Animal Control Abuse

We have been a little distracted the past 3 weeks, after reading a news story about something that happened to a pet owner whose life has been devastated by what appears to be Animal Control abuse. We are not going to tell you who or where, just that it happened in Georgia.

A woman returned from work one day and all her animals were gone. According to one newspaper report, a census worker called animal control because "grass was high around the house" and there were animals outside. So this census worker walked around the house peering in windows. (She was seen by a neighbor doing this.) No one ever contacted the homeowner about there being any questions or "problem." There was no emergency and no reason to suspect a dead body -- human or animal -- in the house. No reason to enter the house or search it.

But a few days later, animal control went to the house, called the sheriff's office for backup, and went through the house with the deputy, at least one other person from animal control, the county manager, and 2 (TWO) newspaper reporters, each with a camera. We can't help but wonder why animal control called in so many outsiders and took an entourage inside with him. Well, there is the publicity factor. And could there possibly be a self-protection factor because he was overstepping his authority?

Nothing has been mentioned of a search warrant. They searched the house, took photos inside the house, seized all the animals for reasons unclear but supposedly because the house smelled bad and was messy. Now, a messy house is not the same as a filthy, overcrowded one ankle-deep in feces. They took 9 or 10 dogs and 3 (?) cats. They quickly put down an outdoor dog that needed an insulin shot twice a day and a cat with a minor age-related problem that the vet said was still healthy.

All animals were up to date on their shots and well-fed. There was no abuse, no hoarding or running an unlicensed rescue, as AC claimed in the article. The owner was single, working double shifts, exhausted and her home/yard had gotten a bit messy. She was threatened with losing her job and was "bullied" into signing over her animals. (Sign them over now or I'll file charges and take you to court.) We can only imagine how embarrassed and frightened she was.

As far as we know, two of her dogs were adopted out, but knowing the reputation of that shelter, we imagine the rest of the animals have already been put down. We don't know all the facts because we haven't spoken to the party personally, but Jan has spoken to someone who knows the woman involved. The thought of a bunch of strangers ever invading our home and carting us off to prison to be executed like animal criminals is frightening. And for Jan, the thought of ever coming home to find us gone and to learn a bunch of strangers were traipsing through taking photographs is terrifying.

Don't think it can't happen to you or someone you know. Humans are not like us. They don't just want to be the alpha of the household, they want to be alpha of the office, city, county, state .... A little authority can easily short-circuit the common sense part of the human brain.

We are glad humans are passing laws to help protect us. But what kind of protection is it when those in authority go after the responsible pet owners (the animals were vetted, well-fed and the one dog was receiving twice daily injections for diabetes) instead of the abusive ones? Were those cats and dogs really being protected when they were snatched from their home and executed for no reason except the grass was tall and the house was messy? Every human gets a bit overwhelmed at one time or another.

So today we're going to honor and mourn all woofies and kitties that have been executed after being snatched away from their homes by overzealous, lacking common sense, power-hungry animal control officers, who need a heavy dose of their own abuse.

For those of you who missed our earlier post on Animal Owner Abuse, we are re-posting the 2 videos.

John Stossel's ABC News Documentary 20/20.

"Cruelty to Owners," Part 1


"Cruelty to Owners," Part 2