| HORROR STORYS
ABOUT ANIMAL CONTROL |
| UPDATE: At 4:42 p.m. Wednesday, The Associated Press reported that South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker have agreed that the county will in the future abide by state law that generally bans shooting dogs as a means of euthanasia.
The order stems from a March incident at the county animal shelter in which at least three dogs were shot to death. State law permits shooting of animals for euthanasia in only narrow circumstances. The county shelter workers have since been fired. Under the order, which must still be approved by county council and a state judge, county workers must strictly comply with state laws governing euthanasia of animals, AP reports. The order says if there are violations, the state can hold county officials in contempt and prosecute the offenders. Read more: The Cheraw Chronicle - Sheriff fires four animal control officers |
| THEY GOT A HELL OF A LOT MORE TO FIRE THAT’S FOR DAMN SURE.
IF THE SON OF A BITCHES AREN’T ALOUD TO SHOOT THEM, THEN WHY IN THE HELL DOES IT TAKE OVER 5 YEARS FOR THIS COUNTY TO DO SOMETHING.IF THEY STEAL YOUR PROPERTY BY LAW CIVIL RIGHTS DU PROCESS, THEY HAVE TO GIVE THEM BACK OR PAY DAMAGES WHAT THEY WERE WORTH. DOES IT FRICKEN TAKE 5 YEARS FOR JUSTICE, OR A COUNTY THAT’S BRAIN DEAD! WE REALLY DO NEED A SHERIFFS DEPT. WE GOT NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF WANNA BE’S HERE THAT DON’T KNOW THE LAWS, PICK ON PEOPLE, MAKE THE LAWS UP AS THEY GO. THEY KNOW THEY WERE WRONG/SO GIVE ME BACK MY ANIMALS OR PAY ME FOR DAMAGES.OR BOTH.BUT THIS IS RIDICULOUS!WHY DO PEOPLE HAVE TO SUFFER YEARS BECAUSE OF PEOPLE THAT SHOULD BE BEHIND BARS FOR THEIR ACTIONS.EVERYONE'S MOVING FROM HERE, DO YOU BLAME THEM!LYING BASTERDS! |
| CHESTERFIELD — Four men at the center of animal shelter shootings in Chesterfield County have been fired, not only for budgetary reasons, said Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker, but because “we have to move on.”
Late Monday, the sheriff terminated the employment of animal control officers Brian Burch, Kip Gulledge, Lee Carnes and Eric Donahue. “We’re still waiting on the Attorney General’s decision like everybody else,” Parker told The Chronicle on Wednesday. “I’m not convicting or judging anyone, but we’ve got to have someone out here (at the shelter) to take care of the animals.” The sheriff said he hopes to have new employees in place by next week. “We will most likely hire from within the department or move some more people around,” Parker said. “We need sworn deputies that are trained in the laws and know how to enforce them.” He said he still needs help from the community, volunteers and donations. Parker said the shelter has remained in operation since spring with one full-time Class Three officer, Jay Lewis, interim administrator for Animal Services, and one part-time person. “I think he’s done a good job for a one-man show,” Parker said, but he needs help. The four men fired Monday had been on paid administrative leave, Parker said. However, since May they have had to use any vacation or sick time they may have accrued. “We have seen a tremendous increase in animal intake during this time. We will provide the shelter with (personnel) in order to be of better service,” Parker wrote in a statement regarding the firings. The men had been suspended from their work duties after freshly shot dogs were discovered in an unauthorized landfill across the street from the shelter last March. The Attorney General’s Office continues its review of the shelter. Parker said his office will “deal with the AG’s opinion when it is received,” the statement reads. “This office and staff are humane and are asking for help and volunteers for our shelter,” Parker said. “We are going to do what it right … We’ve got to be able to fill their slots. One person working at the shelter full-time with part-time help is just not enough.” Parker said his decision to terminate the employees is unrelated to the ongoing state investigation into the alleged shootings. Parker said the county is still awaiting the opinion of the Attorney General as to whether criminal charges should be pursued against the four men. Repeated phone calls to the Attorney General’s Office in the last two weeks regarding the Chesterfield County case have gone unanswered. Three weeks ago, Mark Plowden, spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said rumors the case had been concluded and turned back to Chesterfield County officials were simply not true. The Attorney General’s Office has been reviewing the documentation and investigative