Chapter 4
ABUSE OF ANIMALS
(Does Your State Law Have Teeth?)
Sadie and I used to live in a not-so-elegant and sometimes downright dangerous section of town. Although the beautiful West Virginia state capitol was only two blocks behind our house, and in between, the street was lined with stately older homes that were well kept by their owners or had become branches of state offices and posed no safety threat whatsoever, it was quite a different scene in front of our house. Immediately across the street, and for several blocks in that direction, the houses had fallen into disrepair, had been purchased by disreputable landlords, and were inhabited by not-so-nice, if not criminal, tenants. These people never had jobs, therefore they didn’t have to get up for work, which meant they had no concept that the rest of us might need to sleep at night. I had experienced numerous skirmishes with different tenants from across the street over the years, beginning with a shooting my neighbor and I witnessed in the middle of the street.
On one very frigid December night at a rat-trap apartment hidden by the house directly across the street, Sadie and I found a very cold, hungry, skinny, and sweet pit bull puppy.
This was one of my first holiday seasons with Sadie, but already I’d found her company better than that of most of the people I knew I’d encounter if I went out to ring in the new year. We’d enjoyed a leisurely dinner and were watching television in the living room, which was on the side of the house that faced the slumlord apartments, when we heard what sounded like the sad, urgent cries of a dog. I cautiously opened the front door and listened. Yes, it was definitely the yipping of a very little or very young dog, but who knew what could be going on over there.
This particular apartment had been the scene of numerous early morning visits by the city police and county sheriff. And I had called Mr. Slumlord in the middle of the night about these tenants more times than I could remember. The infractions that I knew about included everything from setting off post-midnight firecrackers in the street months after the Fourth of July to stealing the newspaper from my front porch and throwing beer bottles in the yard. As for more serious infractions, let’s just say that more people left the apartment in law enforcement vehicles than taxis.
Knowing all of this I couldn’t ignore the puppy’s cries and neither could Sadie. She’d begun to whine and paw at the front door, nudging me with her nose, which moved my conscience to grab my coat, a flashlight, some pepper spray, Sadie on a short leash, and go out the front door. Lucky for me, Sadie does not bark a lot, and she was silent right along with me as we crept down the alley in the direction of the puppy’s cries.
We slipped silently behind the house where the apartment was located. I shined my light on the front porch, where the yowling had turned to whimpering, and there, shuddering in the beam of my flashlight, was a pit bull puppy. Sadie was not tall enough to reach the porch, but she stood up on her hind legs and tried to get closer to the puppy. The puppy got down on its stomach and inched its way over to the porch railing. The closer it got, the worse it looked. This dog was so skinny that even in the dark I could see its ribs. The porch was covered in dog waste, and there was no blanket or shelter of any kind for this poor puppy. Her eyes were matted, and she had no water or food.
It was a foolish move to disregard our own safety, but with my hand on the pepper spray in my pocket we went up on the porch and pounded on the door. The puppy clung to the side of my leg and began licking my shoe, but it felt like she was licking my heart in an effort to keep it from breaking for her. I pounded louder and pressed my face to the dirty glass to see if any lights were on in the interior of the apartment, but it was dark.
I wanted to take the puppy with me, but instead went back across the street for water, a blanket, and food. I returned without Sadie to tend to the puppy and, thankfully, no one had returned to the apartment. The frail puppy exhibited as much enthusiasm as she could physically muster at the sight of me and loudly lapped up the water and began gobbling the food.
“Hang in there, little girl,” I told the neglected puppy, then I returned home to call the police. She was so hungry that she didn’t even lift her little head out of the bowl as I left.
The police in any city are always busy with “serious” crimes, and many cities, including mine, have few animal control officers. At best they were available only during regular daytime hours and this being New Year’s Eve meant drunks took priority over dogs. Wrestling with my conscience about the welfare of the puppy, and the potential problems I could bring on myself for taking the puppy, took only a few seconds to resolve. Before she knew it, she was safe and sound in my basement with a blanket, water, and a treat. I had no idea what I would do with her in the morning.
