Last January, Victor Almendariz of Huntington Park, Calif., crouched over his 2-year-old German Shepherd, Sam, and repeatedly punched him in the head. Hard.
The beating was captured on video by a witness, who notified the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA).
But today Almendariz didn’t get so much as a slap on the wrist for pummeling his poor dog.
After the loser pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor (nope, not a felony) count of animal cruelty, Judge Gustavo Sztraicher sentenced him to five years of probation that includes 500 hours of community labor and 48 weeks of animal abuse counseling, spcaLA reports.
Almendariz can’t own animals for five years, but after that, best of luck to his new punching bags — er, pets.
The case was investigated by spcaLA, which took in and provided medical treatment for Sam and two other German Shepherds belonging to Almedariz.
Thank goodness the witness took a video of Sam’s beating and notified spcaLA. Take a look at it, if you can stomach it. Do you think Almendariz’s sentencing was fair?
American Airlines employees at Los Angeles International Airport did something decidedly un-American earlier this week.
As Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Capt. Jason Haag waited to board a flight home to Virginia Sept. 20 with his wife and his service dog, Axel — who been honored the night before at the American Humane Association 2015 American Hero Dog Awards as the Service Dog category winner — they were asked by American Airlines staff to step out of the line.
His family was not allowed to board the plane “due to us not being able to prove that Axel is a service dog,” the retired Marine wrote on the Jason and Axel Facebook page.
Haag, who had a traumatic brain injury and suffers from PTSD, met Axel through the nonprofit K9s for Warriors when the German Shepherd was a week away from being euthanized. Axel was sleeping on a shelter floor “and I was sleeping in my basement with a gun under my pillow,” Haag said on the Hero Dog Awards website. “Now I share a bed with a big and furry security blanket. And he’s a heck of a lot softer.”
The American Airlines gate agent who pulled him out of the line asked Haag if Axel was a real service dog.
“I just find that question kind of odd because nobody at the airport has asked me that, and I fly all the time,” Haag told ABC News. “I said, ‘Yes.'”
The agent then asked Haag about his disability, a “question that you’re not allowed to ask,” Haag said. The next question, also illegal, was whether Haag had paperwork for Axel, which he did not.
That’s right, the Service Dog of the Year and his family were denied access to the flight because Haag didn’t have documentation proving Axel was, in fact, a service dog.
“I didn’t provide ‘paperwork’ because 1) it’s illegal to ask for and against federal law; 2) I don’t carry it because I’ve never had issue; 3) I called ahead and everything was fine; 4) but I did provide an ID to try and appease them,” Haag wrote on Facebook.
The gate agent said his ID was fake, Haag told ABC News.
According to American Airlines’ service animal policy, an authorization form must be submitted 48 hours before the flight — not at the boarding gate. Haag submitted the form eight days prior to flying to Los Angeles.
“They had my wife in tears in front of 200 people as they brought more managers over to try and bully us,” he wrote on Facebook.
An American Airlines manager told him to come back to the airport with paperwork. Haag, his wife and Axel spent the night at a Los Angeles hotel and were finally able to fly home the next day.
“We have apologized to both Capt. Haag and his family for the confusion with Sunday’s travel plans,” American Airlines said in a statement Sept. 21. “American has a long and proud history of serving our military members, and hold the men and women who serve our country in the highest regard.”
That’s nice, but the incident shouldn’t have happened in the first place. And Haag doesn’t want it to happen again to anyone with a service animal.
“The best thing that can come out of this is we need to pass something to make a national registration and national certification process for service dogs,” he told ABC News.
Johnson was taken into custody by deputies from the Jurupa Valley sheriff’s station at 1:30 a.m. today, according to a press release, and booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. His bail was set at $5,000, the Press Enterprise reports.
According to Superior Court records obtained by the Press Enterprise, Johnson has a litany of prior drug-related convictions in Riverside County, including unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
The Press Enterprise reported yesterday that Johnson stole three Pit Bulls who were under quarantine and facing possible euthanasia. He then broke the locks on other cages to try to cover up his motives. Investigators believe Johnson knows the owners of the three Pit Bulls.
Shelter staff arrived around 6:30 a.m. Sunday to find seven dogs roaming free. Two dogs — a Chihuahua and a Yorkshire Terrier mix — were dead.
“We found blood spatter everywhere,” John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services, told KTLA.
Dr. Allan Drusys, Riverside County’s chief veterinarian, is performing necropsies on the two dogs to determine the cause of their deaths.
Surveillance footage showed Johnson using bolt cutters to slice through the locks on the cages.
Twelve dogs were initially reported missing. Seven were eventually found — but two of them, a German Shepherd and Pit Bull, had been hit by cars and killed.
A crime prevention analyst from the sheriff’s department is determining how to improve security at this and other animal shelters in Riverside County. Investigators believe Johnson may have climbed over a fence and broken the kennel locks without setting off an alarm.
“The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department would like to thank the public and media for their assistance with this investigation that ultimately led to the apprehension of Jason Johnson,” the department said today.
Witnesses came forward and identified Johnson, who is still at large and facing counts of animal cruelty, burglary and vandalism.
