It’s sad but true that in many cases, if police officers were to see two stray Pit Bulls in the street, they’d likely shoot them dead.
But that, very fortunately, is not what happened in Orlando, Fla., early Thursday morning. When two Orange County sheriff’s deputies saw two female Pit Bulls who’d apparently been dumped in the middle of a street, they got out of their patrol car and comforted the frightened but sweet-natured dogs. One of the dogs had a serious leg injury.
A passerby named Adam took photos of the kind deputies, who stayed with the dogs until animal services arrived.
“They even applied gauze to the injured dog’s leg to stop the heavy bleeding,” Adam wrote in a note to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. “These pictures I took depict a loving nature from our deputies and will tug at any animal lover’s heart strings. Thank you.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office posted Adam’s photos on its Facebook page. “Well done, Deputy Reed and Deputy Boggs,” says the caption. “#MakingADifference.”
The two Pit Bulls are doing well and are currently being cared for by Orange County Animal Services. They’ve been named Liberty and Justice.
Hopefully they will find a loving forever family soon — and hopefully Deputy Boggs and Deputy Reed will be honored for their compassion, and set a nationwide example for the humane way police officers can deal with dogs.
“One of those Deputies (Boggs) is my son! I’m very proud of him!” wrote Lisa Cichy on the Orange County Animal Services Facebook page. “He’s always been very intuitive with animals! I’m so happy for those two pups to saved by these wonderful men!”
March 31, 2017 Update: Michael Heathcock and Richard Finch both pleaded guilty March 1 to the despicable cruelty they inflicted on that poor dog, whose name was Scamp. Each received a sentence of only four months in prison. They also had to pay about $400 in fines and, fortunately, are no longer allowed to have pets.
Heathcock was Scamp’s owner. He said he thought killing Scamp was the right thing to do because the dog was going deaf and blind, and becoming incontinent.
More than 100 people showed up at a March 31 memorial for Scamp. It was led by Reverend Margery Grange, who told GazetteLive, “We do animal blessings quite frequently. We don’t normally do memorials as a rule for dogs, but this is a special case.”
“In all my 10 years working for the RSPCA, I have never known anything so horrifying and inexplicably cruel,” said Inspector Nick Jones. A local veterinarian said it was the worst case of cruelty he’d ever seen in his career.
They were referring to a small, fluffy dog — possibly a Jack Russell or West Highland Terrier mix — who was buried alive in Redcar, England. And that wasn’t the worst of it. A large nail had been pounded into the dog’s skull between his eyes.
A couple walking their dogs in the Kirkleatham Woods on Wednesday afternoon made the gruesome discovery.
“My wife said, ‘Listen, there’s a noise,’ but I said it was probably just a frog,” the man told GazetteLive. “Then when we listened more carefully, we could hear a slight grunting noise. I pulled the ivy back, poked about with a stick and saw some gray fur. Then I realized there was a nose in the mud.”
A man working nearby used a spade to dig the dog out of the shallow grave.
“I just couldn’t believe it. How could anyone be that despicable and cruel to do something like that?” the man said.
Although they rushed the poor dog to the closest veterinarian, he had to be euthanized due to his “immense suffering,” the RSPCA reports.
On Friday, two unidentified 59- and 60-year-old men who live in the area were arrested by Cleveland Police and charged with animal cruelty.
But today these two monsters are safe and sound in their homes, because they were both released on bail.
A public vigil for the dog was held this afternoon at the entrance to Kirkleatham Woods.
Meanwhile, Redcar’s MP Anna Turley has condemned the attack. Last summer, she introduced a bill to Parliament, urging tougher sentences for animal abusers. The bill was inspired by the case of two brothers from Redcar, Andrew and Daniel Frankish, who repeatedly threw their Bulldog down the stairs and stomped on her head. The dog became paralyzed and had to be euthanized because of her injuries. The brothers were sentenced to only 21 weeks in prison.
“We saw with the case of Baby the bulldog and the horrific treatment of her by the Frankish brothers that the sentencing for animal cruelty cases does not reflect the severity of the crime,” Turley said. “It is not a deterrent to individuals committing awful crimes like this against animals.”
Hopefully Turley’s bill will be passed, and those two men will spend a lot of time in prison, thinking about what monsters they are.
Yahoo, a service-dog-in-training, got a unique Disneyland souvenir — for dogs, at least.
A photo of the young yellow Lab calmly posing as an artist draws a caricature of him riding a surfboard is going viral.
Yahoo lives in San Marcos, Calif., with a volunteer from the nonprofit Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), according to Buzzfeed News. He’s currently learning basic obedience and socialization skills. When he’s ready in a couple of years, Yahoo will be given free of charge to someone with disabilities.
The photo was taken Oct. 14 by the parents of a woman named Katie, who shared it on Twitter. As of Tuesday morning it’s been liked over 132,000 times and shared over 53,000 times.
