Man Charged After Barking At Police Dog

MASON, Ohio -- Police say an Ohio man has been charged with a misdemeanor for barking at a police dog.

A police report says 25-year-old Ryan James Stephens was charged with teasing a police dog in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason.

Officer Bradley Walker wrote that he heard the K9 dog barking uncontrollably inside his patrol car while he was investigating a car crash at a pub early Sunday morning. Walker says Stephens was making barking noises and hissing at the animal.

Walker reported that Stephens said "the dog started it" when asked why he was harassing the animal. The officer said Stephens appeared highly intoxicated.

Source

Illegal in California

California and Hawaii are the only 2 US states that ban residents from keeping ferrets as pets. California ferret owners are ramping up their campaign to persuade lawmakers, wildlife regulators and the public that it's time to overturn a ban that's been in place for nearly 80 years.

"There is no reason the ownership of the domesticated ferret should be illegal in California," said Pat Wright, who heads the Legalize Ferrets campaign, told the California Fish and Game Commission in February. "These guys are part of our family. The pet-human bond is a strong one, and you're stepping on it."

State wildlife regulators say escaped or discarded ferrets could establish feral populations and threaten native wildlife, such as nesting birds, rabbits and squirrels.

Despite the ban, California is believed to have more ferrets than any other state. The pet industry estimates that about a quarter of the nation's ferret care supplies are sold in California, where ferret owners can have their pets confiscated and be prosecuted for a criminal misdemeanor.

Source

Sure you did ...

FORT PIERCE, FL - A former St. Lucie County Fire District firefighter-paramedic who took a man's foot and part of his leg from an Interstate 95 crash scene in 2008 has been sued by the foot's owner.

Cynthia "Cindy" Economou has admitted she took the foot belonging to Karl Lambert of Brevard County, who was seriously injured in the Sept. 19, 2008, accident; but she said she did so to help train her body recovery dog...

Source

Bangkok authorities bust animal smuggler

Bangkok authorities have busted a man who attempted to board a plane carrying enough creatures to start a small zoo.

The Indonesian smuggler's three suitcases contained:
2 boa constrictors
34 ball pythons
26 lizards of assorted kinds
6 Argentine horned frogs
18 baboon spiders
22 squirrels
a parrot
and close to 150 tortoises of various species

Many of the creatures in the man's suitcase menagerie were from rare and endangered species, including a plowshare tortoise, of which fewer than a thousand exist. Traffic says the man bought all the animals at Bangkok's Chatuchak market, a notorious hub for trading in rare animals.

Source

OMG - This is how we treat man's best friend?

Due to a slow winter season, and because of a downturn in the sled dog touring business after the 2010 Winter Olympics, Howling Dogs Tours, based in Whistler BC, authorized the cull of 100 sled dogs from the 300-dog pack in an appalling manner - so appalling that it may even be judged to be criminal when the investigation is finished.

The massacre only came to light because of a successful workman's compensation [WorkSafeBC] claim for post-traumatic stress by the employee who killed the dogs over a two day period in April 2010. The worker said he suffered panic attacks and nightmares because of the grisly scenes that unfolded as he carried out the company’s orders.

The employee ...

shot the dogs one at a time over the course of two days in front of the other dogs. Often he missed or only wounded a dog with the first shot.

At least one of the dogs tossed into the pit that served as a mass grave was still alive. Susie got away after being shot in the face and sought refuge among the other dogs. While shooting her again to finish the job, the man wounded one of the dogs that was to have been spared and it had to be killed as well.

In the past, his practice when "euthanizing" a dog was to take it for a walk in the woods and give it a nice meat meal to distract it. That would make for a calm environment and kept the dogs away from the general population so as not to disrupt them. He would use a gun to euthanize the dogs,

but

because of the large number of dogs he said he was forced to euthanize the dogs in full view of the other dogs and by about the 15th dog it appeared to him “the dogs were experiencing anxiety and stress from observing the euthanasia of other members of the pack and were panicking.”

His last memory of killing the final dogs was "fuzzy" and in some cases he felt it was simpler to "get behind the dogs and slit their throats and let them bleed out."

By the end, as he told the workman's comp review board, he was covered in blood. When he finished, he cleared up the mess, filled in the mass grave and tried to bury the memories as deeply as he could.

After the news broke with the predictable shocked reaction from the public, the race was on to duck responsibility.

WorkSafeBC refused to confirm or deny any of the details, arguing that they constitute medical records.

