Dogs left in hot animal control vehicle, one dead Atlanta, GA (US) Incident Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2006 County: Dekalb Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Charges: Misdemeanor Abuser/Suspect: Thomas Blankumse

Case ID: 11532 Classification: Other Animal: dog (non pit-bull) View more cases in GA (US) Animal was offleash or loose Suspect was in animal welfare field Login to Watch this Case

Some vindication for some DeKalb County dog owners, whose dog died in animal control custody. The officer in question faced a judge on charges of animal cruelty on Wednesday.

That officer lost his job in 2006. Now, another blow for the officer.

As the Fords play with their three Labrador retrievers, they can't help but remember the one they lost -- Golden. He died while in the custody of Thomas Blankumse, a former DeKalb County animal control officer.

"I'm glad it's finally over, and justice is done," said owner Prince Ford.

In court, a judge found Blankumse guilty of four counts of animal cruelty. In June 2006, the Fords' dogs, Golden and Coco broke out of their kennel. Blankumse picked them up, but instead of going to the pound, he left them in his truck in the heat of the day for nearly two hours. Golden died. Coco barely survived.

"He never apologized to me," said Albert Ford. "He said, at one point when he addressed the court, that he was called off of his route, and told don't miss a meeting. When he got to my dogs, as he termed it, he picked up and took 'em down there, and left them on the truck, and he went to his meeting. He was asked, point blank, 'Did you inform them in the meeting that you had animals on the truck', and he said, 'No'."

For months, the Fords said all they wanted was the truth. Now, with the judge's ruling, and Golden and Coco's puppies full grown, they are satisfied.

"Hopefully, what happened today will deter anyone else from animal services of not doing what they need to do," Albert said.

The judge sentenced Blankumse to one year of probation, plus 100 hours of community service. He also has to pay a $500 fine.

Neighborhood Map

For more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.

Back to Top

Add this case to:

Del.icio.us

|

Digg

|

Furl

|

References

11alive.com - June 6, 2007

« GA State Animal Cruelty Map

Not sure what these icons mean? Click here.

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.