i Still Love Dogs

Pit Bull Hater Fatally Stabs Dog at PetSmart Adoption Event

Hoping she would find a forever home there, volunteers from the Newnan-Coweta Humane Society (NCHS) brought a Pit Bull named Clara to a PetSmart adoption event in Georgia Sunday.

Instead, the volunteers had to make the heartbreaking decision to have Clara euthanized after she was stabbed multiple times by an angered customer in the store.

Clara had broken free from her collar and bitten the ear of Craig Emory Hayes’ Yorkshire Terrier after the little dog growled at her.

Screaming “F–king Pit Bulls” over and over, Hayes pulled out a pocket knife and began plunging it into Clara’s neck, even after she released the Yorkie’s ear.

Horrified PetSmart customers who witnessed the attack described what they saw to the Newnan Times-Herald.

Erin Burr said Hayes had earlier told Clara’s handler, “If you bring that f–king Pit Bull near me, I’m going to stab it.”

Another customer, Kathy Stottlar, said Clara had bolted toward the Yorkie. “It was terrifying,” she said. “[Hayes] yelled, ‘Get the dog off or I will stab him.’ He said it several times.”

Teresa Reeves and her fiance, Mike Wohler, had come to the PetSmart event hoping to adopt a Pit Bull.

Reeves said Clara wasn’t viciously attacking the Yorkie, but nipping some loose skin on its neck. “Clara wasn’t clamped down on the dog,” she told the Times-Herald. Neither dog was moving.

“It could have easily been broken up,” Reeves said. Instead, Hayes started pushing and kicking Clara, “making things worse. The guy was just screaming, ‘F–king Pit Bull, why are you even allowed to have these dogs?’’’

When he began to stab Clara, Reeves tried to protect the dog by wrapping her arms around her.

Wohler was able to put his hands in Clara’s mouth, and a PetSmart employee used citronella spray and an air horn to make her release the Yorkie’s ear.

Still, Hayes continued his furious attack — even as his young son begged him to stop.

“He wasn’t stabbing like he was trying to save his dog. He was stabbing trying to kill this dog,” Reeves said.

With blood flowing from her wounds, Clara lay on the floor of PetSmart, wagging her tail as shocked customers petted her. She and the Yorkie were taken to the pet hospital inside the store.

Sandy Hiser, president of the NCHS, told the Times-Herald that Clara’s wounds were so severe “that if she did pull through, it would have impacted her quality of life.”

Clara had spent half of her life in a Peachtree City, Ga., boarding kennel, according to the Clicks for Clara Facebook page, which was created in January 2013 in an effort to help find her a forever home.

Hiser said the decision to euthanize her was heart-rending. “And the people who made it were the people that loved her and knew her the best.”

The Yorkie whose ear she bit was transferred to an emergency animal hospital, treated for a blood clot and released the next morning.

According to Hiser, a police officer who interviewed Hayes said he had the right to defend his dog. But was it necessary to stab Clara multiple times?

“He straight murdered this dog in front of 30, 40 people,” Wohler told the Times-Herald. “He didn’t like Pit Bulls. This just gave him the excuse he needed.”

Authorities in Coweta County are taking over the case, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Here’s hoping Hayes is charged with animal cruelty – and that he signs up ASAP for some anger-management sessions. Since it sounds like he has never actually been around a Pit Bull, perhaps volunteering with a shelter or rescue would quickly change his hateful view of the breed.

On New Year’s Eve last year, the following status was posted on the Clicks for Clara Facebook page:

“Are we going to make 2014 the year of my home…You bet we are!!! There is absolutely no reason to not adopt me…What are you waiting for???? I’m everything you could want in a companion.”

Rest in peace, Clara. If you were a Golden Retriever or Labrador, you’d probably still be alive to make this the year of your home.

NOV. 6, 2014 UPDATE: The Coweta County grand jury decided this week that no animal cruelty charges will be filed against Craig Emory Hayes, and the case is closed.