Outdoor Adventures, one of the agents for Howling Dog Tours, said they were aware of the cull, but had no idea of how it was carried out and they are now as shocked and appalled as everyone else to learn what happened.

The BC SPCA and the RCMP are now on the case.

Marcie Moriarty, head of the BC SPCA cruelty investigations division, said “many people will be shocked” not only about the culling but how sled dogs are treated in general.

“There is a problem with the sled dog industry in general. People see these 20 sled dogs, an idyllic setting with snow in the background and think how great. But what they don’t see is the 200 dogs tethered and sleeping out back, chained to a barrel.”

She said the SPCA plans to uncover the mass grave to examine the dogs’ remains but can’t do that immediately because the ground is frozen under several feet of snow.

Moriarty said she’s “glad a light is finally being shed on this industry. I just shudder whenever I see the ads for sled dog tours because I know how the majority of dogs are living. There are a few good operations but on a smaller scale.”

Sources: Vancouver Sun,
also from the Vancouver Sun (this one with additional horrific details), an opinion column from the Vancouver Sun, Calgary Sun, Pique newsmagazine, and the blog post that made me aware of this story: Miss Snow it All

Here's a real Christian for ya

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Authorities have charged a South Carolina woman with felony animal cruelty, saying she hanged her nephew's pit bull from a tree with an electrical cord and burned its body because the dog chewed on her Bible.

Animal control officers said Monday that 65-year-old Miriam Smith told them she killed a female dog named Diamond because it was a "devil dog" and she worried it could harm neighborhood children.

Source

Drug-Smuggling Pigeon Nabbed

Colombian police say they have captured a carrier pigeon that was being used to smuggle drugs into a prison.

The bird was trying to fly into a jail in the north-eastern city of Bucaramanga with marijuana and cocaine paste strapped to its back, but did not make it.

Police believe the 45g (1.6oz) drug package was too heavy for it.

Police, who believe the bird was trained by inmates, say they've caught other pigeons attempting to carry phone cards into the jail.

Source

Sick perverts

Muskogee County, OK, prosecutors on Tuesday charged a man and woman with fatally shooting and skinning a 7-week-old puppy they intended to make into a belt.

A judge ordered mental competency testing for Austin Michael Mullins, 26, and Krystal Lynn Lewis, 23.

Muskogee County sheriff’s Deputy George Roberson said Mullins shot the puppy 10 times with a .22-caliber pistol at a park near town, and Lewis then skinned the puppy at her apartment. The pair nailed the hide to a board displayed at the apartment and told investigators they planned to have it made into a belt.

Source

Getting a jump on Halloween

A Middletown, Ohio, court has sentenced a woman to a month in jail after she admitted to chasing children and blocking traffic while dressed as a cow.

Michele Allen, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct after police said she dressed as a cow Saturday night and chased children after urinating on a neighbor's porch.

Allen was ordered by an officer to go home and remain there for the evening, but later in the evening authorities received a call that a woman in a cow costume was blocking traffic. Police said she had alcohol on her breath when an officer arrived and she shouted and swore at the officer.

She was sentenced to one month in the Middletown Jail.

Source: 700wlw

(via Boing Boing)

Obviously, it wasn't Smokey Bear

Investigators in Utah say a large black bear raided a clandestine marijuana growing operation so often that it chased the grower away.

Deputies found food containers ripped apart and strewn everywhere, cans with bear teeth marks, claw marks and bear prints across the Garfield County camp on Tuesday.

They also found 4,000 "starter" sacks of pot and 888 young plants.

Source: AP

Texas death row inmate wants to feed the fish

Texas death row inmate Gene Hathorn, who was convicted of killing his father, step-mother and half brother in 1984, has agreed to give his body to Danish based artist Marco Evaristti, for use in an art installation. Mr. Evaristti plans to freeze Mr. Hathorn's body and then turn it into fish food.

Visitors to the as yet unnamed venue would then be able to feed Mr. Hathorn's remains to hundreds of goldfish in a giant aquarium.

This isn't the first somewhat unusual project for Mr. Evaristti. In 2000 he placed goldfish in an electric blender at a Danish art museum, giving visitors the option of turning the machine on and killing the fish. Last year, he also held a dinner party where the main course consisted of meatballs partly made with fat removed from his own body by liposuction.

Source: Dallas News

Dog fight in the Bronx

The fight over a tiny purebred Yorkie is brewing in the Bronx.

