Category: Grrr

Strapping a Dog to a Motorbike Is Not a Safe Idea

A motorcyclist apparently found nothing wrong with strapping his Collie on top of the back of his motorbike and then riding down a London street early Wednesday evening.

Many people disagree, while others think it’s no big deal.

A concerned witness snapped a photo of the dog and notified Gloucestershire Constabulary.

“We are making further inquiries in relation to the registered driver of the vehicle and whether he has broken the law in any way,” a Gloucestershire Constabulary spokesperson said, according to BBC News. “This is not the safest way to transport a dog.”

BBC News reports that the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has also been contacted regarding the incident.

As Mashable points out,much safer options for transporting pets on motorcycles are available sale on eBay. Amazon.com also sells these pet carriers.

Yet some people don’t understand what all the fuss is about.

“Did the dog fall off or get hurt, was it scared or mistreated?” asked Simon Henly in a comment on the BBC Gloucestershire Facebook page. “Perhaps the police and RSPCA should find something else to investigate.”

Maybe the unsafe transport of dogs is a daily thing in Southeast Asia, but then, so is the dog meat trade.

Over here in the states, some people also have strange notions of “safe” ways to transport their pets. In March, photos went viral of a dog tethered to the top of a flatbed trailer as the pickup truck it was attached to sped down a highway. This dangerous mode of pet transportation is actually legal in Texas.

Photo via Facebook

GRRR: PetSmart Employee Allegedly Threw Caustic Disinfectant on Dogs

Ezekiel Reynard Pitts, who worked at a PetSmart store in Houston, was apparently having a bad day in February.

To make it worse, he told police, a dog in the store nipped at him. Pitts said that when he threw cleaning disinfectant at the dog, named Tulip, she jumped up, causing him to spill the caustic chemicals on another dog, Nala.

But the surveillance video from a security camera tells a different story, KPRC reports. Pitts can be seen measuring out the disinfectant, which he knew to be caustic because he’d been burned with it himself. He then threw it on both the dogs.

Tulip died from her injuries.

“We are heartbroken by the loss of Tulip and injuries sustained by Nala. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of pets, and we take full responsibility for the pets in our care,” PetSmart said in a statement, according to KPRC.

After conducting an internal investigation, PetSmart fired Pitts and contacted local police, who are investigating the incident.

Pitts was charged with felony cruelty to animals. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

“Any incident of animal cruelty goes against everything we believe as a company and as individual pet parents,” PetSmart stated. “No words can express our deep sorrow for the family.”

UPDATE: According to a June 2019 message from Angelina Pitts, “I would like you all to know Ezekiel’s trial is over and he has been found ‘NOT GUILTY.'” 

Photo credit: Anthony92931

Terrence Cody Gets 9-Month Jail Sentence in Animal Cruelty Case

Former Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Terrence Cody, who was found guilty in November of five counts of animal neglect but acquitted of felony animal cruelty charges that he “intentionally tortured” and “cruelly killed” Taz, his Presa Canarios Mastiff, was sentenced today to nine months in the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Cody was facing more than two years in jail, but apparently Judge Judith C. Ensor decided to be kinder to him than Cody was to his dog.

“He was a guy that portrayed himself as knowledgeable about animals — he knew about animals, he’s trained animals, he owned animals,” Assistant State’s Attorney Adam Lippe told WJZ today, “but he turned on this one dog.”

Back in November, before Ensor charged Cody with the five counts of animal neglect, she said was aware that not every “morally reprehensible” action is against the law, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Caroline Griffin, former chairperson of the Baltimore Anti-Animal Abuse Commission, told WBFF this week she didn’t understand why Ensor dropped the felony animal cruelty charges Cody had been facing.

“I think the public believes and a jury very likely would have found this to be a felony,” she said. “I think people are scratching their heads as to why he was convicted only of several misdemeanors.”

According to the disturbing details in a February 2015 indictment, Cody and his girlfriend, Kourtney J. Kelley, inflicted unnecessary suffering or pain on Taz. They did not provide their dog with nutritious food or proper drink in sufficiency quantity, did not provide proper space for their dog, and did not provide necessary veterinary care.

Taz weighed only 50 pounds when he died in January. The average weight for a Presa Canarios Mastiff is about 100 pounds.

