Hannah, a 4 yr old GSD, previously owned by a Tattnall County, GA deputy/K-9 handler, turned into Animal Control facility pregnant, severely emaciated, weighing only 41 lbs, heartworm positive and showing signs of longterm kenneling, among numerous other medical problems, will receive no justice from Tattnall County. DA Tom Durden has decided NOT to press charges.

For the full background, please read the original story HERE.

The Tattnall County Deputy/K-9 handler who owned Hannah (originally named Huanna), Ramsey Arnold, claims he owned Hannah for only three months.

“I got her from another law enforcement officer, K-9 handler, breeder, trainer. It wasn’t connected with the sheriff’s office. I asked the man I got Huanna from if anything was wrong with her. He said ‘no, she was just naturally small’ and that he used her as a breeding dog,” Arnold said.

Arnold said he took good care of her and never had time to do any of the things he was accused of including breed her.

If that’s the case;

• Call after call was made to DA Tom Durden prior to ‘going public’ with this story with requests for information but for some reason no information was forthcoming until now, when a major media outlet gets involved.

• If Deputy Ramsey Arnold had Hannah for three months why was she still severely emaciated? She weighed only 41 pounds when she was turned over to animal control. Protruding ribs is a pretty sure sign of malnourishment. “Long term starvation” was what the vet said who examined her. In the short time that she was fostered and adopted, she was able to easily put on weight and become much more healthy.

• If Deputy Ramsey Arnold had her for even only three months, why had she not been vetted? Any decent responsible vet would have been blind not to see the severe problems Hannah had.

• How could a K-9 handler, someone who should know something about dogs, not know that she was pregnant? A dog’s gestation is approximately 63 days, Deputy Arnold claims he had her for 3 months, if he didn’t breed her, how did she get pregnant to give birth to three stillborn puppies shortly after she arrived at animal control?

• If in fact Hannah was in such deplorable condition when she was given to Deputy Ramsey, there is still someone out there responsible for her condition, for the abuse she suffered. Who is this person, this “law enforcement officer, K-9 handler, breeder, trainer.”

• Perhaps Deputy Arnold is not guilty of the long term problems that Hannah suffered from but she was still starved, not medically cared for and had been bred while in his custody. These facts do not speak of innocence to me!

And now, despite almost 1500 signatures on a PETITION at this time, asking for Justice for Hannah, Tattnall County DA had decided not to press charges against the deputy.

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Since I wrote the story yesterday on NC Trooper, former Sgt. Charles Jones being fired for hanging and kicking his K-9 partner, Richo, I have been following the following the story and looking at what people are saying.

Sadly and to my disgust, it seems that many of his fellow troopers find no fault in the use of these abusive techniques and feel that kicking, beating and even choking are acceptable methods of training a K-9 partner.

Dog handlers for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol have stunned dogs with tasers, swung them by their leashes until they became airborne and hit them with plastic bottles full of pebbles.

None of that was an issue until a trooper used his cell phone to record a video of a sergeant kicking his police dog repeatedly while it was leashed to a loading dock, its hind legs just touching the ground.

What is wrong with these people, these officers of the law who are supposed to protect and serve?? How can they possibly not only condone, but also do the same thing to one degree or another?!

Many of the highway patrol members said they’ve seen similar training techniques as demonstrated in the cell phone video. Some said they have kicked dogs and some said, while they’ve never done exactly what Charles Jones did when he left Richo to hang for a few seconds, they did not consider it abusive. (NBC17)

Thankfully during the hearing State Attorney Ashby Ray did go through a list of other highway patrol members who were on record saying the treatment of Richo, as seen in the cell phone video, was “excessive.”So at least we can see that this mentality has not permeated the entire force!

Watch the new video and tell me what you think, then read on to see what the public, the people who are paying these men to protect and serve, is saying!

