the dog’s vital organs.

The vet estimates the person was only about ten feet away from the dog when they shot it.

The dog is still running a fever and has a collapsed lung.

The Shamrock Pet Foundation is picking up the tab for the medical services.

It’s not clear who the dog belonged to, or who shot him.

The dog was found in Pike County, Kentucky after wondering into a yard and collapsing.

Source: Scsun-news.com, Jan 4, 2010

Puppy Dog Ranch is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of person or persons who shot and killed Larry the dog on the evening of Dec. 31.

Larry was shot in the neck and killed on Twin Sisters Creek Road, off of Racetrack Road, in Arenas Valley on private property. Larry was 4 years old.

“He was considered “everyone’s dog” in our neighborhood,” said Laurie West, owner of Puppy Dog Ranch. “He literally greeted every single person in our neighborhood when they get home from work.”

West and her partner, Kevin Rodriguez, have filed a detailed police report.

The last person to see Larry alive saw him between 6 and 7 p.m. on Dec. 31.

Anyone with any information on who shot Larry should call Rodriguez at (575) 574-5717 or West at (575) 313-7232.

Puppy Dog Ranch is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dog rescue and sanctuary.

For more information, visit www.puppydogranch.org.

Source: AJC.com, Nov 7, 2009

The Atlanta Humane Society added $5,000 to the reward fund for information that leads to the arrest of the person who  shot and killed a Griffin Police Department German Shepherd and then dumped the dog in a ditch beside a Lamar County Road.

The dog’s handler, Griffin police Cpl. Chad Moxon, and his family had already put up $1,000  so the reward now stands at $6,000 with the Humane Society’s offering.

After getting home from the  firing range on Monday, Moxon discovered Jimi and his dog Yeager  missing from their kennel at his house on a dirt road in Lamar County.

“The gate looked like it had been tampered with, and there were tire tracks leading up to the gate,  going across my back yard,” Moxon said Friday. “I can’t  say for 100 percent that someone came in there and took the dogs, but I do believe that’s what happened. ”

Moxon said he searched all Monday night and most of Tuesday night for the German Shepherds. He handed out about 300 flyers and followed up on several false alarms from people who thought they had  spotted them.

Moxon got a call Wednesday morning that Jimi may have been found in a  ditch on Rock Quarry Road near the Monroe County line. Moxon said there was little blood at the scene so he suspects the 3-year-old dog was dumped there after he was shot in the side. The vet found buckshot in the wound.

“I just sat down in the ditch for the next 30 minutes. I didn’t have the energy to get him out,” Moxon said.

Shortly after he got home a neighbor called with the news that Yeager was in his yard.

“I almost didn’t recognize him,” Moxon said. “He was badly beaten.

“Hes still at home recovering,” Moxon said of his 2-year-old dog, also a German Shepherd. ” I’m hoping he’ll recover in the next few days.”

Jimi was a “multi purpose” dog, trained at detecting drugs and explosives and tracking people. It’s a common practice for police handlers to take their assigned dogs home even though they belong to the departments.

“This is the first time I’ve come to work without him in two years,” Moxon said.

Anyone with information should call Lamar County Sheriff’s Office at 770-358-5159 or 770-358-8881.

Source: Pottstownmercury.com, October 29, 2009

The Chester County SPCA is now offering a substantial reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the slayings of two young dogs, Luna and Emma.

SPCA spokesman Richard Britton said Wednesday that the reward increased from $500 to $11,000. The reward fund consists of $2,500 from the Humane Society of the United States, $500 from John DeBella of WMGK radio and the remaining from private citizens.

The necropsy confirmed that the dogs — a German shorthaired pointer purebred and a German shorthaired pointer mix — died of gunshots to their heads. The necropsy was performed at The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square.

The dogs were found dead near railroad tracks near Brinton’s Bridge Road in Pennsbury about 1 p.m. Sunday. The two dogs were reportedly shot between their eyes and then placed tail-to-tail by the railroad tracks.

JoAnne Durfee spotted the dead dogs while she was walking her own dog on Sunday. Durfee said she walks the route by the railroad tracks every day.

“I was horrified because they were posed in a way that made them look like mirror images of each other,” said Durfee on Wednesday. “I was very upset and I’m glad the public is outraged.”