When Sadie and I went downstairs the next morning, the little puppy was whining at the basement door. As I opened the door she scrambled out and followed me to the back door, then she ran out into the yard with Sadie. I redialed animal control, and explained the situation. An officer promised to come to the house. He arrived as Sadie and the puppy were finishing their breakfast and I told him the story and offered to show him where the puppy had been.
As we walked down the alley he told me that pit bulls in particular are often treated badly from puppyhood in order to make them “mean” and teach them to fight or be fierce protectors for drug dealers. This was before Michael Vick and the Bad Newz Kennels were common knowledge, and I couldn’t believe this adorable dog was most likely headed for a miserable future. I thought of how soft this little puppy was and how terrified and sad she looked and knew whatever the officer said, this was one dog whose future would not be in the fighting ring, protecting drug dealers, or any other nefarious duty, no matter what I had to do.
The officer looked at the porch, which appeared more horrible in the daylight. He shook his head. He took out a citation booklet and began writing a ticket to the occupants for violation of several city dog ordinances. The ticket indicated that the dog had been seized and the owners would have to attend a hearing and petition to get the dog back. If they didn’t do so in a certain amount of time, the dog would be forfeited and become the property of the county.
He placed the ticket on the door and we walked back to my house. I asked the officer what would happen to the dog if the people never appeared. He said the dog would most likely be adopted, but anyone who wanted to adopt her would have to pass a screening test in order to prevent her from going to a similar home. It was scant assurance, but it was better than nothing, and the officer was kind and I was well acquainted with many of the workers and the director of our local shelter, so I knew the dog would be in good hands.
I nervously waited for the occupants of the apartment to return. I had scary visions of potential scenarios should they come pounding on my door demanding to know where their dog was. I happened to be walking out my front door to work a few days later when they jumped out of a cab. I lingered on the front porch, pretending to search for something in my purse as they stumbled down the sidewalk and onto their porch. When they saw the citation on their door they just turned around and ran. They never read it, and they never looked back. I can only imagine what they were running from. I was just relieved that they were gone. In a few weeks a pile of junk was removed from the apartment and placed out for trash—the usual indication that tenants were gone. That was the easiest eviction I’d ever witnessed from those apartments.
I called the shelter daily to check on the dog and a few weeks later was thrilled to learn she’d been adopted and would, by all indications, have a much different life than she had been headed for.
This is just one dog in a medium-size city that was lucky enough to have a crazy neighbor who ventured out in the night to help. Even though we have amazing dog rescue organizations in the United States with thousands of dedicated volunteers, there are untold numbers of dogs that are not so fortunate.
In Charleston, West Virginia, Debra Linz’s neighbor kept their dog tethered to a tree with a heavy chain in all kinds of weather, with no shelter, twenty-four hours a day year-round. When Ms. Linz researched her local laws to see what could be done, she was surprised to see there was no law prohibiting such treatment. She befriended the neighbor and the dog and made anti-tethering legislation an issue in her community. Along the way she produced an award-winning news story about this cruel practice, got important legislation passed on the city and county levels, and no doubt saved hundreds of dogs from such treatment. Known as the Linz Law, it now extends to the entire county.
A doctor let his dog run free with no collar, no identification of any kind, and carelessly entrusted the dog’s care to neighbors. The sweet black-and-white dog lived down the street from a popular boarding kennel and would camp outside the door, hungry for food and affection. She became friends with one of the kennel worker’s dogs and found a family in the clients and staff of the kennel.
Not all stories of neighbors and pets have such happy endings, though. Sometimes it’s the neighbor who’s a danger to your pets. Two family pets in a fenced yard excitedly scarfed down mysterious hamburgers laced with razor blades. They survived after extensive surgery and rehabilitation, but eating was never a joyful experience for them again. The dog’s neighbor, who had long complained of their barking, was arrested and convicted of animal cruelty. There are countless stories of dogs being poisoned where the neighbor who didn’t like dogs for any number of reasons was responsible.
