An Omaha man is defending himself after being cited for animal cruelty. He says that he never hurt his dog and will fight to get the animal back.
The dog owner says officers had their guns drawn and they forcibly entered his home.
Authorities acknowledge that Brian Onstead was sleeping when officers initially knocked on the door before bursting in.
The Humane Society says officers had search and forcible entry warrants because they had a good reason to believe there was an injured dog inside the home. There were two previous calls of abuse at the residence.
The Humane Society says a border collie's injuries speak for themselves. The animal has a bloodshot eye and a three inch cut near her left ear.
The staff veterinarian says the injuries can only be due to trauma and the animal might lose sight in one eye.
Officials say a neighbor witnessed the owner beating this dog on Tuesday morning.
The dog's owners, Brian and Christy Onstead say that's ridiculous.
Mr. Onstead says, "The neighbors have made false statements in the past," and he adds that, "anybody who knows me knows that I totally love this dog and it's just absurd that anybody would say that I would beat the dog to death or hurt the dog."
Onstead says his dog Callie had been digging in the yard and was full of mud so he reached for the hose to clean her off.
"The dog doesn't like the hose and the neighbor witnessed me slap the dog on its nose when the dog was fighting trying to get the hose off her," he says. "I would never attempt to injure the dog. That's absolutely insane."
However, the Humane Society says it has good reason to cite Onstead for misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Until the case is settled, Callie will remain at the Humane Society.
Onstead says he noticed Callie's bloodshot eyes two weeks ago and the vet gave her a prescription for a possible allergic reaction. As for the cut on Callie's left ear, Onstead says he believes another animal scratched her while playing outside. Case UpdatesAn Omaha man faces six months probation and a $500 fine after being found guilty of animal cruelty.
Brian Onstead , a 911 operator for the county, was sentenced Thursday morning.
He will also have to take anger management classes and cannot own or live with another pet.
Onstead was found guilty of punching his dog in the face.
Nebraska Humane Society attorney Mark Langan says, "We respect the judge's decision but let's not lose sight of the real message. The real message is when a person has anger management problems, seek help for those problems. Don't take your frustrations out on your dog, or in cases other than this on children, spouses. All these types of abuse are kind of meshed into one."
Humane Society officials tell us that the abused dog has been adopted out to a family and is doing well. | Source: WOWT - Sep 15, 2005
Update posted on Sep 19, 2005 - 11:00AM |
Injuries to a dog were ruled as animal cruelty on the part of the animals' owner.
A judge found Brian Onstead, of Omaha guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty in a case dating back to April.
The case came to light when a neighbor alerted authorities to an injury on the dog's eye. Onstead said the border collie's injury was the result of it's head getting caught in a fence. | Source: WOWT - Aug 30, 3005
Update posted on Aug 30, 2005 - 4:03PM |
References | WOWT - April 6, 2005 |
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