According to the Press Enterprise, Johnson stole three Pit Bulls who were under quarantine and facing possible euthanasia. He then broke the locks on other cages to try to cover up his motives. Investigators believe Johnson knows the owners of the three Pit Bulls.
Shelter staff arrived around 6:30 a.m. Sunday to find seven dogs roaming free. Two dogs — a Chihuahua and a Yorkshire Terrier mix — were dead.
“We found blood spatter everywhere,” John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services, told KTLA.
“There were some blood markings that were about 3 feet off the ground. We don’t know exactly what caused that, but we don’t suspect that an animal jumped into the air and caused that blood splatter.”
Dr. Allan Drusys, Riverside County’s chief veterinarian, is performing necropsies on the two dogs to determine the cause of their deaths.
Surveillance footage showed Johnson using bolt cutters to slice through the locks on the cages. He broke into a total of 22 cages, leaving 15 of the locks stacked neatly in a pile.
Twelve dogs were initially reported missing. Seven were eventually found — but two of them, a German Shepherd and Pit Bull, had been hit by cars and killed.
“We’re in the business of trying to save lives, we’re in the business of getting animals back to their rightful owners,” Welsh told the Press Enterprise Sunday. “Our team was devastated.”
A crime prevention analyst from the sheriff’s department is determining how to improve security at this shelter and three others in Riverside County. Investigators believe Johnson may have climbed over a fence and broken the kennel locks without setting off an alarm.
“Mr. Johnson is actively wanted,” sheriff’s Capt. Jason Horton told CBS Los Angeles. “That arrest warrant was walked through the court yesterday. It’s been entered into our system as being active, and several sheriff’s department investigators as we speak are actively attempting to track him down.”
Johnson, also known as Jason Neunzer, is white, 5-foot-8, 185 pounds, with medium-length brown hair and brown eyes. He may be driving a 2006 white Dodge Ram pickup with the license plate number 00064R1.
Anyone with information on Johnson’s whereabouts is asked to call Investigator T. Gonzales at the Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s station at 951-955-2600.
SEPT. 17, 2015 UPDATE: Jason Johnson, the suspect in the Riverside County Animal Services shelter break-in, has been arrested.
Some pathetic excuses for human beings have broken into animal shelters in Tennessee and California over the past few days, apparently for the sole purpose of harming and killing dogs.
Intruder Starts a Dog Fight in Tennessee Shelter
Late Thursday night, one or more intruders broke into the Best Friends Sanctuary in Jamestown, Tenn. The loser(s) removed a Pit Bull named Sam from his locked cage and placed him in a cage with a Boxer named Bucky.
Then the intruder(s) encouraged the dogs to fight each other. It must have taken a lot of persuading for Sam. Shelter volunteer Chrissi Colquitt told WBIR Sam is “the sweetest dog you could imagine.”
When she and other shelter staff arrived for work Friday morning, they found Sam and Bucky bloody and covered with puncture wounds. Bucky had to be euthanized. It will take several weeks for Sam to recover from his injuries.
“It’s just sad to see that someone would be that evil and put two dogs to watch it for a show, you know, to put them through that,” Sharon Cravens, president of the shelter, told WBIR.
The Best Friends Sanctuary is a nonprofit run by volunteers. A crowdfunding page that was originally created to raise money for a fence upgrade is now asking for funds for surveillance cameras. As of early Sunday afternoon, about $600 of the $3,000 goal has been raised.
There is currently a $1,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the loser(s) who did this. Anyone with information is asked to call the Jamestown Police Department at 931-879-5871.
3 Dogs Dead, 12 Missing after Southern California Shelter Break-In
“We found blood spatter everywhere,” John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services, told KTLA today, describing the horrific scene this morning at its shelter in Jurupa Valley, Calif.
Staff arrived around 6:30 a.m. to find seven dogs roaming free. Two dogs — a Chihuahua and a Yorkshire Terrier mix — were dead.
“Their deaths do not appear to be consistent with bite wounds — in other words, the bigger dogs causing the injuries to the dogs,” Welsh told KTLA.
“There were some blood markings that were about 3 feet off the ground. We don’t know exactly what caused that, but we don’t suspect that an animal jumped into the air and caused that blood splatter.”
Dr. Allan Drusys, Riverside County’s chief veterinarian, will perform necropsies on the two dogs to determine the cause of their deaths.
The Press Enterprise reports that one of the two victims had been brought to the shelter yesterday to be spayed. My heart goes out to that dog’s owner, who has been notified.
A German Shepherd that had been in the shelter was also found dead about a mile away. It had been hit by a car.
Fortunately, this shelter does have security cameras. Surveillance footage shows a man in dark clothing cutting through the locks on the cages. This creep broke into a total of 22 cages, leaving 15 of the locks stacked neatly in a pile.
Welsh told the Press Enterprise the incident was extremely upsetting for Riverside County Animal Services.
“We’re in the business of trying to save lives, we’re in the business of getting animals back to their rightful owners,” he said. “Our team was devastated.”
This afternoon it was announced that two non-profit organizations that work with the shelter — Animal Solutions Konnections (ASK) and Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team (START) — are offering a $20,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to a conviction. To contribute to the reward amount, call ASK at 951-777-5341.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the case. Anyone with information is asked to call the department at 951-776-1099, or to fill out the Crime Tips form on the department’s website.
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