All of these are examples of animal abuse and/or neglect. Pet Abuse.com lists almost twenty thousand recent cases of animal abuse in the United States alone. These are only the reported cases. What about the thousands of dogs that suffer in silence because no one ever reported their abuse? What about the countless dogs with owners who neglect them on a regular basis? What does this have to do with you or me, responsible pet parents who have taken dogs into our families and our hearts?
As mentioned in chapter 1, loving our dogs leads to caring about how they are treated. Pet parents can play an important role in the prevention of abuse and neglect just by being a good neighbor to both the people and animals next door. We know our dogs must have rabies tags and licenses, but it’s also important to have a general understanding of the animal abuse and neglect laws in your city and state. Pet parents can change cruel practices and help eliminate neglect by supporting new legislation to enrich the lives of our four-legged citizens.
Dogs love so freely and bring such joy to our lives that becoming educated about the abuse and neglect of animals is one way you can help other animals have a life as good as the one you provide for your dog. As a pet parent you need to be informed about animal abuse and neglect for the following reasons:
• To better protect your own dog and your other pets.
• To help animals get out of abusive and dangerous situations.
• To help keep your community safe from animal abusers.
• To keep animal abusers from committing future crimes that harm people.
Our first duty in the fight against animal abuse and neglect is to protect our own dogs, which will serve as a good example to others. I am an overprotective dog mom and make no apologies for it. I know many pet parents who have lost their dog through a simple lapse in judgment and were devastated. Listed below are some of the ways I protect Sadie from potential harm. You can make these simple actions part of your routine to keep your dog safe.
1. I never leave her out in the yard for long periods of time without checking on her.
2. I watch if she has a particular interest in an area of the yard and make sure nothing harmful has caught her attention.
3. I walk my yard weekly, checking the fence, seeing if any objects I don’t recognize are there or if it needs repair.
4. I never leave her in the care of strangers. People have offered to watch her when I’m outside a store waiting to have something brought out, but I always thank them and decline. I just ask someone if they could bring out what I need, not an entire order of groceries or a cumbersome item, and people are always glad to help. I like shopping at outdoor markets, like farmers’ markets, when possible, and dog-friendly stores.
5. I never allow anyone to give her a treat, except my bank. I take the treat, thank the person, and say she’ll eat it later. She never does.
6. I never leave her in the care of anyone I don’t know very well, and even then it’s rare.
7. I don’t leave her in the car so I can just run in somewhere. Drive-through restaurants or those that offer curbside pickup are ideal when you have your dog in the car.
8. I’m watchful of people who are overly friendly when we are on walks in the city; those who want to pet her and who ask a lot of questions. People Sadie doesn’t seem to like get very little of our time. Dogs know when someone is a threat to them or their person.
9. I never let anyone pick her up from day care unless it’s my boyfriend. The day care has signed permission forms and will not release your dog to anyone unless they have your written permission.
10. I’m particularly careful with her on vacations. Dogs get lost way too often and it’s totally preventable. Leashes are invaluable, and Sadie always has her leash on even when we are on the beach. She does get unleashed for a run after a pack of seagulls when we are on a remote beach without threat of an adjacent road. I’d rather get out of breath running with her to chase birds than take any risk. She is never without a collar with an identification tag.
Although animal law as a practice for lawyers and a course of study in law schools has developed mostly in the past ten years, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has been fighting for more than thirty years to protect the lives of and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. Founded in 1979 by attorneys active in shaping the mostly unheard-of field of animal cruelty laws, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) has tirelessly campaigned for stronger enforcement of anti-cruelty laws and more humane treatment of animals in every corner of American life. These people are dedicated to defending dogs. As pet parents, we have this incredible support team to turn to when confronted with animal abuse or neglect.
