Category: Grrr

Idiot Doing Donuts on Frozen River Leaves Dog to Die in Submerged Truck

MARCH 3, 2015 UPDATE: Andrew Mayer was charged today with criminal mischief and careless driving, according to NJ.com. Animal cruelty charges are pending for leaving his dog Rolo, a 2-year-old Boxer/Lab mix, in the cab.

Andrew Mayer will very likely win a Darwin Award one day — the dubious honor given to someone who “significantly improves the gene pool by eliminating themselves from the human race in an obviously stupid way.”

Tragically, in the meantime, Mayer’s dog had to die last night due to his owner’s obvious stupidity.

Mayer, 27, of Toms River, N.J., thought it would be a good idea to drive his truck, with his Boxer mix and a friend, Daniel Jolly, in the cab with him, to the middle of the town’s frozen river and do donuts (i.e., drive around in tight circles).

A witness saw the truck spinning around about 100 feet from shore and then suddenly disappear. Authorities were notified.

For more than 10 hours, local police, the New Jersey State Police and the U.S. Coast Guard spent what a police source told NBC New York was “hundreds of thousands of dollars” searching for the missing truck. The truck — with the dead dog inside the cab — was finally found and recovered late this morning.

Mayer and Jolly turned themselves in today.

Jolly claims he told Mayer not to do donuts, and got out of the truck before it fell through the ice. Mayer was able to get out of the truck before it sank, but said he could not get his dog out, so he left him there to die.

“You’re young and stupid, so you don’t think about these things, there were times when there were 300 cars out there,” Jolly’s uncle, John Fackenthal — who said he’d done the same thing — explained to WABC.

“In the ’70s, cars used to go across all the time,” Chad Krean, who watched the recovery of the truck, told APP.com. “You were a big shot if you made it to Seaside.”

It’s bad enough that these people want to risk their lives to become “big shots.” When the urge to be an idiot strikes, they really need to leave their dogs (who are probably smarter than them) at home. And they should stay home with their dogs.

Mayer and Jolly were released, but the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office is considering filing criminal charges against them. The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) is also investigating the dog’s death, according to the Shore News Network.

Photo via Twitter

Polar Plunge No Place for Pups (VIDEO)

It was bad enough last summer when some pet parents subjected their poor dogs to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Now an unidentified man in Massachusetts has forced his dog into ice-cold water for a charity “Polar Plunge” — and is facing no animal cruelty charges for doing so.

Saturday’s Polar Plunge event in Wilbraham, Mass., allowed people who made a donation to Special Olympics Massachusetts to jump through a hole in the ice into the freezing-cold Spec Pond. The air temperature Saturday was in the low teens.

Soon after the fundraiser, photos appeared on Facebook of a large, scared-looking yellow Lab being pushed by a man into the pond. Outraged animal lovers left comments blaming Special Olympics Massachusetts for allowing this to happen.

Yesterday the organization released a statement saying it most certainly did not condone the dog’s involuntary participation in its Polar Plunge.

“We are very shocked and disappointed that this happened at what has consistently been a great community event,” the statement said.

But then the Wilbraham Police Department released a rather dismissive statement of its own yesterday on its Facebook page (which is down today “for some modifications,” according to the department’s website). The gist of the statement: The owner said his dog loved swimming in cold water, so what was the problem?

“The owner of the dog is very upset over the situation,” the statement read, according to MassLive.com. “The owner would like everyone to know he has no children and treats his dog as his child. The owner stated that the dog loves the water and at no time was he attempting to hurt the animal. We thank everyone for their concern.”

The statement said police officers and officials from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) observed the dog for a few days after the event, and the dog would be examined by a veterinarian. The dog “appeared to be in perfect health,” the statement said.

MSPCA spokesman Rob Halpin told MassLive.com there will be no criminal investigation into the incident, even though he admitted the agency is “shocked and disgusted” by it.

“It’s obviously not how people are supposed to treat a dog, but it doesn’t constitute a violation of the state’s animal cruelty statute,” Halpin said.

While Wilbraham police insist the owner didn’t force his dog into the water, Chris Richie, marketing and communications manager for Massachusetts Special Olympics Massachusetts, told MassLive.com that witnesses had told him otherwise.

“The dog ran away, but the man fetched him, brought him back to the edge and then pushed him in,” Richie said.

Richie said that in the future, dogs will more clearly be banned from such events because it was “shocking, disturbing and not cool. In no way, shape or form can we have any animals around, near or in the water.”

Today the City of Wilbraham released this video of the incident. Do you think charges should be filed?

Photos via MassLive.com, YouTube

4-Year-Old Writes Letter to ‘Bad Men’ Who Stole Lupo Lookalike Fern

Two years ago, Fern, a black Cocker Spaniel/Springer Spaniel mix, was stolen from the Ferrier family’s farm in England.

Ethan Ferrier was only 2 years old at the time, but for a school lesson in letter writing yesterday, he decided to write a note to the dog snatchers.

“To the bad men who took Fern. Can Fern come home now please. I miss her,” he wrote.

His letter, along with a picture he drew of his family with Fern, was posted on social media yesterday in hopes of finding the dog, who is microchipped.

“Ethan was very, very upset when Fern was taken from our farm — he would ask over and over again why anyone would want to take her from us,” his mom, Jodie, told the Telegraph.

She said the family has been “campaigning tirelessly” to find Fern ever since she disappeared in April 2013, including the creation of the Find Fern Facebook community and Twitter account @FindFernwithme.

“[Ethan] has never forgotten about Fern, and always asks us where we think she is and if she is happy,” Jodie said. “He asks me every morning if Fern is coming back home, and I have to tell him I don’t know. It’s heartbreaking.”

