John Marvin and his wife traveled from Midland to adopt the bulldog on the left from the Elk Country Animal Shelter. The bulldog on the right was already a member of the Marvin family. (Courtesy photo / April 16, 2013)
|
ATLANTA — A negative has turned into a positive thanks to the efforts of the Elk Country Animal Shelter.
In late January, the Montmorency County Sheriff’s Department investigated a complaint about abused animals at the home of Jennifer Tucker-Richard.
At the home near Atlanta, police found and removed 37 dogs and six miniature horses, all neglected and abused, most needing medical care. Tucker-Richard, 35, was subsequently charged with two counts of abandonment and cruelty to 10 or more animals and one count of killing and torturing animals.
Tucker-Richard pleaded guilty at a hearing on Feb. 15. All three counts carry the possibility of four-year felonies. She will be sentenced on Monday, April 22.
Atlanta’s Elk Country Animal Shelter, 11484 Youngs Road, has stepped in to coordinate care for the abused animals. The shelter took in the 37 dogs, while the horses were sent to Second Chance Horse Rescue in Boyne City.
“The woman was running a puppy mill, selling dachshunds and bulldogs,” said Rosemary Nuhfer, animal shelter president. “We have a very small shelter with a capacity for 16 dogs and we already had 15. Other shelters helped us by taking in the healthy dogs we had. The Humane Society of Michigan took all of our cats and arranged adoptions for them downstate.”
Shelter staff and volunteers created temporary kennels in a building adjoining the shelter. In the ensuing months, they fed and cared for the dogs, arranged medical care and ensured the dogs were adopted into good homes.
The shelter is holding its annual Italian Dinner and Chair-ity Auction at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Lewiston’s St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 4086 Salling Ave. The shelter hopes area animal lovers will support the event and help replenish the resources the shelter used in the care and feeding of the abused animals.
The conditions and medical problems facing the found animals were difficult and required treatment from local veterinarians, said Pauline Hancock, shelter director.
“Most of the animals were found outside, exposed to extreme cold,” Hancock said. “One puppy almost died from hypothermia. The dogs inside were kept in a bathtub or Rubbermaid totes and were living in their own waste. None of the animals had water. Quite a lot of the dogs had skin issues and had to be put on antibiotics.”
Two of the bulldogs had cherry eye, a painful condition that can cause blindness. They had to have surgery. A Siberian husky also needed surgery for multiple bladder stones. The veterinarians examined all of the dogs and treated the ones needing medical care. All of them received vaccinations.
Tucker-Richard lived with her adopted children in the home from which the animals were removed, according to Hancock. A report was filed with Protective Services concerning the children’s living conditions.
The shelter has had absolutely no problem finding good home sfor the rescued dogs.
“We were flooded with over 200 phone calls, applications and e-mails from people who wanted to adopt the dogs,” Hancock said. “All have been adopted except two adult dachshunds and five puppies that were born in our shelter.”
Besides replenishing the resources lost in the recent crisis, shelter members are hoping to raise funds to make changes to their small shelter, including building at least eight more permanent kennels. The temporary kennels set up for the crisis were only appropriate for short-term use.
Tickets for the dinner are $9 per person and may be purchased at the door. The event will include auctions of hand-painted chairs and other items, a bucket raffle, 50-50 drawings and door prizes. Those bringing pet food or treats will be entered in a special drawing.
Anyone wanting to donate to the shelter may send their donation to Elk Country Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 434, Atlanta, MI 49709.
In late January, the Montmorency County Sheriff’s Department investigated a complaint about abused animals at the home of Jennifer Tucker-Richard.
At the home near Atlanta, police found and removed 37 dogs and six miniature horses, all neglected and abused, most needing medical care. Tucker-Richard, 35, was subsequently charged with two counts of abandonment and cruelty to 10 or more animals and one count of killing and torturing animals.
Tucker-Richard pleaded guilty at a hearing on Feb. 15. All three counts carry the possibility of four-year felonies. She will be sentenced on Monday, April 22.
