var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime() Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Dog poisoned to death with antifreeze - La Crescent, MN (US)
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Case ID: 15456
Classification: Poisoning
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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Abuse was retaliation against animal's bad behavior
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Attorneys/Judges
Defense(s): Tim Guth




Dog poisoned to death with antifreeze
La Crescent, MN (US)

Incident Date: Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009
County: Houston

Charges: Misdemeanor, Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» Scott Curtis Bailey
» Tammy Mae Bailey

To Rodney and Emma Blank, their 8-year-old Labrador retriever mix, Sadie, was more than just a dog.

They raised the dog from a puppy after buying her from a farmer in Wisconsin.

The dog grew up at their home in La Crescent, went for walks with Emma and even played with special needs children at La Crescent Elementary School, where Emma works as a paraprofessional.

"We never really considered her a dog, she was like a family member," Blank said. "She was the most loving and obedient dog that I've ever owned."

The family was devastated when the dog died in March after she became violently ill from what authorities say was poisoning.

Houston County authorities have charged their neighbors, Scott Curtis Bailey and Tammy Mae Bailey, both 30, with one felony charge each of cruelty to animals-death and one gross misdemeanor charge each of poisoning animals. Authorites found a bowl of food scraps and antifreeze on their patio.

Emma found Sadie lying on the deck in an unusual position on March 10.

"She knew something was wrong with the dog immediately," Rodney Blank said. "She lifted her head up, looked at her eyes and knew that she just wasn't there."

The dog was rushed to a local veterinarian's office where it began having seizures so violent that it nearly bit its tongue off.

The vet determined that Sadie suffered from ethylene glycol poisoning. Ethylene glycol is a toxic chemical commonly used in antifreeze.

Rodney, a former Hokah police officer, checked his own garage and found that his bottle was sealed and out of the dog's reach. That's when he began to suspect foul play and contacted the La Crescent Police Department.

The vet tried treating the dog with intravenous fluids, but it continued to have seizures and eventually lost control of all bodily functions. Rodney said the dog was no longer coherent and was yelping just before it was euthanized.

"I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to hurt my dog," but he had heard that Scott Bailey had complained about Sadie coming onto their property before.

An officer went to the Bailey home on March 11 to interview the Baileys and according to court complaints, found a bowl containing scraps of food and small amounts of antifreeze on their concrete patio.

When the officer told Tammy Bailey that he would take the bowl into custody, she admitted that her husband had put something in the bowl to make the dog sick so that it wouldn't want to come back.

Tammy Bailey told officers that the dog constantly gets into their garbage and that it recently stole a piece of meat from their grill.

She told police that they weren't trying to kill the dog, but they wanted it to taste something bad so that it wouldn't come back, the complaint says.

Rodney Blank doesn't believe that story, because Sadie had never tried stealing food from his family.

Rodney remembers that his wife had let the dog out at 4:35 a.m. on March 10. He got up about 20 minutes later, showered and remembered hearing the dog barking. Before leaving for work, he put the dog in its kennel. Rodney said Scott Bailey typically left for work at 5 a.m. and he believes Scott brought the bowl of antifreeze over to the dog and then took it back to his house.

"If my dog went over there and ate it, she would have finished it," Rodney said.

The Baileys' attorney, Tim Guth, said the dog had been coming on their property to defecate and dig through their garbage for the past seven years.

He said there's a city ordinance against allowing a dog to run free and that the Baileys contacted police several times about the dog.

The La Crescent Police Department doesn't have anything on record regarding complaints about Blanks' dog, but Rodney said the Baileys had made calls about other dogs in the neighborhood.

Guth also said the Blanks' dog often growled at the Baileys and they feared for the safety of their pets.

"They had enough; they got frustrated," Guth said. "They didn't intend to kill the dog. They obviously made a mistake."

Whether Sadie was in their yard or not, Rodney said, "A guy killed my dog, and she did nothing to deserve that."

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