A raid at the Shady Lane Kennels, in Montana, resulted in 189 English Shepherds being rescued. Authorities also found 10 frozen dog carcasses and another dead dog near the breeder’s bed.

Deputy Yellowstone County Attorney Mark Murphy said a decision on whether to file charges against breeder Linda Kapsa will be made sometime next week.

Meanwhile, authorities were seeking tips into the fate of 50 pugs recently seen at Kapsa’s Shady Lane Kennels but which are now missing.

The dogs seized Tuesday in Ballantine - many of them covered with fleas and feces and at least six that appeared gravely ill - were being held as evidence at the county fairgrounds in Billings.

A decision on whether to file charges? I’m not sure what the question is, if mistreatment and animal abuse isn’t enough to file charges immediately against the owner what about the fact the same kennel was raided twice before and 13 dogs were found dead.

“The law of the West is you don’t abuse your animals,” said County Commissioner Jim Reno. “Leaving little puppies out in below-zero weather, outside, without obvious food or shelter - that doesn’t make it here.”

Well, that’s good. But I ask again, why haven’t those charges been filed? Let’s hope Linda Kaspa will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

* The very handsome boy above is Caleb.

Best Friends Animal Society has scored another victory in the war against puppy mills. Their Puppy-Store-Free L.A. campaign has helped close down another less than reputable pet store.

Pet Love which is located at Beverly Center,  an upscale shopping mall, will have its lease terminated within the next few months.

Since last July, Best Friends staffers and members have been at the Beverly Center educating potential customers about where those cute puppies in the Pet Love store really come from.

Mall shoppers saw documented proof from a Best Friends investigation that Pet Love acquires its puppies from puppy mills across the country. They learned that many of these puppies suffer from physical ailments caused by the horrible conditions in puppy mills and being taken from their mothers too soon. They saw a video of a KCBS Los Angeles undercover report that shows a Pet Love worker, who didn’t sanitize the syringe or his hands, pumping puppies full of antibiotics that hadn’t been prescribed.

“It helps people understand the connection between puppies they see in the pet stores and the cruel and inhumane conditions under which they are bred in these puppy mills,” says Elizabeth Oreck, Best Friends’ Los Angeles programs manager.

People listened - and hundreds of Beverly Center patrons and employees signed a petition expressing their concerns about Pet Love’s practice of selling sick dogs. Many of them shared their own heartbreaking stories of having bought a Pet Love dog - costing as much as $3,000 - and then losing them to illness.

In the beginning Best Friends’ didn’t start out trying to close down Pet Love, they were just trying to get them to stop selling animals from puppy mills. The owners refused to change their business model and threatened litigation.

Once again, it was the power of the people, the residents of Los Angeles County saw what Pet Love was doing and would no longer tolerate it in their community. The Beverly Center also listened, they terminated their lease with Pet Love, effectively closing down the business.

Best Friends’ continues to hold peaceful protests, and to educate potential customers about where these dogs come from.

In you would like to help Best Friends’ put cruelty out of business you can make a tax free donation to the cause.

*Photo courtesy Bob Long of Long Photo.

There has been such an overwhelming response to the story about Murphy, the dog left beaten in a park, so I wanted to let everyone know he’s going to his new home today.

The 9-year-old Australian shepherd who suffered severe head injuries after being bashed in the head with a sledgehammer is expected to be released from the veterinary clinic once the paperwork is done and the home is set up for his care, said Stephen Pope, veterinarian and medical director of Pets Are People Too in Dunwoody.

His destination: the Dunwoody home of Robert Kennedy, who found the dog near death in Murphy Candler Park on Dec. 2. It was Kennedy’s 60th birthday.

“The vet checked him out and said he only had a 10 percent chance of survival and it might be humane to put him down,” Kennedy said. “But I thought, ” ‘Today is my birthday. I can’t do that on my birthday.’ “

To the vet’s amazement Murphy not only survived, he’s now well enough to go to his new home.  In order to be released they had to get Murphy eating again.  He started with baby food, and while he isn’t eating dog food he seems to have no issues with rotisserie chicken. I think Murphy is going to be in for a pretty good life from here on out.

Today Murphy will be going home with his new owner, Robert Kennedy, the hero who found and helped save his life.  He’ll be living with two other canine family members, and Kennedy’s daughter.

Murphy also has gifts waiting. A representative from Bill Jac dog food has pledged a month’s worth of chow for Murphy. A manager at the Westin at the Concourse wants to give Murphy one of the hotel’s “heavenly dog beds.”

“I’m just overwhelmed by the generosity of people, and I’m going to make sure that generosity is justified,” he said.

I think Mr. Kennedy’s generosity is overwhelming, good luck to him and Murphy.  We wish them the best.

I reported earlier on Murphy who was  found beaten in a park. We just got an update on his progress. Murphy is walking!

The 9-year-old German shepherd mix was able to stand up on his own Thursday morning, walk and come to people, said Stephen Pope, the veterinarian and medical director at the Dunwoody Pets Are People Too, where Murphy is being treated.