Jodie thinks Fern was dognapped for breeding purposes since she bears a strong resemblance to Lupo, the black English Cocker Spaniel belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The family’s two other dogs at the time, a Collie and Springer Spaniel, were not taken along with Fern.

Because of the popularity of Lupo, the demand for Cocker Spaniels is high. After Lupo joined William and Kate in 2011, the Kennel Club reported a 50-percent increase in searches for Cocker Spaniels on its “Find A Puppy” website.

Thefts of the breed have also been on the rise. In January 2013, pet detective Colin Butcher told the Telegraph he was investigating a record number of dognapped black Cocker Spaniels.

Ethan’s dad, Tom, said that because of the popularity of Lupo lookalikes, breeders are now charging up to $1,500 for puppies.

“We want to make people aware of this problem, because it is getting worse,” he told the Telegraph.

To raise awareness of dog theft and help get Fern back, the family is asking people to share photos and dog “selfies” on social media with the hashtag #findfern.

“We still hope with all our hearts that Fern will be found one day,” Jodie told the Telegraph. “If only the people who took her knew the devastation they had caused, maybe they would bring her back.”

Photos via Twitter, Facebook

First-Ever Greyhound Racing Report Says Nearly 12,000 Dogs Injured

More than 900 Greyhounds have died and nearly 12,000 have been injured while participating in races from January 2008 through November 2014, according to a report released today by GREY2K USA and the ASPCA.

And those are only the deaths and injuries that have been reported. “The vast majority of the 80,000 greyhounds born into dog racing can’t even be accounted for,” GREY2K USA and the ASPCA note on Change.org. Neither Alabama or Florida report Greyhound injuries.

“High Stakes,” the humane groups’ first-ever report on Greyhound racing, is being emailed to state lawmakers and opinion leaders.

“For the first time, both the humane and economic costs of this cruel industry are documented for all to see,” said Christine Dorchak, president of GREY2K USA, in a news release. Founded in 2001, the non-profit is the largest Greyhound protection organization in the United States.

“Taxpayers are losing money, states are doling out millions in annual subsidies and gentle Greyhounds continue to die as pawns to this antiquated industry.”

Greyhound racing is banned in 39 U.S. states, “but this cruel sport continues to exploit Greyhounds despite public outcry and overwhelming financial losses from a dying industry,” said Nancy Perry, senior vice president of ASPCA Government Relations.

The 80-page report documents the cruelty and neglect in the industry, including the training of young dogs on unregulated breeding farms; the administration of illegal drugs (including cocaine); poor kennel conditions; lack of veterinary care; and a diet based on diseased meat.

Fortunately, the Greyhound racing industry has been on the decline in recent years. During the past decade, gambling on dog racing has dropped by 66 percent, and Greyhound breeding has dropped by 57 percent.

Along with the report, GREY2K USA and the ASPCA have started a Change.org petition urging governors of the seven states that continue to operate dog racing tracks — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Texas and West Virginia — to end this cruel sport. The petition currently has about 2,000 signatures. [Update: As of April 15, the petition has more than 193,000 signatures!]

“The ASPCA is proud to stand with our partners at GREY2K USA to shed light on the wanton cruelty inflicted on the thousands of dogs that enter the racing industry each year,” Perry said. “We hope state lawmakers will agree that it is time to end dog racing once and for all.”

How to Help End Greyhound Racing

  • Make a donation to GREY2K USA. “A generous supporter has offered to match your donation in celebration of the release of the U.S. report,” according to the website.

Photos via Facebook

NFL’s Terrence Cody ‘Intentionally Tortured’ and ‘Cruelly Killed’ his Dog, Indictment Says

MARCH 24, 2016 UPDATE: Terrence Cody was sentenced today to nine months in the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Disturbing details were released today regarding the Baltimore County grand jury indictment against Terrence Cody. The NFL player, who was cut from the Baltimore Ravens last week, is facing 15 charges, including two felony aggravated cruelty charges involving his dog.

Monday’s indictment, published today by the Baltimore Sun, alleges that between Dec. 19, 2014 and Jan. 19, 2015, Cody “did intentionally torture” and “did intentionally cruelly kill” his dog, resulting in the two felony counts. (His dog, named Taz, is referred to as a Presa Canarios Mastiff, not a Bullmastiff, as previously reported.)

The five misdemeanor animal abuse counts are for inflicting unnecessary suffering or pain on his dog; not providing his dog with nutritious food in sufficiency quantity; not providing proper drink; not providing proper space; and not providing necessary veterinary care.

Cody’s agent, Peter Schaffer, insisted last week that Taz died from worms. “If the dog was being treated cruelly, why take it to a vet?” he said, according to TribLIVE Sports. “When the dog passed away, Terrence was in tears.”

But an unidentified source told Aaron Wilson, who covers the Ravens for the Baltimore Sun, that Taz was severely underweight.

“Dog that died owned by Terrence Cody was roughly 50 pounds, should have had a body weight at least twice as high, per source,” Wilson tweeted today.

The source said a bone was discovered in Taz’s stomach, which may have been causing him not to eat. Taz died shortly after he was finally taken to a veterinarian.

If Cody is convicted, he faces a maximum of six years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine for the felony animal cruelty counts, and up to 90 days in prison and a maximum $5,000 fine for the five misdemeanor counts. He is also charged with misdemeanor animal abuse and neglect counts related to his pet alligator.

Cody could also be disciplined with a suspension or fine under the NFL’s recently toughened-up personal conduct policy. “If another teams signs him, he would be held accountable under the policy,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an email to the Baltimore Sun.

Cody is free on $10,000 bail. He has not commented on the charges, and has not yet been assigned an arraignment or court date.

Photo via Twitter

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