Troopers approve of kicking, choking, beating K-9s

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Meet Gage; he was a beautiful, loving and well loved 7 year old pit bull… until the Burke’s neighbor, Ray Stanfill, brutally shot and killed him through the fence while he was in his own yard.

Now all his family has left are memories and images and sadly the last images they have are of him, broken, bleeding and dying in his own yard.

Their plea? Nothing more than anyone would want if someone brutally killed any member of their family - justice! Justice for Gage, justice for them and safety for any other animals that may cross the path of Gage’s brutal killer, Ray Stanfill!

Watch the video - a memorial to Gage, then read Gage’s story in the words of his dad, Britt Burke… then, when you finish wiping the tears from your eyes, please sign the Petition and share Gage’s story with friends, family and anyone who cares and love. We can help to get justise for this sweet baby who was so brutally ripped from the love of his family!

Gage’s Story by Britt Burke

March 12, 2008 was a cool morning (45 degrees) as I drank my coffee on the way to work. Peaceful and calm, with what should have been a great day. The phone rang and my world exploded. My wife was babbling and screaming incoherently into the phone “Gage is dead”. “Gage has been shot.

Shortly after I left for work, my wife had let our Yorkies and Gage out for a quick “potty” break. My wife was at the back of the house when she heard a loud noise come from the back yard. She immediately ran to the back door but Gage was not there. The Yorkies were standing at the door frantically trying to get inside. You could see the awful look of fear in their eyes. She opened the door and yelled for Gage, but for the first time in his life he did not obey. He could not…for he was dying. (Keep in mind, our backyard is over an acre-fenced in)

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Please help us get justice for Hannah!!

Updates to the story will be posted at the bottom. Check back often. I look forward to your feedback and will keep you updated on developments.

UPDATE - 5/5/08 - Finally the media investigates and there are more questions than answers! See below for the full story and comments.

UPDATE - 5/9 - Please Read for update- NO CHARGES for Deputy who owned Hannah says DA Tom Durden!! 

PLEASE SIGN PETITION BELOW!

Hannah, a four year old German Shepherd was formerly owned by a Tattnall County, GA, K-9 Handler and from a very young aged was used as a breeding machine, confined until her muscles atrophied, starved and neglected. When she was deemed no longer useful, she was surrendered to Animal Control facility in Reidsville, Georgia (about 75 miles southwest of Savannah - in Tattnall County) with orders to euthanize her.

At the time of her surrender, Hannah, known at the time as Haunna, was in horrific condition. She had been starved, was severely emaciated and weighted only 41 lbs. Her pads were so wounded that she walked on her haunches and her fur was rubbed off in many places due to confinement. She was also pregnant and gave birth to three stillborn puppies while at the animal control facility.

On February 7, 2007, she was rescued by the Southern Cross German Shepherd Rescue.

Hannah was taken to a vet and on the way she began to bleed, mostly from giving birth combined with her extremely poor physical condition. Following is a statement from the vet;

Today, I examined Haunna (now Hannah), an approximately four year old GSD. During the examination, it was noted Haunna is severely underweight. On a typical scoring scale, with 3/5 being a normal, healthy weight, Haunna is a low 1/5. This type of body condition is typically only noted in dogs suffering from long-term cancers or long term starvation. No signs of neoplasia (cancer) were noted in Haunna. Haunna had hair loss on her caudal thighs consistent with long term kenneling, skin disease, or both. If you have any questions, or other infomation I can provide, please don’t hesitate to call.

Sincerely,
Will Baldwin, DVM
Cornelia Veterinay Hospital
Cornelia, Ga. 706 778-6605

When Hannah gained enough strength she was spayed. Her uterus was removed it was full of cystic nodules. She also had 2 very small tumors removed from her mammary glands. She also tested a very strong heartworm positive and must undergo treatment as soon as she is strong enough.

Hannah’s case had to be turned over to the GBI - Georgia Bureau of Investigation, because the person that owned her was associated with the law enforcement in Tattnall county as a K-9 Handler.

