Pet store neglect - Golden, CO

Tuesday, Nov 29, 2005

County: Jefferson

Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 2 files available

Alleged: Ansel R Walters

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Golden resident Patricia Mack named her pointer-mix puppy Victoria because she hopes they will be victorious in what has become an ongoing battle against a Golden pet store. Mack is determined to do whatever is needed to ensure that puppies aren't kept in what she calls the "filthy, inhumane conditions" in which she found Victoria at Pet Ranch, 17121 S. Golden Road in Golden. Unable to leave an injured and sick puppy in the conditions she observed, Mack purchased Victoria in December 2005 and has been treating a case of heartworm ever since.

A deep gash over pointer mix puppy Victoria's right eye was diagnosed by a vet as an external skin parasite called mange after she was purchased from Pet Ranch.

Pet Ranch has a policy that sick animals can be returned within 10 days of purchase, but Mack said she would never return her dog. After reporting Pet Ranch to the Golden police and the state's Department of Agriculture (which is responsible for the oversight of pet care facilities), Mack called the Sentinel and Transcript Newspapers. An investigation revealed a long history of violations at Pet Ranch that have resulted in little more than continuous written warnings to the owner.

Pet Ranch owner Ansel Walters said people are overreacting. "It's the same old nonsense. We're a pet store, and a lot of people just don't like pet stores," he said. "This is a pet store, and some people think it should be a hospital."

Victoria's eye has healed, but her owner, Patricia Mack, said she is still treating her dog for heartworm. As a result of ongoing investigations on Pet Ranch, inspectors are considering toughening some of the state's standards. The state has filed for a hearing against Walters and is working to improve communication with the Golden Police Department. Mack said she won't rest until state laws are changed to ensure that pet stores can't continue to get away with what appears to be the legal, but what she calls "immoral" treatment of animals.

In November 2005, Mack said she wandered in to the pet store while her husband was doing some grocery shopping at King Soopers. She said the stench was overwhelming, and a brief walk around the store revealed numerous unsanitary items. She decided to go back over a period of three days to document what she saw, and she took a camera in with her. She said she observed garbage piled by the back door, fish tanks covered in algae, birds missing many of their feathers, animal cages full of feces, and a puppy with its head stuck between the metal bars of its cage. The puppy she later bought had a deep, large wound over its eye.

On Nov. 30, 2005, Mack reported her findings to Golden police code enforcement Officer Michele Evans. Evans visited the store and reported that she "found no violations of our city of Golden ordinance in regard to neglect or cruelty." As is standard procedure, she referred the case to Colorado Department of Agriculture inspector Cynthia Thompson, whose job is to ensure pet stores are following the rules and regulations of the Pet and Animal Care Facilities Act. Evans was particularly concerned that Walters gave Mack medication he said was a dewormer for the puppy because pet stores are not allowed to distribute prescription medication. The greenish pill Walters gave Mack is undergoing testing to determine what it was.

As her case was researched, Mack took Victoria to the vet Walters refers his clients to for a free well-puppy exam. The vet determined that the sore over Victoria's eye was caused by an external skin parasite called mange. When Mack took her puppy to her own vet, she also was diagnosed with roundworm, which can be transferred from mother dogs to their litters.

Walters said he doesn't know who Patricia Mack is, but that she had 10 days to bring her puppy back if she had a problem.

Walters operates the store in Golden. His son and brother own and operate several other Pet Ranch stores in the metro area, including stores in Arvada, Thornton, Littleton, Boulder and Colorado Springs. Evans said the Golden Police Department has received complaints about the local Pet Ranch about once a month since 2000 -- not unusually high, she said. In addition to Mack's report, multiple complaints about unsanitary conditions in the Golden store were reported, along with several more serious allegations. Evans said Pet Ranch has never been found in violation of the city's animal cruelty ordinance. She said that things pet owners sometimes find uncomfortable are not necessarily illegal.

Golden's animal cruelty ordinance is fairly vague. It says caregivers must provide shelter, food and water for animals and may not overwork an animal. It can be found online at www.ci.golden.co.us/Code.asp?CodeID=376. Mack said the conditions at Pet Ranch may not be illegal, but they are "morally reprehensible." Others have been concerned enough to report the following incidents to police:

On May 16, 2006, three students from Compass Montessori School went to do their weekly community service project by volunteering at Pet Ranch. The police report said the girls "found a half-dead dog in a plastic box with the lid on ... at the back door of (Walters') shop," according to the girls' statements to police. "The container was under a bunch of trash cans and other things, ... the dog was suffocating." Crying, the girls confronted Walters, who they said became "outraged."

