Hunting dog neglect
Wilson, NC (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Oct 14, 2006
County: Wilson
Disposition: Not Charged
Person of Interest: Michael Godwin
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Wilson County Animal Control is investigating a possible case of animal abuse that was recently discovered on London Church Road near Fawn Industries.
Sheriff's Deputy Steve Smith was called to the scene on Oct 16 after 38 hunting dogs were discovered in various states of starvation in a group of pens located in a cotton field. Smith reported that the dogs looked malnourished and diseased ridden.
The dogs were discovered earlier in the day when Sandy Norris, vice president of the Wilson County Humane Society, was walking her dog on a long dirt road that led through the cotton field.
"I went around a clearing and I could hear wailing and moaning and barking," Norris said today. "Honestly, I was frightened. At first I though it might be a pit bull ring. But when I rounded the corner I was horrified from what I saw."
Holly Carmichael, president of Wilson County Humane Society, who along with Norris later went to the area with Smith, said 32 of the 38 dogs were Walker hounds used for deer hunting and six smaller beagles.
Animal Control officials said today the dogs are owned by Michael Godwin of Wilson County and George Bell of Tarboro.
"The vast majority were undernourished and at least 10 of them were very skinny with hips bones, ribs and shoulders prominent," Carmichael said. "There was no food in any of the six pens."
There was one animal carcass in a pen and another dog that was down. At first Carmichael thought the second dog was dead.
"The dogs were in such a starved frenzy that the 10 other dogs in the pen began to bite and drag this dog around when I realized that the dog was still alive," she said.
The pen that contained eight younger Walker hounds had no water and three of these young dogs (4 months old, maybe) were weak and unbalanced, Carmichael said.
Carmichael, Norris and Smith put food in the pen to stop the other dogs from killing the weakened animal and to calm them down enough until Animal Control arrived, Carmichael said.
Carl Utley, director of Animal Control, said he went to the scene that night and did not see a dead dog in the pens. He planned to return today, he said.
"From what we observed last night there were two dogs that needed deworming," Utley said.
The owner of the dogs had been sick with the flu, Utley said, and his partner was supposed to take care of the dogs during that time.
"Apparently there was some miscommunication between him and his partner," Utley said. "I told him two dogs were looking in bad shape and he needed to deworm them."
Last month Animal Control received a call from a residents about the dogs and four officers checked on them. At that time the dogs had food, water and shelter, Utley said.
"Basically, we couldn't see anything wrong with the dogs at that time," he said. "But we did try to find who the owner of the dogs was. We only found out who owned the property."
Utley said he was hoping to take a veterinarian to the dog pens today. There is a possibility the owner could be charged with cruelty to animals, but if the animals just needed deworming, Utley said he didn't see a need to charge him.
Smith stayed with the dogs until Animal Control arrived about an hour later.
"This was absolutely one of the worst cases of neglect and abuse I've ever seen," Norris said. "... I just don't understand how a dog can be left lying there dying in agony and nothing can be done about it."
Carmichael agreed.
"Having seen the situation first hand, I do not believe that Animal Control was acting in a manner to prevent the needless suffering of animals," she said. "I would consider this situation an emergency and the animals should have been directly removed from the environment."
Case Updates A controversial dog abuse case in Wilson County prompted more questions for commissioners Tuesday night.
An investigative committee determined it is not a criminal case, but members of the community say they'll still push for change.
The issue began in October with 38 hunting dogs that animal advocates said appeared malnourished.
The Wilson County Humane Society was outraged, and the furor grew when Animal Control did not charge the owner, Michael Godwin, with animal cruelty.
More than three months later, the case is still causing unrest.
"I was sure that nobody could look at this case and not see that it was a case of neglect," said Hope Carmichael, Humane Society president.
A tense back-and-forth erupted Tuesday night when an investigative committee that the county commissioners assigned to look into the handling of the case announced there were no grounds for a criminal case.
"If there was a chance of charging the man with animal cruelty, it would've been done," said Robert Reder, a member of the United States Humane Society and member of the committee.
The committee, which also included an attorney and veterinarian, determined there was no intent to starve the dogs. The owner was sick and turned over care to a relative, they said.
