Police find dogs locked in back of moving truck

“What a pair of fxxxxxg numb nuts…shouldn’t be allowed to care for anything; if they can’t take care of themselves!”

SANTA FE — A husband and wife who recently moved to the county from Las Vegas face animal cruelty charges after police said they found the couple’s dogs locked in the back of a moving truck.

Santa Fe police found four Yorkie dogs locked in the back of a truck with no food or water. A couple that recently moved from Las Vegas to Santa Fe was charged with animal cruelty.

Police were responding to an initial call of an intoxicated man causing a disturbance near the intersection of state Highway 6 and Warpath Drive in Santa Fe.

When police arrived at the intersection, they found a man matching the description. He eventually was arrested on drug possession charges after a search found synthetic marijuana, Sgt. Eric Bruss said.

While interviewing the man, he mentioned to police that he had just moved to the city after having driven a moving truck from Las Vegas a few days ago. That truck was a couple of miles away from where the man was taken into custody by police.

Bruss said police had a disturbance call from near where the truck was so police went by there to check out things.

While police checked out the area where the truck was parked, an officer could hear the whimpers of dogs coming from inside the box of the moving truck.

Police used bolt cutters to remove the lock and when the door was opened, police found four Yorkie dogs — including one that is pregnant — locked in the back of the truck with no food or water.

Police suspect the animals had been abandoned in the back of the truck. The truck was already two weeks overdue for return and was being reported by the leasing company as stolen, Bruss said.

Bruss said the box truck had no ventilation in the back. While the Las Vegas man told police the dogs had been in the truck for about four hours, police were certain the dogs had been locked up for much longer, Bruss said.

The crates the animals were kept in were covered in dog waste, Bruss said.
Animal control officers with the county’s animal resource center took the animals, Bruss said.

Bruss said the animal control officers told police one of the dogs might not survive.

While police were investigating the abandoned dogs case, they received a call to the police station about a woman involved in a disturbance. The woman in that situation turned out to be the wife of the man police already had in custody.

Joseph Lyle Bakkendahl, 36, and his wife, Kristine Joan Fisher, 44, each were charged with two counts of misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty.

The couple faces possible felony animal cruelty charges, Bruss said.

Bakkendahl and Fisher were each in the county jail on $20,000 bond.

News Link:-http://galvestondailynews.com/story/361262

Las Vegas Activists Protest Backyard Chimp Permit

“When the owner of Travis bravely showed her face, after the attack; I’m surprised anyone would want a chimp living next door to them. What about the rights of the animals? They are wild & shouldn’t be subjected to birthday parties etc. just for the owner to make money!! Wild animals belong in the wild, if you want to see one, go on one of the many holiday packages that allow you to see the animals in the wild!!”

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Animal rights activists in a city already jittery from two separate chimp escapes this summer are protesting a Las Vegas-area property owner’s request to house primates in a residential area, saying the animals pose a public safety issue.

Activist Linda Faso said she and others were holding a demonstration next to the house

Friday afternoon, after distributing fliers in the area that featured a snarling chimp and a gruesome before-and-after shot of a Connecticut woman mauled by one in 2009.

“I’m opposed to anyone having a wild dangerous animal as a pet,” said Faso, a Las Vegas resident. “They’re cute when they’re babies but dangerous as adults.”

Town leaders are expected to review a use permit next week that would allow four chimps and a capuchin monkey on the property, which is located on a spacious lot in unincorporated Clark County, has large cages in the backyard and once held a permit for exotic cats.

The request was filed by Stacy Jones. A woman who answered at the home Friday said chimps are already living there, but she declined to give her name or comment further. She referred questions to owner James “Mike” Casey, who didn’t return messages seeking comment.

Casey holds a USDA permit for three chimpanzees and a small monkey affiliated with “A Great Ape Experience.” An online business directory says clients can hire Casey and the animals to liven up cocktail receptions or children’s birthday parties.

The listing also boasts a litany of charity work, including special appearances for children’s cancer groups and a school for autistic children.

But Casey’s also linked to a highly publicized chimp tragedy. For years, he co-directed a Missouri chimp rescue facility, where a chimp named Travis was bred. Travis went to live with a Connecticut woman shortly after he was born.

In 2009, the 200-pound, 15-year-old Travis mauled his owner’s friend, Charla Nash, who was trying to lure the animal back to its home.

Nash lost her eyes, nose, lips and hands before the chimp was shot by police.

The specter of animal escapes looms especially large around Las Vegas, where chimpanzees Buddy and CJ broke free from their backyard enclosure in July. The duo roamed the streets and jumped on vehicles before a police officer shot the male, saying he got dangerously close to bystanders.

CJ, the female, was tranquilized, but got loose a second time a few weeks later and was moved to a sanctuary in Oregon.

Clark County leaders plan to review the permit application in November after a town advisory board makes recommendations. County commissioner Steve Sisolak said he wants to gauge public reaction to the living arrangement, especially in light of the highly publicized escapes.

“I don’t think we’re holding anyone to a higher standard, but there is increased scrutiny because of the publicity, absolutely,” Sisolak told the Las Vegas Sun.