Focus on Murphy has shifted from worries of brain damage to getting him to eat, Pope said. Because of the shock, veterinarians are worried he may have trouble keeping food down but plan to begin working with him today.

Robert Kennedy who found Murphy while walking his dog has offered to pay for all the bills. This is an exceedingly generous offer seeing as the cost has already hit $3,000, and could reach $6,000. Not only has this wonderful man offered to pay for Murphy’s care he also plans on adopting him.

Offers have been pouring in to help Murphy so a trust fund has been set up. Donors can make a gift at Wachovia Bank, to the Murphy the Dog account, number 1010209642669.  Their number is (770) 452-1001.
The bank is located at 4280 N Peachtree Road in Atlanta, Georgia 30341. The article says donations can be made to any Wachovia, you may want to call to confirm this information.

Investigators are still looking for people who saw anything unusual in the park from 9 p.m. Monday until 7 p.m. Tuesday. Witnesses should call 404-294-2818.

* Picture of Joe Waters courtesy the Dekalb County Police.

In Atlanta, GA a dog beaten with a hammer and left for dead was found in a park on Wednesday.  Robert Kennedy was walking his dog when he saw “Murphy”, wrapped in a blanket on the ground.  Nearby was a hammer with blood.

I will never understand how anyone could ever hurt an innocent animal, it’s sickening.  The good news is that an arrest was made,  hopefully this despicable human will be held accountable for this sickening and cowardly act.

ATLANTA — As Murphy the dog continues to recover in a DeKalb County animal hospital, authorities arrested a man they said beat the dog with a hammer and left him for dead in Murphy Candler Park.

DeKalb police spokeswoman Kiesha Williams said Joseph Waters, 48, was taken into custody Wednesday shortly after questioning and charged with one count of felony cruelty to animals.

The dog did not have a name when brought to the Dekalb Animal Hospital so the staff called him “Murphy.”  Dr. Stephen Pope is hopeful Murphy will make a full recovery after being brought in with a skull fracture.  Although, he will most likely lose his left eye.

We hope Murphy has a speedy recovery and gets adopted by a  wonderful loving family. We hope that Joseph Waters sits in jail and gets what’s coming to him.

* Photo courtesy WSBK.com, click on pic to see slideshow.

This is a very disturbing story, not easy to post. Even harder to read.

The purpose of putting this on the blog is to bring attention to this case and help get these people prosecuted.

FOREST GROVE, Ore. — A man and woman under investigation for allegedly attempting to euthanize their 13-year-old dog with a hammer have been arrested on animal abuse charges.

Long and his daughter, Susan, were charged after they hit their Labrador mix, Molly, on the head with a hammer and then buried her up to her neck in their back yard.

Long told KGW Monday he thought the dog had cancer.

Family members previously told KGW they didn’t have the money to pay to euthanize their dog.

But on Monday Long said his daughter had been afraid to take the dog to a veterinarian due to concern she would be accused of animal abuse.

He said they were trying to put it out of its misery and that when they buried Molly they thought she was dead.

But a neighbor later heard the dog yelping and called 9-1-1.

Forest Grove Police responded Friday afternoon to a report of a dog buried alive at a house on Laurel Street. The father and daughter were not at the home when police arrived; they had gone out to dinner.

Capt. Ashbaugh said police entered the back yard and found the dog buried up to its neck with an obvious head injury.

Long and Johnson claimed at the time they’d buried Molly in a hole “in an apparent attempt to limit the amount of blood on their property,” Ashbaugh said.

Molly ended up being euthanized because it was too late to save her.  Dogsters, we need to make sure there is never another Molly, this story is tragic and should never have happened. We are now the voice for Molly, the only one she has.

I urge everyone to contact the Washington County District Attorney, Robert Hermann, and demand justice for Molly.  Contact the D.A.’s  office at 503-846-8671 or via email at webmaster@co.washington.or.us.

In North Wales, UK two officers living together are facing possible jail time for cruelty against their pet dogs.

A neighbor who had noticed some disturbing behavior called the RSPCA, when they came out to evaluate the situation they found no evidence of abuse.

Now comes the award for good neighbor (to dogs) of the year, she took it upon herself to set up a camera to get the abuse on film.

Prosecuting, Glenn Murphy said: “To her credit this lady purchased a camera and she took many hours of video footage.”

A DVD, about 15-20 minutes in length, was played to the court.

In one scene Mason was filmed hitting the pup’s head and kicking her.

Later the dog was seen pulling washing from a line before Macleod emerged from the house and chased it to a corner of the yard. Out of shot of the camera the dog could then be heard yelping.

Officers Anja Mason, 29 and Craig Macleod, 34 now face losing their jobs.  Both have been removed from frontline duty pending the outcome of the case.  Thanks to the caring neighbor these two will hopefully get what they deserve.