Strong and well-crafted legislation makes it possible for injured and mistreated dogs to be rescued, but a law can only work when animal abuse and neglect are reported. It’s rare for any person who breaks the law to turn himself or herself in and for animal abusers it’s perhaps even rarer.
As a special prosecutor, I sought justice for victims of fraud. Most of these people suffered emotional and financial harm. It was rewarding to see victims get restitution and criminals made responsible for the harm they had caused. Most of the people in my cases put the experience behind them and were made as whole as possible, which is the best result justice can deliver. But what about the victims in animal abuse cases? What about the dogs that are murdered or maimed so badly they have to be euthanized? Dogs that survive a severe beating or poisoning suffer long after the horrible act is over and bear physical and emotional scars for the rest of their lives. Often the culprit is the dog’s owner who never shows remorse.
When a dog is killed or harmed, its human companions share its sorrow and pain. These pet parents often feel burdened by guilt as well, searching for some way they could have prevented this. For the rest of their lives, they will worry about the safety of their pets, their children, and relatives, and their world is forever viewed with mistrust. Their feelings are similar to those who have had a human loved one murdered, but pet parents often receive little sympathy or understanding, and there are no support groups for them to turn to. The “it was only a dog” attitude is sadly prevalent. Animal abuse is a repulsive crime that the toughest laws will never punish in a manner equal to the crime or make the victims, humans and animals, whole again.
As pet parents, we need to know the difference between abuse and neglect. The law delineates between abuse and neglect using varying criteria in different jurisdictions. Abuse is intentional cruelty. Neglect, while just as cruel, is held to a different standard. The harm to the animal is often as painful and destructive despite how it’s labeled in the law. What difference does it make if someone starves a dog to death through neglect or kills it by shooting it with an arrow? Abuse and neglect are both crimes. They both cause injury to a living creature. There’s no excuse for either one. The phone number of the humane officers, the sheriff, or police department in your area should be on the refrigerator right next to your vet’s information, it’s that important.
I cringed along with the rest of the country and was outraged at the crimes of Michael Vick and his cohorts at the Bad Newz Kennel, where dozens of pit bulls were subjected to shocking treatment and killed. While we have nothing to thank them for, the case informed America that such horrendous crimes prevail and of the widespread intentional cruelty to animals. Why would a professional football player with fame and money possibly commit such horrendous crimes? Testimony from the proceedings made it clear: Vick was a willing, active participant; he didn’t just bankroll the operation. The only good news to come out of the Bad Newz Kennel was that Vick and his fellow criminals were punished under both state and federal laws. The immense global publicity brought an awareness to the horrific practice of dogfighting, as well as animal abuse in general.
Dogfighting is a felony crime in all fifty states, and eight states have taken it a step further by prosecuting this crime under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act. This is the law that is most often used against organized crime and allows for penalties of three times the actual damages, enhanced jail time, and the prosecution of more individuals than those actually engaged in the crime. Anyone who was involved in planning, providing money or services, or participating, such as betting or even attending, can be prosecuted for dogfighting under the RICO Act.
Animal abusers can be the person next door or a high-profile person, such as Michael Vick. The excuses for animal abuse are as diverse as the abusers. In 1985, Dr. Stephen R. Kellert and Dr. Alan R. Felthous studied one hundred and fifty-two criminal men. They identified nine reasons for animal cruelty. Ever since this groundbreaking study other organizations continue to report that they see these nine typologies over and over again. They are:
1. To control an animal.
2. To retaliate against an animal.
3. To retaliate against another person.
4. To satisfy a prejudice against a species or breed.
5. To express anger through an animal.
6. To enhance one’s own aggressiveness.
7. To shock people for amusement.
8. To displace hostility from a person to an animal.
9. To perform nonspecific sadism.4
A few years ago, there were still four states without anti-cruelty laws for the protection of animals. At that time a reporter in Columbus, Mississippi, wrote: “Forty-six states have laws making at least some type of animal cruelty a felony. Four states don’t. Mississippi counts itself among the four. With our poverty and health issues, it’s hard enough being a human here. If you’re a dog or cat, forget it.”