He also said Casey will need to explain why the chimps are living at a property without a proper county permit. “He’s going to have to answer some questions about why he didn’t do it in the first place,” Sisolak said.

News Link:-http://www.keyc.tv/story/19926977/las-vegas-activists-protest-backyard-chimp-permit

Preteens Accused of Animal Cruelty on House Arrest

“I hope & pray the judge will come down heavy on these little shit heads, if they have the mind-set to do that now, what are they going to be like when their in their late teens…it will be kids or the elderly…if this isn’t nipped in the bud now!”

LAS VEGAS — Two 11-year-olds accused of animal cruelty that led to the death of six kittens appeared in Clark County Family Court Monday afternoon.

A judge ordered house arrest for the boys. They are required to wear ankle monitoring until Oct. 30 when the judge will decide if the case will go to trial. “IT must go to trial to get these psycho’s off the streets until they understand the ramifications of their actions”

The boys were caught after neighbours told police they saw them throwing rocks against a building in the area of the 9600 block of West Russell Road in the southwest Las Vegas valley.

It was later discovered they were…

throwing the rocks at a cat giving birth.

The pre-teens each face seven counts of animal cruelty.

News Link:–http://www.8newsnow.com/story/19886006/breaking-news

 

Teens Accused of Animal Cruelty to Remain in Custody

“Never mind concealing their identity, we have a right to know! Stop pussy footing around them, they are 16 years old, not 6. They knew full well what they were doing & they knew the animal would suffer greatly…they did it with intent, for a laugh! So I say, name & shame the thugs, if this case is not dealt with properly, they will more than likely abuse again, either an animal or worse a child. They should be literally pooping their pants, with fear; but I bet their laughing, thinking they will just get a slap on the wrist, which has become the norm in such cases!”

“But it’s time these & other abusive thugs paid for their crimes properly. Forget all this psychological evaluation, we know they are your typically mean thugs, who purposefully intend to hurt animals; in this case by drowning.  So stop with the usual petty fines etc. Its about time those who abuse animals, were taught a lesson. Its time to scare the living daylights out of them, by sending them to a young offenders prison of some sort. I’m sure a stretch in prison, will also be more of a deterrent to others, who may be thinking about hurting animals!!”

“You know, I also believe Judges dealing with animal abuse cases, should by law, visit the shelter where the abused animal is being cared for. Perhaps if they saw first hand, the results of an abusers actions, like the cuts, bruises, broken legs, swollen eyes or pitifully emaciated bodies…it would have an effect on their sentencing of the offender…pictures are used in abuse cases,  but they don’t have the same physical effect as seeing the animal in person!”

LAS VEGAS — The two 16-year-old boys facing felony animal cruelty charges in the drowning of two kittens will stay in juvenile custody for the time being.

The judge and their lawyers are still awaiting the results of psychological evaluations. The pair is accused of drowning two kittens in a northwest Las Vegas neighborhood.

Teens in Custody After Kittens Drowned

Because the boys are being prosecuted as juveniles, 8 News NOW is not revealing their identities. The teens are the first charged under a new law with stiffer penalties for animal abuse.

The teens are scheduled to appear in court July 17.

News Link:–http://www.8newsnow.com/story/18934418/the-teens-accused-of-animal-cruelty-to-remain-in-custody

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• Two teens accused of drowning kittens face criminal charges (preciousjules1985.wordpress.com)

Two teens accused of drowning kittens face criminal charges

Two 16-year-old boys face animal cruelty charges after a woman accused them of drowning a pair of 2-day-old kittens more than a week ago.

On Wednesday, Las Vegas police spokesman Jose Hernandez said one of the boys had been arrested, and the other was to surrender to juvenile authorities. A spokeswoman for the juvenile district attorney’s office would not confirm the boy’s arrival later Wednesday.

This is the first case in which the felony animal cruelty charge has been applied in Nevada under a new law enacted in 2011.

On June 16, Christine Ohm said a gray cat gave birth to two kittens in the backyard of her home on Painted Moon Street, near Cheyenne Avenue and Cimarron Road. Two days later, the cat and the kittens were gone. Later, while cleaning her pool, Ohm heard animal cries and boys’ laughter coming over the 10-foot fence that separates her yard from the backyard of her neighbor’s home on the 7900 block of Indian Cloud Avenue.

“I ran in the house, got the ladder, got up on top of the ladder and looked down,” Ohm said. “I saw they had drowned one kitten in a cup of water. They other was in the water and dead, but the boys were still holding it down.”

Ohm used her phone to take a photo from the fence and called the police.

Police are recommending two felony charges of cruelty to an animal against each teen, with gross misdemeanor counts of conspiracy. Cruelty to an animal can be prosecuted as a felony, even on the first offense because of a law championed last year by the Nevada Voters for Animals, an animal rights group.

Las Vegas spokesman Jace Radke said animal cruelty charges are handled on a case-by-case basis. He said animal control turns over investigations to the Metropolitan Police Department when felony charges might be appropriate.

Ohm hopes the teens are punished.

“This is a problem,” Ohm said. “This is where it starts. Kittens now. What next?”

News Link:–http://www.lvrj.com/news/two-teens-accused-of-drowning-kittens-face-criminal-charges-160612645.html