reports gathered by state investigators following the discovery in early March that dogs from the animal shelter were being shot rather than euthanized by lethal injection. A subsequent decision made by Attorney General Alan Wilson will determine if there will be no action, prosecution or a combination of the two. “The rumors that the matter is over and we have turned a determination back to the county is absolutely false,” Plowden had said. According to Plowden, a resolution of the matter from the perspective of the attorney general will be presented at some point in the near future and the final determination will be made available to the public on that day. The shelter investigation was put into the hands of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division because of the conflict of interest with the shelter employees who work under the office of the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office. An initial investigation by SLED was reviewed by the attorney general, who asked SLED for further investigation in the spring. According to the Attorney General’s Office, staffers use the information that is given to them and then conduct their own investigation on the matter. In the case of the Chesterfield Animal Shelter, representatives from the Attorney General’s Office said that there was a tremendous amount of evidence presented to their office, all of which needed to be sorted through closely. Read more: The Cheraw Chronicle - Sheriff fires four animal control officers THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR FLORIDA IS A PIECE OF SHIT.LUCKY YOU HAVE ONE DOING HIS JOB BESIDES SITTING ON THEIR ASS! |
| CHESTERFIELD - After months of investigation and allegations of animal cruelty and dog fighting, the staff at the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office has been relieved of their duties.
According to a release from Sheriff Sam Parker, the decision "was made in an effort to begin a new start at the shelter" and the staff was fired on Monday. The animal shelter has been under investigation by the Sheriff's Office, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and the state's Attorney General's office since allegations came out in March 2011 that some animals were being shot as a form of euthanasia. The Chesterfield sheriff's office has been conducting an internal investigation since the allegations surfaced that animal shelter workers may have shot nearly two dozen dogs, before dumping them in a landfill. Sheriff Parker told WBTV that he believes the initial number was exaggerated, saying his office was investigating the deaths of six animals. A month later new allegations surfaced about dog-fighting activities within the county animal shelters, but Parker told WBTV that those allegations were false. On Wednesday afternoon, the Attorney General's Office released their findings in the case. The findings orders the Chester County Sheriff's Office and the Animal Shelter to make changes that will take place over the next few years. WEB EXTRA: Click here to read the entire order from the Attorney General Alan Wilson As a part of the order from the AG, the shelter will be subject to random inspections from the Department of Health & Environmental Control and the Humane Society. According to the order, the Humane Society will be able to do random inspections until November 30, 2014. The shelter will also have to submit an annual report to the Humane Society through 2015. The shelter and Sheriff's Office will be subject to report requests from the Attorney General's office for the next three years. WBTV filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Sheriff's Office and learned the names of the four people fired from the shelter; Brian Burch, Eric Donahue, Lee Carnea and James Calvin Culledge. The animal control workers placed on administrative leave when the allegations initially surfaced. Sheriff Parker says for the past six months the shelter operated with one full-time employee and two part-time employees and the shelter has seen "a tremendous increase in animal intake during [that] time. We will provide the shelter with [personnel] in order to be of better service." Previous article: Dog fighting allegations hit SC animal shelter after dog shootings probed The shelter was shut down for nearly a month after the investigation began. When it reopened, the Sheriff had deputies running the shelter, but ordered them not to drive the Animal Control vehicles because of hundreds of threats towards the officers. "People say I'm making it up, we're not making it up," Parker told WBTV in