“Based on that photo, Yahoo is practicing basic obedience commands as he waits for his photo [to be] taken,” Jeanine Konopelski, a spokeswoman for CCI, told Buzzfeed News. “That’s a perfect training and socialization for one of our dogs to get used to waiting and sitting at attention.”
The volunteer told Buzzfeed News that’s exactly why she and a friend took their service dogs-in-training to Disneyland. The always-crowded theme park would provide plenty of high-level distractions for the dogs, but also be a “fun trip,” she said.
Disneyland is not only the Happiest Place on Earth, but apparently also the Best Place for Training Service Dogs on Earth. In February, a guide dog-in training was treated to an obedience lesson from Pluto.
By next February, Yahoo will be trained to open doors, turn on light switches and pull wheelchairs — but not necessarily to ride a surfboard.
The video is very difficult to watch, but has been viewed over 18 million times since Wednesday. A dog that appears to be a Pit Bull mix jumps through the passenger window into an Audi sedan parked on a street in City Terrace, near Los Angeles. A man gets out of the car, carrying the dog, and flings it over a cliff. The obese, bespectacled loser looks around as he walks back to his car, checking to see if anyone is watching.
Fortunately, someone living across the street witnessed this heinous act unfold two weeks ago via a surveillance camera on his house. The good Samaritan, who asked not to be identified, immediately began searching for the dog.
“I came out here with my flashlight looking around, I was making some noise trying to get her attention and sure enough I saw her behind a bush off the cliff,” he told FOX 11.
Amazingly, the poor dog not only survived the 15- to 20-foot fall without any injuries. A bush stopped her from falling farther.
“She’s a very nice dog and very kind,” another nearby resident, Ruben Roque, told FOX 11. “I don’t know how somebody can do that to this dog.”
Roque fostered the dog, who he calls “Girl,” until she was taken by the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control as evidence in its animal cruelty investigation. Roque, who’s a combat veteran, hopes to adopt her and show her what a loving forever home is like. In a nice gesture, L.A. Animal Control said they’ll drop the adoption fees for Roque when his Girl is ready to go home. [Happy Update: Roque officially adopted Girl on Oct. 19 and has renamed her Hera, after the Greek goddess.]
According to FOX 11, neighbors believe Girl had belonged to the man who tried to kill her. After he drove off, he returned to the neighborhood to look for her.
“I told him to pound sand, get out of here the cops, are on the way,” the neighbor told FOX 11. Wait, what? Why not ask him — or force him, if necessary — to stick around so he could be arrested and charged with animal cruelty?
Roque, on the other hand, wants the loser prosecuted. The first day it was posted, Oct. 12, the video was viewed over 5 million times. As of now, two days later, it has been viewed xx times.
Hopefully at least one of those millions of viewers will recognize this monster and do something about it..
“The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control was shocked and horrified to see this video,” its director, Marcia Mayeda, said in a statement to FOX 11. “Animal cruelty is a serious crime, and the department is thoroughly investigating this case to identify the perpetrator and identify which criminal charges may be referred to the District Attorney’s office. We hope this individual will be identified by a FOX 11 viewer so we can complete our investigation and find justice for the beautiful, sweet dog.”
If you recognize this piece of garbage, please contact the East Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department at 323-264-4151 or the L.A. County Department of Animal Care and Control at 562-728-4882.
A young man apparently suffering from a lack of conscience broke into the headquarters of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA) last week and stole much-needed equipment, tools and security cameras.
“It is shameless and cowardly to steal from a charity—especially a local organization like spcaLA, dedicated to preventing cruelty to animals,” spcaLA President Madeline Bernstein said.
Surveillance video on the night of Sept. 29 shows a young man with what Bernstein described as a “distinct gait, possibly a limp,” forcing open a door to the administration office.
“He broke in, despite, or maybe to spite, a sophisticated security system including video surveillance and razor wire,” Bernstein said.
The burglar, wearing long pants and a long-sleeved shirt, gloves, a mask and goggles, was first seen on video trying to break into the building’s garage around 1:30 a.m. He returned with a long crowbar to the other side of the building a few hours later.
Over the past few months, a thief who may possibly the same man has attempted to break into the shelter three times, Bernstein said. Some spcaLA vehicles and structures have been damaged in the process. Fortunately, no animals or people have been harmed.
spcaLA’s headquarters have been located near the intersection of La Brea Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard since 1947. From this building, Los Angeles’ first animal welfare organization operates programs and services such as animal cruelty investigations, violence-prevention initiatives and pet adoptions.
Anyone with information about the loser who broke into the headquarters is asked to call the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southwest Station at 213 485-2582.
“The costs to fix property, increase security, and the time spent away from the fulfillment of our mission are the most damaging and costly aspects of these crimes,” Bernstein said. “If you are able to help us repair, rebuild, and reinforce that which was damaged, please make a donation.”
You can make a donation to spcaLA on its website or by calling 888-772-2521.
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