Atlanta’s Elk Country Animal Shelter, 11484 Youngs Road, has stepped in to coordinate care for the abused animals. The shelter took in the 37 dogs, while the horses were sent to Second Chance Horse Rescue in Boyne City.
“The woman was running a puppy mill, selling dachshunds and bulldogs,” said Rosemary Nuhfer, animal shelter president. “We have a very small shelter with a capacity for 16 dogs and we already had 15. Other shelters helped us by taking in the healthy dogs we had. The Humane Society of Michigan took all of our cats and arranged adoptions for them downstate.”
Shelter staff and volunteers created temporary kennels in a building adjoining the shelter. In the ensuing months, they fed and cared for the dogs, arranged medical care and ensured the dogs were adopted into good homes.
The shelter is holding its annual Italian Dinner and Chair-ity Auction at 4 p.m. Saturday, April 20, at Lewiston’s St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 4086 Salling Ave. The shelter hopes area animal lovers will support the event and help replenish the resources the shelter used in the care and feeding of the abused animals.
The conditions and medical problems facing the found animals were difficult and required treatment from local veterinarians, said Pauline Hancock, shelter director.
“Most of the animals were found outside, exposed to extreme cold,” Hancock said. “One puppy almost died from hypothermia. The dogs inside were kept in a bathtub or Rubbermaid totes and were living in their own waste. None of the animals had water. Quite a lot of the dogs had skin issues and had to be put on antibiotics.”
Two of the bulldogs had cherry eye, a painful condition that can cause blindness. They had to have surgery. A Siberian husky also needed surgery for multiple bladder stones. The veterinarians examined all of the dogs and treated the ones needing medical care. All of them received vaccinations.
Tucker-Richard lived with her adopted children in the home from which the animals were removed, according to Hancock. A report was filed with Protective Services concerning the children’s living conditions.
The shelter has had absolutely no problem finding good home sfor the rescued dogs.
“We were flooded with over 200 phone calls, applications and e-mails from people who wanted to adopt the dogs,” Hancock said. “All have been adopted except two adult dachshunds and five puppies that were born in our shelter.”
Besides replenishing the resources lost in the recent crisis, shelter members are hoping to raise funds to make changes to their small shelter, including building at least eight more permanent kennels. The temporary kennels set up for the crisis were only appropriate for short-term use.
Tickets for the dinner are $9 per person and may be purchased at the door. The event will include auctions of hand-painted chairs and other items, a bucket raffle, 50-50 drawings and door prizes. Those bringing pet food or treats will be entered in a special drawing.
Anyone wanting to donate to the shelter may send their donation to Elk Country Animal Shelter, P.O. Box 434, Atlanta, MI 49709.
Tips for helping control puppy mills
GAYLORD — To assist the Elk Country Animal Shelter in providing care for 37 dogs rescued from a Montmorency County puppy mill, both the Otsego County Animal Shelter and the Little Traverse Bay Human Society took in abused dogs.
Melissa FitzGerald, director of the Otsego County shelter, which took in eight of the dogs, has suggestions for the people who’d like to help stop puppy mills from thriving. She also has a recommendation for those wanting to stop convicted animal abusers from adopting pets.
According to the Michigan Humane Society, not everyone is aware that some pet shops purchase the dogs they sell from puppy mills. The pet buyer is not only helping keep puppy mills in business, but often find the puppy they’ve purchased has serious health and behavior problems because of the conditions under which it was bred.
“If you go into a pet shop or answer an ad on Craig’s List, you don’t know the conditions the pets came from unless you go out of your way to track down the information,” FitzGerald said. “They could have come from horrible conditions. I think it’s better to get pets from shelters. The animals have been checked out by vets, spayed and neutered and observed by shelter staff. You kind of know what you’re getting into with a shelter pet.”
About a dozen people who purchased a dog from the Montmorency County puppy mill contacted Elk Country Animal Shelter staff to talk about health problems their pets had. They said the owner, Jennifer Tucker-Richard, never permitted them to observe the dogs in her home. She always met with them at a neutral location.