An accused animal hoarder who skipped bail on two cruelty cases has finally been arrested after two years on the run.

The arrest of Barbara Ryan ends a two-year odyssey that took her from Hemet to Tehachapi to Fillmore, among other locations, and involved more than 100 dogs and cats.

Authorities say she adopted several aliases, and they now suspect that an animal-rescue group aided her while she was on the run.

Ryan, who also uses the name Anita Gilbert, was in custody without bail at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood.

Ryan was originally arrested back in September 2006 after a neighbor complained of the smell coming from her home.

Inside, authorities found 23 cats and 15 dogs tied to cupboards and in closets, said Rita Gutierrez, field services commander for the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

The animals had suffered burns from living in their own waste, and they were covered with cockroaches, Gutierrez said. Urine and feces had saturated drywall in one room and caused it to disintegrate, and the building was deemed uninhabitable, she said.

That October, Ryan failed to appear for a Riverside County court hearing on felony animal cruelty charges, and the case went cold.

This story just keeps getting worse.  In July animal officers were called to investigate a warehouse that was occupied by Anita Gilbert, a.k.a. Barbara Ryan.

The warehouse windows were covered with plywood and the floors coated with fecal sludge, said Guy Shaw, director of animal services.

Inside, officers found dead cats in the freezer and crates housing sickly animals sitting in piles of filth and food cans, Shaw said. In all, there were 15 dogs and 37 cats.

The officers suffered nausea, dizziness and headaches from the foul air in the building, according to the animal control department’s case file. One veteran technician said the conditions were the most horrendous she had ever seen.

Now, thanks to Bob Herman who was Ryan’s bail bondsman she has been caught. Ryan skipped out on her bail and Herman spent hundreds of hours to track her down. Not only does this woman deserve jail time, I think some psychiatric care may be in order.

One of our Dogster member’s responded to the Barking Mad article with a question regarding a neighbor who neglects their dogs.

They are in a very difficult situation and looking for some much needed advice.

I’m posting the letter in hopes that a fellow Dogster may have dealt with this issue and will have some helpful advice to dole out.

The neighbors next door have seven to nine children (ranging in age from six months to eight years),plus two dogs.

These dogs are utterly unloved, and most nights they can be found outside, one loose and one on a chain. These folks don’t have a fence, so the one that is loose ends up running the neighborhood and coming over to me and whoever else happens to be outside of my house at the time. This dog is not to be trusted due to the years of neglect, and she carries herself in such a way that you don’t know what her next move is.

Heaven is an absolutely gorgeous American Bulldog. These folks “rescued” her from the pound, and for a few weeks gave her love and walked her about the neighborhood. She was well-fed, sheltered, and kept outside in the daytime on her chain. At this point, three months later, she never leaves the chain. She never gets any attention from her owners. She does not have food or water available for her most of the time.

It’s disheartening to think forward to the future months and years, and how this animal’s already negative disposition toward humans is going to decline.

They have called animal control to report the situation but no action has been taken.  They are not sure of the next step and want to make sure they contact the appropriate officials.  So Dogsters, what would you do?

In yesterday’s post,  Come Join The “Stop The Puppy Mills” Stroll,  I mentioned the Pennsylvania Puppy Mill Ban  that was going before the PA House of Representatives.  The law was to improve conditions for dogs in Pennsylvania kennels.

I wrote that we, as dog lovers and owners, need to take a stand and help change the laws.  The power of the people has spoken,  we now have House Bill 2525.

Today is a great morning, hopefully the start of many, because the House Bill has made it through the PA House of Representatives and is now on to the Senate.

HARRISBURG - Governor Edward G. Rendell today praised the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for voting to pass House Bills 2525 and 2532, which he said will protect kennel dogs and the families that welcome them into their homes.

He urged swift passage of the bills in the Senate to help rid Pennsylvania of its reputation as “Puppy Mill Capital of the East.”

“The bills that passed in the House today with overwhelming, bi-partisan support will go a long way to protecting dogs kept in kennels with poor but currently legal conditions,” the Governor said. “I applaud the House of Representatives for defeating the many amendments to House Bill 2525 filed on behalf of special interest groups and aimed at weakening the bill. The House has delivered strong legislation that reflects not only the needs of dogs, but the will of the public in improving the minimum standards in the worst of Pennsylvania’s kennels.

“Current Pennsylvania law allows dogs to be kept in cramped, stacked cages their entire lives with no opportunity to exercise and minimal care,” the Governor said. “These conditions lead to dogs with physical and behavioral problems. Pennsylvania must ensure that the standards of care are raised for the sake of dogs and the families that will eventually own them.”

Governor Rendell said widespread public support could help move the legislation through the Senate, and urged Pennsylvanians to let their senator know their thoughts on the issue.

As you can see from Governor Rendell’s statement, our help is still needed to make sure it is passed swiftly in the Senate and becomes law.  Again, I ask you, please go over to DogLawAction and show your support by putting paw to paper.