One family, which lost the dog, says another family wrongfully changed her micro-chip registration, and refuses to return her home.

Kylea Lester says it should be an open and shut case: a family dog lost in June, and then found by a total stranger in a Laundromat, all on video.

"That's my dog," Lester said.

But a street encounter with that stranger a few weeks ago led to a confrontation, which then led to harassment, petty larceny, and other charges being filed against Kylea.

The Lesters have Ivy's original AKC papers, vet bills, and a matching serial number to a microchip implanted in the dog's neck. But records show a woman identified as Deneen Williams now has her name on Ivy's chip registration.

The Bronx DA's office, which is moving forward with its criminal case against Kylea, says its investigation is ongoing.

Source: wcbstv.com

Tiger smugglers in Texas?

Federal authorities continue to investigate the parking lot sale of six Bengal tigers they believe were bound for Mexico.

49-year-old Michelle Ashton of Calvert, TX, was charged with misdemeanor interference with public duties, after she allegedly became disruptive with police Sunday.

The investigation started when a police officer spotted Ashton exchanging pet cages with people at a store parking lot. The astute patrol officer moved in and noticed that the animals inside were no ordinary kitties.

They were six endangered Bengal tiger cubs.

Investigators believe the cubs were possibly headed to Mexico without proper permits.

The tiger cubs are now at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville. Zoo officials say the cubs are in excellent condition.

The three male and three female cubs, believed to be two to eight weeks old, are receiving veterinary care at the zoo.

Source: chron.com

Couldn't find any rocks

A New Zealand man could face five years in prison if convicted after being accused of using a hedgehog as a weapon.

According to police, the man threw the hedgehog to hit a 15-year-old boy last month. Police say the hedgehog "hit the victim in the leg, causing a large red welt and several puncture marks."

It's not known if the hedgehog was dead or alive when it was thrown, but it was dead when police collected it as evidence.

Source: abc2news

Confession to cats doesn't hold up in court

David Henton, 72, who had been charged with murdering his partner after police recorded him apparently confessing to his cats was cleared yesterday by a jury that decided his comments were the ramblings of an old man.

During a seven-week trial, the prosecution played hours of secret and largely inaudible recordings of Henton muttering to himself and the cats.

Source: Times onLine

Police Puppy Training Diary

Police in Scotland have set up a Web site to allow the public to meet their newest, and cutest, recruit as he learns how to sniff out criminals.

He's a six-week-old German Shepherd puppy and he is so new to the Force he doesn't even have a name yet!

One of a litter of seven pups bred especially for police work by Lothian and Borders Police, you can follow our new recruit's progress over the coming months on this special diary page.

Source: Yahoo News

Dog Sniffs Out $110,000 Inside SUV

An Indiana State Police dog sniffed out nearly $110,000 during a routine traffic stop on the Indiana Toll Road near Chesterton on Sunday.

Trooper Mike Jones stopped a Ford Explorer for following to close to other cars and unsafe lane changes. After Jones pulled over the vehicle, the occupants ''appeared very nervous and had conflicting statements as to where they were going,'' according to a state police news release.

The driver agreed to a search of the SUV, and the police dog, named Boss, nosed around and located a suitcase with $109,020 inside.

Worth a Car?

Would you give up your car for this dog?


Latasha Armendariz used her customized 1996 Ford Mustang to ransom Pork Chop her kidnapped 2-year-old English bulldog.

Hello!

Dallas police say a homeowner today fatally shot an intruder after his parrot alerted him that someone was on the property.

Dennis Baker, who keeps several pet birds, said his Mexican Red-headed parrot "Salvador" said "hello" when he sees someone.

As a man passed by a window at his home, Salvador began saying "Hello, hello," awaking Baker.

Baker approached 46-year-old John Woodson in a detached garage -- and shot him.

Woodson died at a hospital.

Jail time for ostrich killers

An ostrich named Gaylord kicked Timothy McKevitt, 19, and Jonathon Porter, 21, last October when they trespassed on an ostrich ranch south of San Francisco after a night of drinking.

As the startled bird attacked, their female companions laughed, wounding their male pride. The two men returned with a rifle and shotgun seeking revenge. They fired at least seven shots at Gaylord, according to a police report.

McKevitt was sentenced to five months in jail. Porter was sentenced in March to seven months in jail after pleading no contest in the ostrich killing.

An interesting correlation:

Mary Winkler, convicted of manslaughter in the shotgun slaying of her minister husband was freed after serving 67 days in custody.