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: WREG.com, Oct 27, 2009
The City of Memphis Animal Shelter was the scene of a early morning raid by Shelby County deputies Tuesday morning.
Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons and Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell say deputies with the Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the shelter located at 3456 Tchulahoma Road and temporarily secured the facility as part of an investigation into alleged animal abuse and cruelty.
District Attorney Gibbons requested the Sheriff’s Office investigation of the City of Memphis Animal Shelter earlier this month after receiving a tip from a citizen on the conditions at the shelter.
Sheriff Mark Luttrell told us, “We are finding that some of the allegations that we have heard are true. That will just take a more through investigation to determine just how bad the situation is but on its face, we can definitely see that there are some problems here.”
According to the search warrant, “detectives have learned that some animals have been deprived of food and water while at the Memphis Animal Shelter…” and while in the shelter’s care, “some dogs have been starved to the point of requiring euthanasia.”
According to the search warrant, some of the dogs “are involved in court cases involving dog fighting and have been marked ‘Hold for Court.’”
Additionally, the warrant says that shelter employees keep “…dogs that are to be quarantined for rabies with dogs that are not required to be quarantined in the same kennel.”
“The information we received about the conditions of the Memphis Animal Shelter clearly warranted a criminal investigation, and it is very possible that one or more individuals could face criminal charges based on the outcome of the investigation,” said District Attorney Gibbons.
Janet Hooks, Director of The Division Of Public Services and Neighborhoods, suspended 12 employees to allow investigators unfettered access to the shelter and the animals. No one has been charged.
While deputies are executing the search warrant, the facility will not be open to the public, and deputies will supervise limited employees inside the shelter. Animals brought to the facility during this time will be transferred to another shelter in Shelby County.
Trained investigators with ASPCA and emergency responders with the American Humane Association are at the shelter assisting the deputies.
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: ShawangunkJournal.com, October 29, 2009
BULLVILLE – The shocking October 7 discovery of four dead pit bulls, tossed in a dumpster at Ron’s Auto Electric on Route 17k, was the first indication of an unpleasant probability.
Now, with the autopsies conducted on the animals by Cornell University College of Veterinarian Medicine in Ithaca, early suspicions have been confirmed. The four dogs, two female and two male, were fighting dogs. Lieutenant Dominick Blasko of the Town of Crawford police had said that, “The tearing of flesh, the bite marks, could only be caused by dog fighting.”
The autopsies concluded that the pit bulls died of blood loss from their wounds.
“I expect that these were the losing animals,” said Kristin DeJournett of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
As for the callous way their bodies were disposed of, she said, “This is how we commonly see these animals dumped.”
Lieutenant Blasko said the dogs had been dead for a few days by the time they were found. Since they were found on a Wednesday, that suggests the dog fights took place on the previous weekend, October 3 and 4.
“Four bodies like this is indicative of more than a backyard fight,” said DeJournett. “This would be a larger, more organized fighting ring.”
Worse yet, it could well be that the fights are being staged in Bullville.
“Dogfighters are very underground,” said DeJournett. “They pick remote locations, the more remote, the more desirable. People will drive from other cities, even from other states, transporting dogs for dogfights.”
In that case, what would people look for?
“If you see a lot of cars show up on a weekend night at a place where that is really unusual, and you also hear dogs barking where there usually isn’t barking, that’s a good tip off.”
DeJournett warned that, “There may well be drug running and weapon exchanges going on, because those activities are commonly found in the dog fighting world.”
She also noted that more and more people are reporting instances of dog fighting. “The Michael Vick case was important that way,” she said, referring to the infamous case from a few years ago when former professional football player Michael Vick was convicted and sentenced to prison for dog fighting crimes. “Before that case, most people thought dog fighting had died out. Now they know better.”
She also explained that prosecutions for dog fighting are difficult to obtain, because in many states and jurisdictions, police must actually witness the fights. However, prosecutions for owning wounded animals and fighting paraphernalia are more common.
“It can happen anywhere,” said DeJournett, “from the richest neighborhood to the poorest ghettos.”
PETA is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in dog fighting; call 757 622 PETA.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Blasko asks that anyone with any information about this investigation, please contact the Town of Crawford Police at 744-3300.
Source: Time Herald Record, October 26, 2009
The four dead pit bulls found in a dumpster on Route 17K earlier this month died of injuries consistent with dogfighting, town police said Monday.
Crawford police Lt. Dominick Blasko said necropsies showed that the dogs died of hemorraghing from wounds that could only be caused by fighting other dogs.
“There was tearing of flesh, bite marks and puncture wounds,” Blasko said. “There were some older wounds and more recent wounds.”
The pit bulls — two male and two female — were discovered in a dumpster owned by Jet Waste on Oct. 7. Blasko, who said the dogs had died a few days earlier, said there’s no evidence connecting them to the property owner. He also said police haven’t uncovered any evidence of dogfighting taking place in the town.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone in connection to the case.
Anyone with information should contact Crawford police at 744-3300.