Southern Cross and Hannah’s new owner are trying desperately to get justice for Hannah but it’s beginning to look like they are trying to either sweep it under the carpet and hope it will go away or cover it up. They’ve also heard that her previous owner has acquired another dog to replace Hannah as his new ‘breeding machine.’

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Many of you know the story of Congo the German Shepherd from Patterson, NJ.

Congo was sentenced to death for doing what he felt was the right thing to do, for protecting his pack, his family. While waiting for the appeal he was allowed to go home with his family under many restrictions but now the time has come to do everything we can to save Congo!

His life is still in danger, this has not passed. His appeal will be heard on April 4 by the same judge, Ostrer, who allowed Congo to go home with his family, the James’ during his appeal after his death sentence by Municipal Court Judge Russell Annick.

Now is the time that we MUST ACT! Many of you have been waiting and asking for updates, wanting to know what you can do. Well here it is and there’s no time to lose.

We need to get letters to Judge Ostrer right now. Actually letters will have the most impact so we have to flood his office and we only have a few days to do it!

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Far too often partner abuse and animal abuse go hand-in-hand and for many women, the threat of abuse to their pets makes it almost impossible for them to get themselves out of a horrendous situation.

I’ve read story after story about women involved in seriously abusive relationships they felt stuck in because their abuser threatened to harm or kill their pets if they left and they had nowhere to go where they could take their pets with them.

Pets, like children, become pawns to the abuser, a way to control someone and force them to remain in an untenable situation. Thankfully now, we are seeing some women’s shelters trying to accommodate pets so that women don’t feel trapped.

Between 71 and 85 percent of women entering domestic violence shelters reported that a partner had threatened, injured or killed the family pet, according to a study done in 1997.

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I saw this video and was physically ill!! After so many heartwarming stories of soldiers and the dogs they love and rescue and work desperately to get to the US, we have a piece of trash like this laughing and throwing a puppy off a cliff. He doesn’t deserve to serve as an American soldier, as a representation of this country!

You can watch the video below - WARNING - GRAPHIC IMAGES!!

Soldier Throwing Puppy - GRAPHIC

Trust me, there’s much more that I’d like to say but I’d break my own rules of posting if I did!

I actually have information on the soldier, name address, ect. but am loathe to post what I have as there is no way for me to verify the accuracy of it. The name of the soldier mentioned on the tape who threw the innocent and defenseless puppy is ‘Motari’ which coincides with my info.

Voice your outrage - Sign the PETITION!

UPDATE - The Video has since been pulled from YouTube but thousands have seen the disturbing images. The military is investigating and these is massive news coverage regarding the video and public outrage.

UPDATE - The following is an article that came out today regarding this highly disturbing video.

Puppy-tossing video implicates Monroe Marine

Herald Staff

The video is upsetting: A man who appears to be a U.S. Marine in Iraq holds a puppy up to the camera, throws the animal off a cliff and shrugs.

The 17-second video, which is spreading across the world through YouTube, has brought fury and death threats to a Marine some are identifying as a Monroe man.

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Convicted Abuser Wants Dogs Back! Help to Stop this Atrocity from Happening! PETITION

This story begins in November of 2005 and if you don’t have a strong heart or stomach, stop reading now. If you do, please help!!!

Over 100 dogs were rescued from a Blainsville, Canada home that was later demolished due to such extreme deplorable conditions and these were the conditions these dogs were living in. And yes, the picture below are of dogs, as hard as it is to believe.

All 101 Fox Terriers’ coats were very long, full of knots and fully covered in excrement. These little dogs resembled something straight out of a horror film. There were corpses of deceased dogs in different stages of decomposition within a sea of filth, as the living dogs ate their remains. Journalists from different media outlets, who were dispatched to cover this story, were stunned by the abominable conditions they witnessed. Overwhelmed by what they beheld, some journalist began vomiting! Everywhere, dogs were stacked atop of each other in cramped cages. In certain cases, dogs were unable to lift their heads because they were jammed between the raised floor, resulting from the accumulation of excrement and the top of the cage. Some of the dogs were carrying three times their weight from all the excrement collected in their hair.