March. "We've got vehicles parked with the Animal Control service that we're afraid to put officers in." A volunteer who works with the shelter to adopt out dogs says a tip led her to the landfill. Deborah Farhi says she dug up two dead dogs that were shot in the head. "I feel that we owe it to the animals and citizens of this county that we begin to set standards and be held accountable for our pets," Parker told WBTV. "This office and staff are humane and are asking for help and volunteers for our shelter. We are going to do what is right." Sheriff Parker says that he hopes allegations of past mistakes will not keep the shelter from moving forward. Previous article: SC attorney general investigating Chesterfield Animal Shelter abuse "This office along with many others in this county have been judged and abused by many opinions and articles that weren't factual," Parker said. "Everyone makes mistakes and no one is perfect." He hopes that the complainants and opinions will turn into solutions for the shelter, which still suffers from financial needs, cat food, dog food, cat litter and a helping hand. "For this shelter to be successful, a joint effort must be made and everyone must be on one accord. We've been shown that working against one another leads to destruction and no one wins," Parker said. "Please keep in mind the goal we're working towards. It's not for personal gratification or acknowledgment, it's for the well being of God's creatures. This must be a team effort not a power struggle or opinion. We can't dwell in the past but must move forward in a positive direction." TELL YOUR PIECES OF SHIT ANIMAL CONTROL EMPLOYEES CAN GET A JOB HERE, IN HERNANDO COUNTY,THEY DO THE SAME CRAP, SHOOTING ANIMALS, TAKING TO A LAND FIELD GET AWAY WITH MURDER HERE.95 % OF THE ANIMAL'S THEY STEAL THEY CANT SELL ON THE SIDE POCKET THE MONEY.SAD. I SAY FOR A PUNISHMENT, PUT A BULLET BETWEEN A.C. EYES. MANY PET OWNERS IM SURE WILL AGREE WITH ME. LETS CHANGE THE LAWS. |
| Shelters' killing of dogs will end, experts assert
Commitment to saving animals called key at D.C. talks |
| WASHINGTON -- For Nathan Winograd, ending the large-scale killing of dogs and cats in our nation's animal shelters is not a matter of "if" but "when."
An author and executive director of the national No Kill Advocacy Center, Mr. Winograd has heard all the reasons offered by municipal dog pounds and private shelters about why that's impossible: lack of space, not enough money, too many animals that nobody wants. But he doesn't buy any of them. Not because Mr. Winograd is a dreamer or an "extreme" animal-rights activist. It's because he's proved that saving 90 percent or more of shelter animals can be done. As former leader of the Tompkins County SPCA in upstate New York in 2001, Mr. Winograd turned a typical struggling shelter into the first "no kill" haven in the United States, drastically reducing kill rates to 7 percent. Today, dozens of shelters across the country have replicated his success, implementing the same kinds of policies and procedures as Tompkins County. "This is a battle that we are winning, and we will win," Mr. Winograd told a crowd of 400 animal advocates and shelter and rescue workers this weekend during the third annual No Kill Conference in Washington. "No more excuses, no more compromises, no more killing." The conference included talks by directors of the nation's top-performing animal shelters, animal behaviorists, and prominent animal rights lawyers. They shared their experiences and advice on how to save dramatically more stray and abandoned animals from death. Repeatedly the speakers criticized common practices and beliefs that lead to the killing of millions of healthy dogs and cats at animal shelters each year. While even "no kill" shelters usually euthanize some animals, their mission is to find homes for every healthy and treatable animal in their care. That should amount to more than 90 percent of a shelters' population, the conference speakers maintained. The figure is a far cry from the majority of animal shelters and control operations in the country, where it's not uncommon for half or more of all creatures entering the facilities to be killed. In Lucas County, the dog pound destroys approximately 43 percent of animals, Dog Warden Julie Lyle has said. The secret to creating a "no kill" shelter and community, Mr. Winograd said, is in introducing a comprehensive set of programs and services, something he terms the "no kill equation." These include offering high-volume, low-cost spay and neuter services; transferring animals to other rescue groups to free up