A sad statement, but despite legislation and enhanced penalties, this is still reality for animals in our country, and dogs in particular. Thankfully, Mississippi passed felony animal cruelty legislation in 2011. Idaho was the last state to pass felony animal cruelty legislation; however, it was extremely liberal—it lacked “teeth” for sufficient punishment and penalties. The statute permitted three misdemeanor crimes during a fifteen-year period before a person could be prosecuted for a felony. It was good news in 2012 when Idaho passed felony provisions for cockfighting, cruelty, neglect, and abandonment. This is an impressive and significant accomplishment by citizens and the legislature and fantastic news for the animals that live in Idaho. According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund legislative rankings in 2015, the five states with the strongest animal legislation are the same ones that have topped the list for the last eight years.
1. Illinois
2. Oregon
3. Maine
4. California
5. Michigan
The states at the bottom of the list were:
46. North Dakota
47. Utah
48. Wyoming
49. Iowa
50. Kentucky5
The ranking is determined by the overall strength and comprehensiveness of the state law. Fifteen criteria are applied to give each state a score, thus determining its place in the ranking. Does your state have real teeth in your animal protection laws? States improved their rankings in one or more of the following ways:
• Expanding the range of protections for animals
• Providing stiffer penalties for offenders
• Strengthening standards of care for animals
• Reporting of animal cruelty cases by veterinarians and other professionals
• Mitigating and recovering costs associated with the care of mistreated animals
• Requiring mental health evaluations and counseling for offenders
• Banning ownership of animals following convictions
• Including animals in domestic violence protective orders
• Prohibiting convicted abusers from gaining employment involving animal contact
• Strengthening provisions on the sale and possession of exotic animals
• Expanding humane officers’ powers to be the same as other peace officers6
This list is a great tool for pet parents wanting to make a change in their community. It’s an excellent guide of what your laws should include and can be used to draft legislation.
Laws defining animal cruelty vary from state to state. The laws are differentiated by severity of the crime, whether it’s defined as abuse or neglect, and by penalty. Abuse, generally the intentional harm to an animal through any number of means, is punished more severely and is a felony in every state. Neglect, on the other hand, is considered less severe and is often a crime of omission rather than commission. Neglect, of course, can result in the death of an animal, and many states determine punishment for neglect by the severity of the actual act.
Almost all state laws contain prohibitions and punishments for abuse, including the following:
• Fighting
• Bestiality (sexual abuse)
• Physical harm or killing: beating, burning, choking, hitting, mutilating, poisoning, shooting, stabbing, torturing
• Retaliatory abuse: harming a pet by any of the above or other means to punish a person
• Any means of physical harm to a pet to force a person to be quiet or compliant of their own physical abuse
Notice how several of these prohibitions relate directly to the reasons cited in the Kellert and Felthous study.
Even though dogs are used in product research by companies in the United States, and many scientific experiments where they are subject to intentional harm, most laws exempt this practice from criminal prosecution. Dogs end up in testing labs and other research facilities by various routes, including being gathered from shelters, picked up from “free to a good home” ads, kidnapped, taken by other deceptive means, or when they are no longer useful to puppy mills or are sold by their owners for research. Dogs are also bred specifically for testing purposes, most commonly beagles. Almost all large pet food companies have dogs that live on their premises and test food. A major pet food company I went to visit as part of a media event has more than eight hundred beagles living there in lovely conditions, but what about human interaction and bonding? Greyhounds that are no longer fit for racing are also prey for research labs. Many pet parents take a stand against using dogs for research by lobbying Congress to ban it and boycott the products of companies using animals for research.