Walters said the dog was in a plastic quarantine kennel because it was sick. Pet stores are required by the Department of Agriculture to isolate sick animals so they do not infect healthy ones.

The police report states that Walters told the girls the dog had been purchased and someone was coming to pick it up, then inserted a catheter into the dog's leg and injected it at least eight times, according to the girls. The students called their teacher, Jorja Bennett, and asked her to pick them up. Bennett told police she also saw Walters injecting the dog. Bennett reported that Walters followed her and the girls to her car and banged angrily on her vehicle's window, yelling as she drove away. The dog died later that day, according to the police report.

Walters said the school was only supposed to send one student to volunteer in his store, not three. He said the girls were completely unhelpful and "their teacher was as out of control as the girls were." He said he told the girls to leave the sick dog alone, but they refused. He said he no longer accepts volunteers from that school to help at the store. The police investigation revealed that the dog had been sold, but was returned because it had Parvo virus, which is deadly if not treated immediately. There was "not substantial evidence to serve a summons for neglect or cruelty," according to the police report.

In another incident, on Dec. 10, 2005, bird enthusiast Karen Nickle, reported to police that she purchased a parakeet from Pet Ranch because she was concerned for the bird's health. She pointed out to Walters that the bird was unable to use one of its legs, and he reportedly told her it was "no big deal." Nickle took the bird to her vet, who told Golden code enforcement Officer Jamie Segal "the (ID) band on the bird's leg was so small that it had actually grown into the bird's leg." "The leg above the band was swollen and extremely obvious to even the casual observer," the police report reads. "Below the band, the bird's leg had become gangrenous and necrotic ... no skin remaining, only muscle and tendon." The vet noted that the bird appeared malnourished, which he said could have been due to lack of food availability or a loss of appetite because the bird suffered "intense pain and suffering." The vet conducted an emergency surgery to try to save the bird, but it died.

Walters was unable to provide required paperwork for the bird, which violates PACFA regulations. He said he knew the bird was sick and was taking care of it, but Nickle insisted on purchasing the bird. "That bird should have never died, in my opinion," Walters said. "She wanted to take care of it and spent four hours in here being a real pain in the neck. She said she's an expert when she really couldn't handle it."

According to police reports, many other people discovered the pets they purchased from Pet Ranch were sick after the 10-day return period, many with Parvo virus.

This is part one of a two-part series. Next week's story takes a look at the state inspector's records for Pet Ranch and whether current laws and regulations are protecting animals.