“The evidence in this case was that he directed all his attention or lack of attention to this one animal,” Lippe told WBFF. “He deliberately picked on one of his dogs. The other dogs were fat and happy. Taz he decided to kill.”

Cody was dropped from the Ravens after the February indictment was made public.

Last month, Kelley was sentenced to 60 days in jail for animal cruelty.

Cody was also sentenced today to probation for the illegal possession of an alligator and possession of drug paraphernalia. He cannot own or possess an animal during his 18 months of supervised probation (after which, apparently, he’s free to buy and starve another dog). Cody must also undergo mental health treatment.

Photo via Twitter

Snowmobiler Intentionally Strikes Iditarod Sleds, Killing One Dog

During the cruel and grueling Iditarod race held in Alaska every March, sled dogs are forced to run 1,100 miles in about 10 days. Since the first race in 1973, more than 140 dogs have died along the course. At least one dog has died in most of the races.

Tragically, this year is no different. But instead of dying from the usual awful causes like being strangled in towlines or internal hemorrhaging after being gouged by a sled, a 3-year-old dog named Nash was killed early this morning by someone on a snowmobile who intentionally drove into two sleds in the race. Several dogs were injured.

“Someone tried to kill me with a snowmachine,” musher Aliy Zirkle told a race judge.

“Zirkle had her dog sled hit on the side by a snow machine and the snow machine turned around multiple times and came back at her before driving off,” according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch. One of her dogs was bruised.

“Another musher, Jeff King, was hit from behind by what appears to be the same snow machine,” the dispatch reports. “One of of his dogs was killed in the incident and five of his dogs were injured.”

This afternoon, 26-year-old Arnold Demoski of Nulato, Ak., was arrested and charged with assault, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and criminal mischief. He may face additional charges, including driving under the influence.

“I don’t care if people know if I was drinking and driving,” he told the Alaska Dispatch News. “I’m really glad (Zirkle) and (King) are OK and I really feel sorry for Nash. … They say I continuously attacked them, but I turned around because I was concerned.”

The village of Nulato is holding a fundraiser tonight to raise money for Zirkle and King’s kennels.

This was at least the second time in the race’s 43-year history that a dog has been killed by a snowmobile. In 2008, one dog was killed and another injured when a snowmobile struck the team late at night.

Earlier this week, 13 dogs broke loose from their sled and ran away, probably fed up with being forced to race. They were later found — fortunately unhurt — and had to continue the race.

As I wrote for Care2.com, it’s time to end the Iditarod, or as some animal welfare advocates refer to it, the “Ihurtadog.” The Iditarod is supposed to celebrate Alaskan history and culture — not animal cruelty. A humane alternative needs to replace this race.

Rest in peace, Nash.

Photo via Twitter

PetSmart Employees Apparently OK with Customer Carrying Dog by Collar

Earlier this week, a customer at a PetSmart store in Greenville, N.C., carried his puppy around by its collar, sometimes giving the dangling dog a good shake.

Perhaps taking the saying, “The customer is always right,” way too far, not a single PetSmart employee confronted the man about the abusive way he was carrying his dog.

A photo of the man holding the dog by its collar at the checkout stand is going viral. “He put the dog on the conveyor belt to have the harness rang up,” the caption says.

The photo, taken late Tuesday afternoon, was posted the next day on Facebook by Tammy Mitchell Whaley. An employee told her friend she was afraid to say anything to the man because she feared losing her job if she did so. Whaley called the store manager, who told her he didn’t know why no one reported the incident.

“This is suppose to be a place of business that cares and supports animals?” Whaley wrote.

On Thursday, Sheriff Neil Elks posted the photo on the Pitt County Sheriff Facebook page.

“Thank you for caring about our community and the people and creatures that live here,” he wrote.

“We have gotten other messages from you, the concerned public, and want you to know that this behavior is disturbing to us, as well. Because the location is in Greenville city limits, the sheriff has directed the witness to contact Greenville Animal Control.”

PetSmart has not commented on the photo. If you want to voice your concern, the corporate office can be reached by phone at 888-839-9638 or by filling out this form.

More disturbingly, Elks wrote that his department has “seen several alarming cases recently of animal abuse.”

Photo via Facebook

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