Earlier Sunday, the SPCA received a report from a man who said his dogs were missing from his farm on Wawaset Road in Pocopson. The dogs found at the railroad tracks reportedly matched the description the owner provided to authorities.

The owner last saw his dogs at about 3 p.m. Saturday. The dogs were on the porch and did not have leashes on, according to Britton.

“They had free run of the 100-acre farm,” he said.

Britton said the penalty for this crime, which is considered a misdemeanor of animal cruelty, is up to two years in prison and/or a $1,000 fine.

The SPCA received a report of a suspicious vehicle near Brinton’s Bridge Road on Sunday. The vehicle was described as a maroon Ford F-150 pickup with a cap.

State police at the Avondale Barracks have been contacted for assistance, according to Britton.

Investigators ask anyone with information about this incident to contact the SPCA by calling 610-692-6113, ext. 213 or by e-mailing aps@ccspca.org.

Source: SeattleTimes.com, June 11, 2009

A $2,500 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of whoever is responsible for shooting a dog and leaving it to die on a Forest Service road in the North Bend area on May 31.

The black-and-rust colored 4-year-old Rottweiler survived the initial attack, and was found wearing a pinch collar and tied to a log 20 feet down an embankment at a recreational shooting area.

A group of citizens notified King County Animal Care and Control officers. The dog was taken to an Eastside veterinarian for treatment. But because the dog was paralyzed and unable to recover from injuries after several days, it was euthanized.

King County Animal Care and Control interim manager Nancy McKenney called the death a horrendous and intentional case of animal abuse. Intentionally shooting a dog and leaving it to suffer is a class C felony.

The reward has been put up by the Humane Society. Anyone with information should call King County Animal Care and Control’s tip line at 206-296-3939.

Source: KomoNews.com, June 11, 2009

NORTH BEND, Wash. — Investigators are asking for the public’s help locating whoever is responsible for shooting a dog and leaving the paralyzed animal to die off a forest service road east of here.

The 4-year-old Rottweiler was found alive, but was fully paralyzed and had to be euthanized.

People in the area spotted the dog May 31 about 1.8 miles down a service road off Exit 38 from Interstate 90.

The animal was wearing a pinch collar and was tied to a log about 20 feet down an embankment near what officials described as a “popular unofficial recreational shooting area.” Several shell casings were found near the dog.

Animal control officers took the animal to a vet where the dog underwent surgery and needed continuous care for four days before being euthanized.

King County Animal Care and Control Interim Manager Nancy McKenney said a necropsy performed last week showed that the dog had been shot several times.

“This is a horrendous and intentional case of animal abuse,” McKenney said.

A $12,500 reward is being offered for tips leading to an arrest and conviction. Anyone with information is asked to call 206-296-3939.

• Video shows policeman shooting dog
• Owner says it was killed without provocation
• And she’s suing for $40,000

Shot dead … Tammy Christopher’s dog Bruiser was killed by a policeman / KFOR TV

CCTV footage of a policeman shooting a dog is being used in a lawsuit  by a woman claiming her pet was killed without provocation.

Oklahoma resident Tammy Christopher has filed a $US25,000 ($40,000) claim against the local county, the state and deputy Sean Knight for the wrongful shooting of her dog, The Express-Star reports.

Warning: Video may distress some people.  To view it on YouTube CLICK HERE

Deputy Knight got out of his car at Ms Christopher’s property to ask directions and her dog Bruiser came running at him.

The officer drew his weapon and shot the dog in the head, the video dated August 25 shows.

A letter from Ms Christopher’s lawyer to Grady County last week said the deputy  “grossly over reacted and did not attempt to get back in his car or utilise any less than lethal methods.”

It also said that statements provided to the lawyer “contain several glaring discrepancies compared to the security video of the shooting. It is clear the Grady County Sheriff’s office is attempting to justify the shooting of the dog.”

The lawsuit was not about money but was about holding the police to account, Ms Christopher told the KFOR television station.

“I feel like Bruiser has to have a voice,” she said.

Ms Christopher said she had been told the deputy believed he was in danger and acted in self defence.

“(The deputy) could have easily gotten into his car if he was in fear of his life as he said,” she said.