15 dogs left in hot vehicle
Glorieta, NM (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Oct 7, 2010
County: Santa Fe
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Natalie Owings
Natalie Owings hopes a reputation based on three decades of rescuing animals won't crumble because of what she calls "a simple mistake."
That "mistake" on Thursday began to snowball as Owings, who runs the 130-acre Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary in Glorieta, now faces 16 criminal charges after she parked a truck at the Santa Fe Sheriff's Department with 15 dogs inside. Owings had gone inside to talk with investigators about a larceny charge that stemmed from a case last month when she directed a co-worker to take a family dog after receiving reports it was being neglected.
While Owings was discussing that case, a television reporter from KOAT Channel 7 noticed the dogs locked inside the truck, which had the insignia "Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary" on the doors.
"We had animal control officers go outside and look into it," Sheriff Greg Solano said. "We have to make sure we would act on this just as we would any other call we got about a bunch of animals in a vehicle at some business somewhere. It can't be any different."
Even though the high temperature in Santa Fe was only 76 degrees Thursday, deputies said the heat inside the pickup truck, which had a camper shell, was 111 degrees. The temperature of one puppy taken from the truck was 107 degrees, Solano said. All 15 dogs were taken by animal control officers, examined, and expected to be fine.
"I tried to find some shade, but there are no trees anywhere (at the sheriff's office) and it was taking a long time," Owings said. The department is on Highway 14 across from the state penitentiary.
Solano say they will keep the dogs through the weekend to see if there are any owners who might come forward. All the dogs were rescued, according to Owings.
But Solano fears that the sanctuary's vision of rescue is nothing more than theft.
That was the case, Solano says, with "Crazy," the 2-year-old Yorkshire Terrier stolen Sept. 28 from a shaded gazebo outside the Bureau of Land Management offices on Dinosaur Trail. Owings said she received an anonymous call about the dog being abused and directed the rescue.
Video surveillance of that event was published on The New Mexican's website Oct. 2 along with a news article. After it was clear from interviews that the dog was not abused, police say a friend of the bagman contacted law enforcement.
At that point, the dog, "Crazy" had already been placed for adoption with a family from Denver. That family, when informed about the mishap, offered the dog's owner, Hector Gardea-Romero, $2,500 for the dog. He declined.
An elated "Crazy" and Gardea-Romero were reunited Wednesday while about 15 BLM employees gathered in the front lobby of the office.
"I just hope that the dog is truly happy to be home," Owings said Wednesday night.
Owings said the anonymous call she received about the dog being abused might be the last she takes and acknowledges that maybe more investigation on her part is needed.
"I don't think we will be going to act on calls we get anymore," Owings said. "Our doors are always open to animals in need if someone brings them to us, but maybe we will stop going to get the dogs ourselves."
Owings, who stressed the sanctuary has saved thousands of animals through the years and nobody has ever "batted an eye" about it, also expressed frustration and sadness with the events of the past week.
"I just really don't understand all the drama about this," Owings said. "I think it's sad, really. We've made an effort for years and we even got the dog back in this case and saw to it she was returned to her owner. It's just sad what's happened, really."
According to IRS filings, the Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary, a nonprofit that Owings says receives no government assistance, had nearly $280,000 in contributions and gifts in 2008. Owings, who began running sanctuary in 1997 after decades of animal welfare work in New Mexico, does not collect a salary from the business, according to the report.
Solano said the 15 petty misdemeanor animal-neglect charges, which each can carry a $50 fine, should be filed today while the misdemeanor larceny charges for Owings and the man who carried out the dognapping might not be filed until Monday.
And the sheriff, who has three dogs at home "who sleep in our bed with us every night," said he understands Owings' frustrations.
"I can feel for her on that sense because I think they do a lot of good (at the sanctuary)," Solano said, "but I think we send the wrong message to the community if we ignore what is an obvious dog theft. ... It's really a clear-cut theft case here.
"And if there is any information out there about abuse with this dog that started all this, she might have more of a defense, but we've interviewed multiple employees there and have gone out there to look at where the dog was. There is nothing that indicates this dog was being neglected and even if there was, we should have been contacted from the start to handle this."
Owings said many people contact the sanctuary instead of police about neglected or abused animals because of fear of what might happen to the animals.
"We are a no-kill sanctuary," Owings said. "If they go through police and animal control, there is a chance the animals end up at the shelter and if they aren't adopted, we know what's going to happen to them." References |