However, the committee did find problems with Animal Control, saying it didn't handle a September complaint about the dogs appropriately.
"Let's take this energy. Don't leave here and forget about Animal Control. Move it forward," said Reder.
Members of the audience agreed that they won't soon forget.
"I hope this is a wake-up call for the citizens of Wilson County," Carmichael said to a standing ovation. "Don't put up with it," she added.
The committee recommended putting a letter of reprimand in the Animal Control supervisor's file. Plus there's talk of having outside experts review the entire Animal Control operation. | Source: WRAL - Jan 2, 2007
Update posted on Jan 4, 2007 - 12:47AM |
An investigation is being launched into an alleged animal abuse incident that occurred in October and that many people feel was mishandled by the county's Animal Control office.
The Board of Commissioner's Animal Control Committee set up a separate committee of people Tuesday evening to investigate the alleged abuse of 38 hunting dogs discovered off of London Church Road on Oct. 14, but only after the crowd forced the committee to change its original recommendations.
Sid Boyette, chairman of the Animal Control Committee first approved an investigation committee of four people that included George Weaver, county attorney; Dot Eagles, animal advocate; Danny Bailey with the sheriff's department; and Denise Stinagle, assistant to the county attorney.
But nearly 50 people who attended the meeting were unsatisfied, saying Weaver and Stinagle should not be on the committee because they were county employees.
The people attending the meeting did not want any bias on the committee.
Roger Lucas, who is on the Animal Control Committee, said he didn't have a problem with the people selected for the investigation committee but he also did not think they were a "true representation of the people" in the county.
When Boyette said he was trying to be as neutral as he could be, many in the audience groaned.
Holly Carmichael, president of the Wilson County Humane Society, asked that Robert Reder, regional spokesman out of Raleigh for the Humane Society of the United States, be put on the investigation committee.
The Animal Control Committee finally agreed to select a local attorney, a veterinarian willing to participate, Reder, Eagles and Bailey as chairman for the investigation committee. The local attorney and veterinarian have not yet been named.
That committee is to meet with the Animal Control Committee on Dec. 14 with the results of the investigation, Boyette said.
Carmichael said more than 800 signatures have been collected from concerned citizens about the alleged abused dog issue and concerns with animal control.
"The public is saying something needs to be done," she said.
Carmichael said there were a lot of discrepancies between animal control and a deputy's report in the initial investigation, when the dogs were discovered by Sandy Norris of the Wilson County Humane Society.
Carmichael said she, Norris and the deputy saw a dog being dragged in one of the pens by other dogs using it as food. There was also a carcass of another dog in one of the pens. The animals looked starved, she said.
"I thought something would be don, that animal control would not be able to just walk away," she said.
The audience burst into applause, as it did several times during the meeting.
Carmichael said the animal control supervisor talked to the owner of the dogs the night they were reported and before an investigation into the matter, which she said seemed like a cover-up.
"The bottom line is in 2006 we don't need to do this," she said. "Wilson County needs to go past this."
Carmichael said she would like to see the animal control supervisor and county manager set new standards for animal welfare, and she wanted a new supervisor of animal control with animal welfare training and education in veterinary care, which drew loud applause.
"We want procedures of investigation to be defined and followed so that situations such as the suffering of these 38 animals would include immediate veterinary recommendations and intervention or at the very least, removal of the animals from the situation," she said. "We want better cooperation and respect of law enforcement when they view a scene as an emergency and contact animal control to intervene.
"We want Wilson County to be a model for other counties to compare their animal welfare efforts against."
A woman in the audience asked if the owner of the dogs, which apparently were sold, would be held accountable.
Boyette said despite some people believing "if the dogs are out of sight they are out of mind," the owner could still be held accountable if the investigation shows there was abuse.
Norris asked if a cover-up of the initial investigation is discovered would anybody be held accountable.
"This can't be swept under the rug," Lucas said.
Boyette asked anyone with any information about the hunting dogs off of London Church Road to come forward during the investigation.
Carl Utley, director of the county's Animal Control Department, was present at the meeting. He did not make a statement and only answered questions when asked. | Source: Wilson Daily News - Nov 15, 2006
Update posted on Nov 18, 2006 - 12:51PM |
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