space; allowing volunteers to foster animals; running a vibrant and well-publicized adoption program that includes taking animals to events off-site; finding ways to help pet owners keep their animals; offering medical and behavioral care; running an effective volunteer program, and increasing community involvement in the shelter. Most of all, Mr. Winograd and other conference speakers said, saving more animals requires a desire to do so Commitment crucial Nathan J. Winograd of the No Kill Advocacy Center addressed animal advocates and shelter workers. WWW.NATHANWINOGRAD.COMEnlarge "The one thing you have to have is simply the commitment," said Mike Fry, executive director of Animal Ark, a "no kill" shelter serving the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in Minnesota. "What it looks like after that is hard to predict; but once you've got that, you've got what you need." Among the shelter directors who have found that desire is Bonney Brown, executive director of the Nevada Humane Society in Reno. In under five years, she boosted her organization's animal save rate from 65 percent to about 94 percent. Her success arose largely from the creation of dynamic marketing strategies, which include funny online videos, special adoption events, pet festivals, setting adoption goals and promoting them through the media and in the community, and having volunteers walk dogs wearing special "adopt me" vests. She has also made the shelter more welcoming and allows community members to come in and play with the animals whenever they want. Ms. Brown's efforts have not only increased pet adoptions but, because of the shelter's publicized success, have drawn in greater community support and donations, she said. This despite Reno's standing as an area with one of the nation's highest unemployment rates, with widespread social and economic problems, she added. "When people see our statistics they assume we must live in some idyllic place. That's not the case," Ms. Brown said. "What makes the difference is deciding you're going to save [the animals]. It's making that absolute decision." Ms. Brown's efforts are aided by the Reno area's animal-services director, Mitch Schneider, with whom the organization shares a building. Mr. Schneider changed how his department deals with dogs that are found running loose in the street. Seeking out owners Instead of locking the dogs away, waiting for owners to come for them, and charging a fee, animal-control officers actively seek out the owners and deliver the dogs back. First-time offenders do not pay a fine, he said. The result is dramatically fewer dogs at the county shelter, and a steep drop in kill rates, he maintained. It also saves the county money in kenneling and kill-related costs, he said. "Our success really boils down to embracing change, embracing technology, and thinking outside the box," Mr. Schneider said. "Holding and ransoming [dogs] is not the way to do business." The use of temperament tests to decide whether dogs are put up for adoption or put to death came under almost universal condemnation by conference speakers, particularly the animal behaviorists and "no kill" shelter directors. Aimee Sadler, the behavior and training program director for the Longmont Humane Society in Colorado, said the tests do not accurately predict a dog's behavior and results should not be used to determine whether an animal is killed. Instead, they should be used to help decide which dogs require more time with volunteer trainers, she said. Most dogs can overcome behavioral issues with training, socialization, and exercise, Ms. Sadler maintained. She said most dogs that act aggressively do so out of fear, a not-uncommon reaction to a stressful shelter environment. Only a tiny percentage -- as few as 2 percent -- are actually vicious and dangerous to humans, and those dogs do need to be put down, she added. Behavior training does not have to be expensive, Ms. Sadler and other speakers said. Most shelters rely on volunteers to implement such efforts, which are as simple as providing dogs with regular "play-group" time where they socialize and run around with other dogs outside. 'Pit bull' efforts HELL YEAH, THEY BETTER RETURN ANIMAL'S TO THEIR OWNER';S. OTHER WISE YOU ARE VIOLATING CIVIL RIGHTS, 4,5, 14,15 FAILED DU PROCCESS ,COLOR OF LAW AND WILL BE IN A WORLD OF SHIT. AND DONT SAY WHAT BREEDS CAN BE IN YOUR COUNTY, BECAUSE IF YOU TRY TO REMOVE THEM, CAUSE ANY ONE GRIEF OVER THEM, YOUR IN BIG SHIT. ANIMAL'S ARE PROPERTY.YOU;LL HAVE NUMEROUS OF LAW SUITES. IT DOESNT TAKE A ATTORNEY TO SU FOR COST OF ANIMALS AND DAMAGES. |