Attorneys/Judges
| Judge(s): | Debra Moses Stephens |
Neglect alleged at training kennel, 3 puppies dead
West Palm Beach, FL (US)Incident Date: Friday, Oct 1, 2010
County: Palm Beach
Disposition: Alleged
Abuser names unreleased
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
For at least the third time in as many months.. Officials here have removed a dog owned by a K 9 training facility that they say is simply in bad shape. But in this case, 3 puppies were also found dead.
Animal care and control won't show us the surviving female dog because she's in isolation, but they say the German shepherd mix is emaciated and clearly just had puppies.
A Good Samaritan called authorities today to K9 International -- a police and guard dog training facility near West Palm Beach after spotting 3 dead puppies in a Dumpster on the property.
A preliminary necropsy shows the dogs were alive when they were born.
Although their death may not be necessarily a crime, Animal Care and Control says they've picked up at least 22 dogs in about 3 months time from the same owner -- K-9 International. Many underfed, with ticks and eyesight problems and not kept in humane conditions.
"These dogs are considered working dogs and a working dog should be given appropriate care," said Dianne Sauve with Animal Care and Control. "A title working dog should be something to be proud of"
WPEC-CBS12 reached K9 International this afternoon. The person who answered said no comment.
They will have to comment on Wednesday, however. That's when K9 International goes to court as Animal Care and Control will ask a judge for permanent custody of the dogs that have been seized.
Case UpdatesNearly all of the 18 dogs confiscated from K9 International LLC's guard dog company over a span of three months arrived underweight, tick-ridden and suffering from a host of illnesses, according to day-long testimony in court Wednesday.
It was a pattern that so troubled officers that eventually they were more inclined to confiscate a dog, rather than once again appeal to its owner to seek veterinary help, they said.
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control is seeking custody of the animals from the Royal Palm Beach company it says failed to intervene in the dogs' health and treatment despite ongoing inspections, citations and warnings.
This afternoon, the company's owner, Augustin "Gus" Artiles, will have his say.
Until then the picture painted for County Circuit Court Judge Debra Moses Stephens was that of dogs so underweight that they easily put on 20, sometimes 30 pounds in the county's care and are only now considered to be at a healthy weight.
At least eight of the dogs were so thin, county veterinarians reported they could count the animals' vertebrae and clearly see their ribs.
One dog, J'Chief, died despite constant nursing for six weeks, a victim of pneumonia complicated by the tick-borne illness Ehrlichia, vets testified.
Tiltie, so-called for the way she tilts her head, possibly got that way due to an infection, veterinarian Margaret Lindrose said. She also had a 4 1/2 inch mass on her hip, ticks between her toes and severe arthritis.
Though the county requires each guard dog be registered, officers reported they often found dogs with tags belonging to other dogs or with no registration at all, including "Fat Boy."
Karen Scheller testified that she unwittingly gave "Fat Boy," a Rottweiler, to Artiles, not realizing the work he would be doing and tearfully regretting the decision.
"If I would have known now, I wouldn't have let him go," she said. "I would have looked further for a better home."
The one person to testify on the company's behalf was Chris Ciasulli, owner of Gateway Marina in Hypoluxo. He said he first hired K9 International dogs two years ago, after motor-stealing thieves hit his dry dock yard.
Ciasulli described a business that was prompt in penning and caring for the dogs. The animals on his property were not among those confiscated, and he said appeared in good health.
"Without the dogs, I don't know if I'd be able to store boats outside ever again," Ciasulli testified.
Based on the questions Artiles' attorney Hector Rivera fired at the county's four veterinarians, it appears he'll argue his client's dogs are more susceptible to some illnesses because they live and work outdoors.
Rivera also questioned whether dogs could be ill without showing obvious signs.
The vets agreed it could happen, most likely early in the infection, but added in many cases that these dogs had been infected for weeks, sometimes months.
Veterinarian Lindrose, who examined 11 of the dogs, characterized what she saw as "neglect."
The county's vets are now caring for two more of K9 International's dogs, including the mother of five dead puppies discovered this week. | Source: The Palm Beach Post - Oct. 28, 2010
Update posted on Oct 28, 2010 - 3:15PM |
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