Case Updates

A file about two inches thick in the Colorado Department of Agriculture's office off U.S. Highway 6 and Kipling Parkway documented dozens of complaints about Pet Ranch in Golden. Inspector Cynthia Thompson is responsible for dropping in at pet stores throughout the state, including Pet Ranch, to assure they are meeting the state's Pet Animal Care Facilities Act rules and regulations. A search of Pet Ranch's records showed dozens of animal cruelty allegations that included everything from abuse and neglect to filthy conditions to improper keeping of animal records. Since 2000, of about 40 reported complaints, half were marked "valid" by Thompson. The reports do not indicate what action, if any, was taken. Thompson's most recent regular inspection report, dated Dec. 30, 2005s multiple violations of PACFA standards. Food and water containers were not being kept clean and sanitary. Animal enclosures were not properly cleaned and waste was not removed daily or more often. Pet food being used for animals in the store was not stored in a sealed container at least four inches off the floor. The building, specifically the store room/seed room and grooming room, were maintained "far below standards expected by PACFA," according to Thompson's report. Floors were not being cleaned, items were disorganized and cluttered on shelves and floors, and grooming tables had not been cleaned and sanitized. Walters was not maintaining records on site for 90 days after the purchase of an animal, as required. The records he did have did not include the mandatory information, including the animal species, color, sex (if able to determine) and contact information of purchaser. Also, Walters was not properly identifying psittacine birds with ID bands that include a psittacosis hazard warning to consumers. A Dec. 19, 2005 report stated that animals were not being observed on a daily basis for signs of disease; animals were not being isolated from other animals when they become sick; and veterinary treatment and medication records have not been properly kept on file. "The file's pretty extensive," Thompson said. "In my opinion, the overall sanitation in the store has declined, but the care of animals hasn't been horrendous, other than a couple of the most recent cases that have come up." She said Walters has not kept up over the years with current standards. Walters regarded the inspection reports with a shrug of his shoulders. He said those reports are merely an indication that PACFA inspectors have to respond to even the most illegitimate complaints. "A lot of people complain, so they've got to do something," he said. He said he didn't see the violations as a serious problem. Thompson's reports over the years show the PACFA regulation violations at Pet Ranch have been consistent as far back as December 1995. Other violations were noted in reports from August and December 1997, and January, February, March, May, June and December 2003. In all cases, the inspection report served as a written warning to Walters with advice on how to improve conditions in his store. Only one citation warning was found in the store's record. On Jan. 22, 2003, Thompson sent a letter to Walters demanding the puppy pens, which were "impossible" to clean, be corrected by Feb. 15, 2003. Walters told her he was having new kennels built, but ignored Thompson's advice to purchase a different type that were easier to clean and maintain. When Thompson returned to the store Feb. 26, 2003, the kennels had been replaced but her report noted "cleaning is still a problem." Walters was given until March 15, 2003, to correct the problem. A May 15, 2003 report indicated that the new kennels were already beginning to rust again. Walters said people are overreacting. "It's the same old nonsense. We're a pet store, and a lot of people just don't like pet stores," he said. "This is a pet store and some people think it should be a hospital." Elsie Handon worked at the Hit or Miss clothing store that used to be located in the King Soopers strip mall where Pet Ranch is located. Disgusted by the conditions the puppies lived in, Handon voluntarily went to the pet store during her lunch break each day and cleaned the kennels. She said she told Walters she wasn't doing it for his benefit, but for the "poor animals" in his care. Handon said Walters told her he couldn't afford to hire more help to keep up with all the cleaning. "Look, the economy is so flat, I can't afford to hire help, so I gotta do it all myself," Walters said. Handon said she's been reporting Walters to various authorities for 10 years, to no avail. "I reported him so many times, along with other people. They go in ... and give him a slap on the wrist and 'goodbye.' He's laughing about it. He says he isn't doing anything against the law," she said. "He's got somebody protecting him. It's a lost a cause. They all say they'll look into it and nothing happens. I've tried for 10 years. Nobody wants to get involved because of fear of retaliation." Golden police code enforcement Officer Michele Evans said, in her 15 years on the job, she's only had two legitimate animals cruelty cases - neither at a pet store. She said she receives about one complaint per month about Pet Ranch, which she said is about normal for any pet store. She said police rely on PACFA standards to be followed up on by the state because in most cases, the complaints do not violate city laws. "It's one of the reasons they (PACFA regulations) were created was to have some standards and some form of penalty," Evans said. "Being a pet lover myself, I have found ones (pet stores) I felt comfortable in and others where I was not happy with the conditions. But that doesn't necessarily mean these places broke the law." PACFA inspector Thompson said a current investigation against Pet Ranch is pending, a fine has been levied at Walters, and a hearing is being scheduled to take place in the next 40 days. She could not reveal additional information about the nature of the alleged violation. She said that the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Pet Animal Care Facilities office, is now looking into changing some of its requirements. Right now, pet-store owners are required to seek veterinary care for sick animals. However, they are not required to report when an animal dies in their care, and Jefferson County doesn't require that the disposal of animal carcasses be documented. "Essentially, these are the store's own dogs, so they can do what they want," Thompson said. "We're working on changing that. In retrospect, we found that there wasn't care sought for many of those (sick) animals (that died)." Thompson also said that her office is working on improving communication with the Golden Police Department. She said many of the reports on file in Golden were never looked into by state inspectors because they were not referred by police until after the fact. "Some of these (complaints) we could have been working on all along, but animal control felt like they were on top of it. So we will be working to communicate with them better to address it," Thompson said. Evans said the pet care industry continues to improve but still faces challenges. "We have come a long way over the last 20 to 25 years in the pet care industry. We as a race of human beings are a lot more aware, but we still have a long way to go," Evans said. "I will continue to strive to help humans understand animals. It's all about education." Victoria's owner, Patricia Mack agreed that more needs to be done to educate the public. But she said more needs to be done to inform the people who make the laws and to encourage them to strengthen regulations and penalties. She said that just because Pet Ranch is squeaking by within the constraints of the law doesn't make what is going on there right. Mack encouraged residents to call City Council to ask the municipal ordinance be made tougher, and ask their state representatives to introduce a bill that would improve PACFA's ability to penalize violators. She said she is looking into introducing a citizen initiative, for which she would happily collect signatures.

Source: Mile High News - May 28, 2006 Update posted on May 28, 2006 - 12:17PM

References

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