AL: Animals chained, man charged

AL: Animals chained, man charged
Jan. 12, 2006
By MARY-ALLISON LANCASTER - Managing editor

A man was charged with animal cruelty after investigators with the Escambia County Humane Society found 13 animals chained and contained in nailed plywood boxes at a vacant home in East Brewton. A deposition hearing has been set for Friday morning.

Acting on a tip received several months ago, animal cruelty investigator Renee Jones said that Calvin Green has been charged with animal cruelty. According to Jones, Green had moved from his home in East Brewton and left seven grown dogs, four puppies, a raccoon and a chicken chained and withheld from sufficient shelter and with only minimal water, causing the animals to react with vicious behavior. However, two of the grown dogs, Jones said, had not been chained and had “sweet temperaments.” Jones said that Green had allegedly been visiting the home once a day to feed and provide water for the animals.

According to Jones, one of the dogs had been chained with an orange electrical cord wrapped around its neck, while a female dog, who had given birth to a litter of puppies, had been chained in such a way that she couldn't lie down. When Jones said she arrived on the scene, several of the puppies were dead.

Jones said she believed they had died due to lack of warmth and nutrition since the mother couldn't adequately provide for her puppies. However, Jones said she couldn't prove that was how the puppies had died.

Jones said that one of the animals at some point had gotten tangled in the chain and a “bunch of junk” and had cut its hind leg, possibly on a piece of tin. After further investigation, it was found that the dog's hamstring had been severed to the bone.

Two of the puppies, a German shepherd and a Chihuahua, were being kept at the home in plywood box nailed shut. “They were absolutely suffering,” Jones said. “You can't just put them out there and not socialize them. They were dangerous.”

Jones said that chaining dogs without socializing often them turns them into vicious animals. According to statistics from the Humane Society of the United States, chaining or tethering a dog is defined as “the practice of fastening a dog to a stationary object or stake, usually in the owner's backyard, as a means of keeping the animal under control. These terms do not refer to the periods when an animal is walked on a leash.”

While there is no law in the state of Alabama that bans chaining an animal, Jones and the HSUS highly recommend against it. According to a study published in 2002 in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, it was reported that 17 percent of dogs involved in fatal attacks on humans between 1979 and 1998 were restrained on their owners' property at the time of the attack.

Source: http://www.brewtonstandard.com/articles/2006/01/11/news/news01.txt
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Final outcome

A man charged with animal cruelty signed over custody of his animals to the Humane Society on January 13, 2006 during a deposition hearing. Acting on a tip, investigators investigated a home in East Brewton last week and found more than a dozen animals chained and roaming - unshielded from the elements - some with life-threatening injuries.

Humane Society cruelty investigator Renee Jones said that Calvin Green, of East Brewton, is prohibited from having any further ownership of animals. Jones said that Humane Society has the right to inspect Green's home without prior notification to make certain he abides by the prohibition. "Our goal was simply to get possession of these dogs, to treat them, assess them and to provide better homes for the dogs," Jones said.

Criminal misdemeanor charges have been nol prossed, but could be reinstated at a later date. Jones said that if the Humane Society finds Green has violated the ruling, they will prosecute to the fullest extent.

Last week, Humane Society investigators found 13 neglected animals at Green's unoccupied home, most of them were chained. A raccoon and a chicken were also seized from the home. Jones said that it is illegal to keep any wild animal as a pet, or to fatten it up.

According to a statement from Jones last week, one of the dogs had been tethered with an orange electrical cord wrapped around its neck, while a female dog, who had given birth to a littler of puppies, had been chained in such a way that she couldn't lie down. All of the puppies have since died. "There are no ordinances against chaining or tethering, although we highly recommend not doing it," Jones said. "It's for all kinds of reasons, primarily it decreases their level of territory - makes them more aggressive - and chaining a dog makes it four times more likely to bite. But even chained, the animal must still have, like any other animal, adequate food, water and shelter."

Now that the Humane Society has been given full custody, they are assessing the dogs and addressing their physical conditions. Some, she said, need further veterinary treatment. Several of the dogs are adoptable, but some have shown aggressive behavior and Humane Society workers are working to rehabilitate them. "Chaining is the least desirable way to keep a pet," Jones said. "That is not a life to be kept on a chain where your entire world is a circle of dirt."

Vet bills have already reached about $500, and that price is likely to rise due to the severity of injuries several of the dogs have sustained. The Humane Society is a non-profit organization and relies heavily on donations. Anyone interested in donating specifically for the care of these dogs should send donations earmarked "vet care" to the Humane Society located at 2763 South Blvd., Brewton, Alabama, 36426.

Source: http://www.brewtonstandard.com/articles/2006/01/18/news/news04.txt