|
|
|
A Belle Plaine man may be facing felony charges of animal cruelty after law enforcement officials confiscated nine pitbulls on his property.
Shortly after 9 a.m., the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department, Belle Plaine Police Department and animal control officers from Wellington and Sedgwick County converged on 938 N. Battershell in Belle Plaine to serve a search warrant on the home.
Sumner County Sheriff Gerald Gilkey said residents in the area have complained about the dogs and the conditions they have been living in.
Nine dogs, two ducks and a chicken were taken from the property, Gilkey said. Left on thick chains with little to no food or water available and very little shelter, the dogs remained outside in waste high weeds and grass. A myriad of cars, rusted trailer remains and huge piles of branches littered the yard where the dogs were chained.
One dog had to be tranquilized by animal control officers before he could be transported for medical care.
“We could look out our window and see dog fights at one time,” said Paris Darnell, a neighbor for five years. “All you had to do was look out the window,”
“The dogs on his side are just a big nuisance and it seems like they are having dog fights over there all the time, especially during a rainy stormy day. When one of the dogs lose you hear a gun shot going off,” said Darnell. “Then when he’s done with it, he throws it in the burn pile,”
He says the owner has had up to 13 dogs on his property at a time. Darnell’s son, Steven, says dogs will live or die depending on what the owner is able to feed them.
“The dog fighting is what I don’t like the most because that’s cruel. They don’t deserve it...he’ll fight them if he can’t afford to feed them. He’ll take two of them out there if he can’t afford food and have them fight and kill them off until he lowered the number of dogs,” Darnell said. Once the owner can afford more food, the dogs come back, he added.
Neighbors have attested to the man’s cruelty to not only his own animals, but theirs.
A neighbor across the street has had her dog shot as well. Buckshot left her lab with 18 holes in his body and blood work having to be done every two months to make sure the dog doesn’t get lead poisoning from the bullets still lodged in his chest.
“He’s shot our dog...I have a labrador and if the dog gets on his property, he’ll shoot it,” said Michele Enochs, who lives across the street at 939 N. Battershell. “He’s been shot once or twice,”
She’s thrilled to see officers taking charge of the situation.
“It’s great. I wish they would take care of some other problems down the street,” said Enochs, who wants to better the neighborhood. “We need a good sensible environment for our kids,”
“I’m hoping it works out that he gets kicked off the property. Nobody really likes him and he burns all kinds of tires and stuff in his yard,” said Darnell.
Gilkey says the Sheriff’s Department is stepping up their effort to help control animals in the county and those “animal lovers” who neglect their animals.
The sheriff urges people to get their priorities straight when it comes to caring for animals.
“If you aren’t able to care for or financial take care of animals then you know, you have to put your priorities straight and ask yourself what’s important to you. There’s one thing to be an animal lover, but if you are just taking and putting animals in a bad situation, are you really an animal lover?” Gilkey said.
A Belle Plaine man may be facing felony charges of animal cruelty after law enforcement officials confiscated nine pitbulls on his property.
Shortly after 9 a.m., the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department, Belle Plaine Police Department and animal control officers from Wellington and Sedgwick County converged on 938 N. Battershell in Belle Plaine to serve a search warrant on the home.
Sumner County Sheriff Gerald Gilkey said residents in the area have complained about the dogs and the conditions they have been living in.
Nine dogs, two ducks and a chicken were taken from the property, Gilkey said. Left on thick chains with little to no food or water available and very little shelter, the dogs remained outside in waste high weeds and grass. A myriad of cars, rusted trailer remains and huge piles of branches littered the yard where the dogs were chained.
One dog had to be tranquilized by animal control officers before he could be transported for medical care.
“We could look out our window and see dog fights at one time,” said Paris Darnell, a neighbor for five years. “All you had to do was look out the window,”
“The dogs on his side are just a big nuisance and it seems like they are having dog fights over there all the time, especially during a rainy stormy day. When one of the dogs lose you hear a gun shot going off,” said Darnell. “Then when he’s done with it, he throws it in the burn pile,”
He says the owner has had up to 13 dogs on his property at a time. Darnell’s son, Steven, says dogs will live or die depending on what the owner is able to feed them.
“The dog fighting is what I don’t like the most because that’s cruel. They don’t deserve it...he’ll fight them if he can’t afford to feed them. He’ll take two of them out there if he can’t afford food and have them fight and kill them off until he lowered the number of dogs,” Darnell said. Once the owner can afford more food, the dogs come back, he added.
Neighbors have attested to the man’s cruelty to not only his own animals, but theirs.
A neighbor across the street has had her dog shot as well. Buckshot left her lab with 18 holes in his body and blood work having to be done every two months to make sure the dog doesn’t get lead poisoning from the bullets still lodged in his chest.
“He’s shot our dog...I have a labrador and if the dog gets on his property, he’ll shoot it,” said Michele Enochs, who lives across the street at 939 N. Battershell. “He’s been shot once or twice,”
She’s thrilled to see officers taking charge of the situation.
“It’s great. I wish they would take care of some other problems down the street,” said Enochs, who wants to better the neighborhood. “We need a good sensible environment for our kids,”
“I’m hoping it works out that he gets kicked off the property. Nobody really likes him and he burns all kinds of tires and stuff in his yard,” said Darnell.
Gilkey says the Sheriff’s Department is stepping up their effort to help control animals in the county and those “animal lovers” who neglect their animals.
The sheriff urges people to get their priorities straight when it comes to caring for animals.
“If you aren’t able to care for or financial take care of animals then you know, you have to put your priorities straight and ask yourself what’s important to you. There’s one thing to be an animal lover, but if you are just taking and putting animals in a bad situation, are you really an animal lover?” Gilkey said.