Many of the dogs had to be immediately euthanized they were in such horrific condition. Since then, all but 18 of the remaining dogs have been adopted and found loving homes and are learning how to be dogs. There are 18 that are in foster, these dogs are learning to be real dogs too- some of these dogs lost their eyes because they had never seen daylight and now they are learning to be part of families- learning to eat, learning to be touched and learning how to be loved. Now they may be taken from these wonderful new homes and placed back in the house of horrors they were rescued from. Imagine making these dogs go back- imagine being one of the families who have had to rehabilitate a dog only to have it taken from you to be put back to horror.

Their convicted abuser, Marc Andre LaPorte, will be sentenced on February 22 and all he faces is $4000 in fines and a few days in jail. At the sentencing he will be requesting these dogs to be returned to him!!! THIS CANNOT HAPPEN!!!

Please, watch the video then sigh the PETITION!!! We must send a message and send it quickly! Time is short. Will you actually be able to sleep at nite knowing these poor dogs are being returned to this monster, back to a life of hell??

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION - No Dogs for LaPorte!!

Help to get the word out, post and repost, email this to everyone you know!! Please help!!

Antoine Draper filed a police report, he brought forth witnesses to the cruel heinous crime but still the criminal walks free.

MiMi, a 2 year old pit bull that Antoine Draper left with his brother was doused with gasoline and set on fire as she gave birth to her puppies by Draper’s brother’s ex-girlfriend in a stoned fit of rage and vengeance against Draper’s brother.

Antoine said it was like parting with a child when he sent MiMi to live with his brother temporarily.

“From a puppy I fed her with a bottle. From the time she was born,” Draper said.

Then, just days before Christmas he got a call which would turn his life upside down and make him sick to his stomach, someone had set his MiMi on fire as she was birthing her puppies. When he got to his brother’s, MiMi was still burning and to make matters even worse, this was no ’stranger’ crime.

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This story is from Costa Rica and is just stunning in it’s cruelty and depravity.

A Costa Rican artist found himself in hot water with the animal protection people in his home country after using a starving, sick street dog as part of an exposition in Managua, Nicaragua, in August. Guillermo “Habacuc” Vargas allegedly found the dog tied up on a street corner in a poor Nicaragua barrio and brought it to the showing. Read more »

On Sept. 29, the state of Maine’s animal welfare program seized about 200 dogs from an unlicensed kennel or “puppy mill.”

American Humane’s 82-foot-long Rescue Rig was right there on the scene to help these dogs when they needed it most!

Thank American Humane for their care of puppy mill victims!>>

These dogs had been living in disgusting, deplorable conditions. Many of them were malnourished, injured or afflicted with infectious diseases.

American Humane is still providing care and rehabilitation to these poor puppies who have been through nothing in their young lives but mistreatment and pain.

Thank American Humane for their love of dogs and their fight against puppy mills!

Together, we can make change a reality.

The problems at Caddo Parish Animal shelter are not new but Parish Administrator Woody Wilson believes that the shelter is steadily improving.

Not so, according to Ray Abney, a kennel worker there who handed in a five page resignation letter this past Friday detailing a history of cruelties, abuses and mismanagement, among other things.

‘It’s getting worse and worse,” Abney said of the facility.”The kennel is disgusting. They should be sited for animal cruelty. I’m sick of the politics. I’m sick of the fact that nobody really cares or these animals,” continued Abney, who was working to set up rescue placement for the shelter’s animals.

Since Abney’s resignation a petition has been created denouncing treatment and conditions at Caddo Parish Animal Shelter with a goal of 5000 signatures. Already there is over 1,100 signatures from as far away as Belgium and Italy and covering the US and Canada.

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