“If you ever go into a home where you want to take all the animals to get them out of a bad situation, call us,” FitzGerald said. “It can be anonymous. We can’t go into every house in the county. We need tips.”
Another thing Elk Country shelter staff discovered was that Tucker-Richard moved a lot. It’s typical behavior of puppy mill owners to move to a new community when problems with authorities occur in their current one.
“There is legislation in Michigan to have a registry for animal abusers just like we have for sexual abusers,” FitzGerald said. “If someone came into the shelter to adopt, we could pull up the registry. It would help us enormously.”
A pair of bills proposing the legislation have been sponsored by state Reps. Paul Muxlow, R-Brown City, and Harvey Santana, D-Detroit. If passed, the law, known as “Logan’s Law,” would require shelters to check for convicted animal abusers before permitting an adoption. It would also permit individuals to check on abusers in their neighborhood and check on people to whom they intend to sell or give a pet.
FitzGerald has one concern about the proposed legislation.
“They want to charge every offender $250 every year to get on the registry and stay on the registry,” FitzGerald said. “I think that’s a deterrent for going on the registry. They should just sign abusers up. They don’t charge sex offenders. I think $250 is steep because a lot of these guys don’t make much income. They just won’t sign up. How are they going to implement it? How are they going to police it?”
Other than that concern, FitzGerald thinks the registry is “a great idea” and encourages everyone to contact their state representative and let them know they support it.
Melissa FitzGerald, director of the Otsego County shelter, which took in eight of the dogs, has suggestions for the people who’d like to help stop puppy mills from thriving. She also has a recommendation for those wanting to stop convicted animal abusers from adopting pets.
According to the Michigan Humane Society, not everyone is aware that some pet shops purchase the dogs they sell from puppy mills. The pet buyer is not only helping keep puppy mills in business, but often find the puppy they’ve purchased has serious health and behavior problems because of the conditions under which it was bred.
“If you go into a pet shop or answer an ad on Craig’s List, you don’t know the conditions the pets came from unless you go out of your way to track down the information,” FitzGerald said. “They could have come from horrible conditions. I think it’s better to get pets from shelters. The animals have been checked out by vets, spayed and neutered and observed by shelter staff. You kind of know what you’re getting into with a shelter pet.”
About a dozen people who purchased a dog from the Montmorency County puppy mill contacted Elk Country Animal Shelter staff to talk about health problems their pets had. They said the owner, Jennifer Tucker-Richard, never permitted them to observe the dogs in her home. She always met with them at a neutral location.
“If you ever go into a home where you want to take all the animals to get them out of a bad situation, call us,” FitzGerald said. “It can be anonymous. We can’t go into every house in the county. We need tips.”
Another thing Elk Country shelter staff discovered was that Tucker-Richard moved a lot. It’s typical behavior of puppy mill owners to move to a new community when problems with authorities occur in their current one.
“There is legislation in Michigan to have a registry for animal abusers just like we have for sexual abusers,” FitzGerald said. “If someone came into the shelter to adopt, we could pull up the registry. It would help us enormously.”
A pair of bills proposing the legislation have been sponsored by state Reps. Paul Muxlow, R-Brown City, and Harvey Santana, D-Detroit. If passed, the law, known as “Logan’s Law,” would require shelters to check for convicted animal abusers before permitting an adoption. It would also permit individuals to check on abusers in their neighborhood and check on people to whom they intend to sell or give a pet.
FitzGerald has one concern about the proposed legislation.
“They want to charge every offender $250 every year to get on the registry and stay on the registry,” FitzGerald said. “I think that’s a deterrent for going on the registry. They should just sign abusers up. They don’t charge sex offenders. I think $250 is steep because a lot of these guys don’t make much income. They just won’t sign up. How are they going to implement it? How are they going to police it?”
Other than that concern, FitzGerald thinks the registry is “a great idea” and encourages everyone to contact their state representative and let them know they support it.
No comments:
Post a Comment