Photo via the Clicks for Clara Facebook page

Puppy-Kicking Centerplate CEO Resigns

FEB. 23, 2015 UPDATE: Centerplate CEO Des Hague pleaded guilty today to one count of animal cruelty.

Des Hague, the Centerplate CEO caught on camera kicking a Doberman puppy in an elevator, has resigned from his job.

Last week, Centerplate’s board of directors put Hague on probation, but didn’t fire him — despite growing outrage and boycotts of Centerplate food, which is sold in many major sports venues.

Today Joe O’Donnell, chairman of the board, released a statement saying Hague has quit as head of the multibillion-dollar company.

“We want to reiterate that we do not condone nor would we ever overlook the abuse of animals,” O’Donnell stated. “Following an extended review of the incident involving Mr. Hague, I’d like to apologize for the distress that this situation has caused to so many; but also thank our employees, clients and guests who expressed their feelings about this incident. Their voices helped us to frame our deliberations during this very unusual and unfortunate set of circumstances.”

Last week, per the board of directors’ request, Hague agreed to donate $100,000 to establish a “Sade Foundation,” named after the puppy he kicked, to protect animals in Vancouver, where the kicking took place. Hague was also asked to complete 1,000 hours of community service for an animal-welfare organization and to attend anger-management sessions.

In the video, taken inside an elevator July 27 at the upscale Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, Hague can be seen repeatedly kicking the puppy’s stomach, and then choking her by yanking up her leash and suspending her in the air.

When BC SPCA investigators tracked down Hague in one of the condos, they found the puppy, named Sade, in a urine-soaked crate, with food and water bowls beyond her reach. When Sade was removed from the crate, she was skittish and appeared to have been physically abused.

Hague released a contrite statement Aug. 25 through his attorney, claiming the incident was “completely and utterly out of character. I am ashamed and deeply embarrassed … a minor frustration with a friend’s pet caused me to lose control of my emotional response.”

As news of the case spread, hundreds of people condemned the puppy-kicking CEO on social media using the hashtags #DesHague and #BoycottCenterplate.

RECALL ALERT: Pedigree Expands Dry Dog Food Recall

Mars Petcare US announced it is expanding its voluntary recall of some bags of Pedigree Adult Complete Nutrition dry dog food because they may contain small metal fragments.

According to the original recall notice Aug. 27, the fragments may have entered bags during the production process at a manufacturing facility. The facility has temporarily been shut down.

“While the small metal fragments are not embedded in the food itself, [they] may present a risk of injury if consumed,” Mars Petcare stated.

The initial recall was for only 22 bags sold at Dollar General stores in four states, but it has now been extended to include 55-pound bags sold at Sam’s Club locations in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

“Some of the affected production lot was originally said to be held in inventory but was instead released to consumers, which has necessitated the expansion of the recall,” Mars Petcare said in a press release yesterday. “We are confident no other packages or retailers are affected by this recall.”

If you bought one of the recalled products, throw it away or return it to the retailer for a full refund or exchange.

If you have questions about the recall, visit pedigree.com/update or call 800-305-5206 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST.

Here’s the latest information.

15-Pound Bags of Pedigree Adult Complete Nutrition Sold at Dollar General

The 22 recalled 15-pound bags sold at Dollar General stores have a lot code (located on the back of the bag) of 432C1KKM03 and a Best Before date of 8/5/15.

They were sold from Aug. 18 through 25 at the following Dollar General stores:

Arkansas: Perryville; Cabot
Louisiana: Baton Rouge; Calhoun; Hineston; Jonesville; Pineville; Slaughter
Mississippi: Magnolia; Vicksburg
Tennessee: Memphis

55-Pound Bags of Pedigree Adult Complete Nutrition Sold at Sam’s Club

The expanded recall now includes 55-pound bags sold at Sam’s Club stores, with the lot code (located on the back of the bag) of 432E1KKM03 and a Best Before date of 8/7/15.

