Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Hard food given to pre-weaned puppies

Hard food given to pre-weaned puppies
Allegan, MI (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Aug 26, 2004
County: Allegan
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: James Garlock

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Case ID: 3856

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Suspect was in animal welfare field

An Allegan County animal control officer was dismissed from his job and faces a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty for the way he handled two puppies he picked up in the course of his duties. Jim Garlock has a pretrial hearing in Allegan District Court scheduled for Feb. 25. He was arraigned Jan. 10 and was released on a personal bond.

Garlock, 48, who had been a county animal control officer since 1989, was fired Nov. 5 by County Administrator Michael Lombardo. In late August, Garlock brought two small puppies into the county animal shelter at 2283 33rd St.

He is accused of placing the 2-week-old puppies in a steel cage with hard food and a bowl of water. Puppies that young have not been weaned and cannot eat hard food, say those involved in animal care and familiar with the case.

An investigation was launched after the state veterinarian's office contacted the county to relay it had received complaints of how the puppies had been treated, Lombardo said.

The puppies were turned over to an animal rescue mission, where one of them later died, Lombardo said.

Although he did not know the details, Lombardo said he was aware of a similar complaint made against Garlock in the past."It seemed that it was the appropriate thing to do," Lombardo said. "There were some broad questions as to his ability to perform his job."

Garlock declined to talk about the matter Tuesday.

"I don't feel comfortable commenting on this while this is all pending," Garlock said.

The Teamsters Union, which represents the animal control officers, has filed a grievance against Allegan County.

Case Updates

An Allegan County judge refused Wednesday to dismiss a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge against James Garlock, a former animal control officer. The trial against Garlock -- accused of leaving two young puppies overnight in a cage without proper care -- is scheduled for Tuesday.

Garlock's attorney, Emily Green, argued in pretrial motions that not enough evidence existed to show Garlock violated the law.

She said Garlock picked up the puppies at the end of his shift and put them in a cage with food available at the shelter. The food was a hard dog food.

"Mr. Garlock supplied what was available. If what was supplied was not adequate, he is not responsible for that," Green said.

While one of the puppies later died, Green argued it was not Garlock's fault. He brought them to the Allegan County animal shelter at the end of his shift Aug. 26, she said, but staff there the next day provided no different care for the animals.

"The animals were not examined by a veterinarian until the Monday afterward."

Green also argued the animals could have been euthanized under an acceptable Sheriff's Department policy, but were not.

Allegan County District Judge Gary Stewart denied Green's request to dismiss the charge, however.

County Administrator Michael Lombardo earlier said the allegations against Garlock were serious enough to warrant his firing in November, although he said other factors also figured into the decision.

The dogs picked up Aug. 26 were less than 2 weeks old and had not been weaned from their mother.

As part of Wednesday's motions, Assistant Prosecutor Robert Champion sought to get statements entered at trial that Garlock allegedly made to sheriff's Sgt. Tony Saucedo during the investigation.

Champion said Garlock told Saucedo he had once early left "fairly newborn" puppies in his vehicle and they died.

Stewart denied his request, however.

Source: The Grand Rapids Press - April 21, 2005
Update posted on Apr 23, 2005 - 9:30AM

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The Holland Sentinel - Feb 16, 2005

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Hard food given to pre-weaned puppiesAllegan, MI (US)

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Hard food given to pre-weaned puppies
Allegan, MI (US)