They were sold from Aug. 14 through 30 at the following Sam’s Club stores:

Indiana: Kokomo
Michigan: Comstock Park; Muskegon; Jackson; Roseville; Saginaw
Ohio: Dayton; Holland; Lima

Photo credit: Pedigree.com

Dogs’ Owner Guilty of Murder in Mauling of L.A. County Woman

OCT. 3, 2014 UPDATE: Alex Jackson was sentenced today to 15 years to life in prison. “His actions in this case show that he has a nearly psychopathic disregard for the lives and well-being of others,” said Deputy District Attorney Ryan Williams in his sentencing memo, according to the Associated Press.

Alex Jackson, the owner of four dogs who attacked and killed an Antelope Valley, Calif., woman last year, was convicted today of second-degree murder.

Pamela Devitt, 63, was mauled by the dogs as she went for a walk in May 2013. She was the first person killed by Pit Bulls in the history of Los Angeles County, and Jackson was the first dog owner in the county to face murder charges.

During the trial, Jackson claimed he didn’t realize his dogs were dangerous.

“I feel terrible about it. This isn’t anything that I orchestrated or planned, that I wanted to have happen,” he said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The jury wasn’t buying it.

Witnesses said Jackson’s dogs would often jump over his fence and roam the neighborhood. Back in May 2013, Lt. John Corina of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department told the Los Angeles Times that Jackson’s dogs had attacked people or horses at least three times so far that year alone. In 2006, four of his dogs were ordered to be euthanized after they attacked emus.

Devitt’s savage mauling brought plenty of negative attention to Pit Bulls. L.A. County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich proposed overturning California’s prohibition of breed bans (his spokesman, Tony Bell, actually called Pit Bulls “killing machines”). In protest, hundreds of people — including me and i Love Dogs staffers Martha Smith and Sonya Simpkins — attended an anti-BSL rally outside City Hall that was organized by “Pit Boss” star Shorty Rossi. Antonovich dropped the idea.

Even Ben Devitt, Pamela’s husband of more than 40 years, told local news sources after the attack that he didn’t blame the dogs — he blamed their irresponsible owner.

“I have no animosity toward Pit Bulls and my wife had no animosity – we realize it’s people that are responsible for their animals,” he told KABC-TV News at the time.

While about 30 people nationwide die each year from dog bites, murder charges against the dogs’ owners have been very rare in the past — but that is changing.

Jackson is the third dog owner to be convicted of murder over the past 16 years. In the most famous case, in 2001 a jury convicted San Francisco attorney Marjorie Knoller of second-degree murder after her two Presa Canarios killed her neighbor, Dianne Whipple.

Photo credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department

Hades the Hero Pit Bull Rescues Boy from Attacking Bees

As 8-year-old Jesse-Cole Shaver, his 14-year-old sister Jasmine and a few of their friends wandered along a creek behind their apartment complex in Oregon City, Ore., Tuesday, one of the kids stepped on a rotten log. A swarm of bees flew out and started stinging the group.

Jesse-Cole was stung more than 24 times. When his Pit Bull, Hades, saw what was happening, she raced to him.

“Hades saw me and came, and she dragged me up to the grass, and then stopped and let me crawl on her back, and then took me to mom,” Jesse-Cole told KPTV.

His sister Jasmine, who is deathly allergic to bees, was stung more than five times, and had to be treated with an EpiPen.

“It felt like a bunch of needles went into my skin, and I didn’t know what was going on until the girl started yelling, ‘Bees!'” she told KPTV.

Jesse-Cole and Jasmine’s mom, who declined to be identified, said she heard the kids screaming, “then I saw my dog dragging my son up by his pants.”

She took her kids to a hospital, where doctors found even more bees in their hair. Jesse-Cole and Jasmine were treated and released after a few hours.

Hades was also stung a few times, but is doing fine. If the rescued hero dog hadn’t come to her family’s rescue, “a couple of these kids could have got really sick or died, I’m sure of it,” the mom told KPTV.

“Oh, I thank my puppy. I’m so glad we adopted her.”

Photo via YouTube