Animal neglect is regulated differently by individual states but usually includes:
• abandonment without proper food, water, and shelter;
• failing to provide medical care;
• neglecting to provide proper food, water, and shelter;
• hoarding;
• puppy mills;
• starvation; and
• tethering a dog outside without proper care: i.e., shade, shelter, use of a heavy chain or collar, water, in extreme temperatures (both hot and cold), and for extended periods of time
Unlike abuse cases that are rarely witnessed when a dog is killed or tortured, animal neglect cases are reported more often by neighbors or other concerned people who witness it. Neglect happens over a period of time, but the cases can be challenging because they’re sometimes difficult to identify. A lack of humane officers makes investigating them difficult, and prosecutors with far too many cases often fail to prosecute them. It’s a sad fact that understaffed prosecution offices often have to make hard choices about which case to take to trial. The most heinous cases that get a lot of publicity and public outcry usually go to trial. Prosecutors receive a great deal of criticism when they offer a plea bargain, but some punishment is better than none at all, and as pet parents we can help others understand that. The good news is that through lobbying and public attention brought to the issues of animal cruelty and neglect, many county prosecutor offices now have a specific attorney or two assigned only to animal cases. Pet parents should become acquainted with local prosecutors, as they can be a valuable resource for animal abuse and neglect cases.
It becomes even more difficult when there are cases of mass neglect, such as in hoarding or puppy mills. Limited resources coupled with a lack of personnel restrict the prosecution and discovery of these appalling cases. When organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) get involved, national publicity follows, bringing much-needed awareness and funding to these cases. These organizations have been criticized for only getting involved in cases that garner national attention and provide opportunities for fund-raising, but such criticism is often unfair. Moreover, they’re the only organizations large enough with the equipment, contacts, money, and manpower to effectively conduct such rescues. Don’t hesitate to report animal abuse and neglect to them.
One fact that’s true of many crimes, and maybe even more so in animal crimes, goes back to the ancient laws of replevin that animals are property. People are outspoken in defending their actions over their property, and this is even more so for dogs. I’ve had neighbors who vehemently use foolish defenses to justify unsafe and neglectful actions with their dogs. It’s even more prevalent when dogs are used for a specific purpose that borders on neglect. In many situations they have big organizations to support them: hunting clubs, national dog racing organizations, breeders, pharmaceutical and cosmetic companies, farm organizations, and others. These organizations have well-paid lobbyists who have historically opposed animal legislation that would infringe on their individual uses for dogs. If these groups aren’t large corporations with endless funds to promote their agenda, they are supported by big business, and money is no object.
The motto of the ASPCA is: “We are their voice.” These animals cannot speak for themselves and rarely defend themselves against people who abuse or neglect them because it’s often people who have cared for the animal. Pet parents appreciate the remarkable qualities of dogs and the unconditional love they bestow on us. Unfortunately, they sometimes love their human masters even when those masters hurt them. Rarely do you hear of a dog that bites the hand that feeds her—quite the opposite. I have read countless accounts of rescued dogs that were timid, scared, malnourished, and injured, yet they remained loyal to their “person.” Rescue groups I’ve been involved with have recalled heartbreaking stories where a dog simply did not want to leave its abusive master.
Reporting abuse or neglect is your first step in helping put a stop to such treatment of dogs. If you see a neighbor’s dog being treated badly, you must act. First, determine if it would be safe to approach the neighbor and offer help. Is the dog being chained out for long periods of time without shelter, water, or food? Is the dog left home alone all day with no way to get outside? Does the neighbor have too many animals that they simply can’t care for? Does the dog cower when approached by its owner and seem frightened? That could mean that the dog is also being abused and you should do everything you can without endangering your own safety to determine the situation.
Know the laws concerning animals in your state, city, county, condo building, or subdivision. These laws and regulations will be discussed further in chapter 9. Laws can easily be found online at the websites of your state legislature, city, or county websites, or the Animal Legal Defense Fund website (www.aldf.com). You should have copies of the regulations if you live in a condo or subdivision.
The standards for determining neglect in many states are terribly inadequate. Overall, the majority of states only require that the dog have shelter, water, and food. At best, most of these laws provide minimal standards, if any at all, and the term “adequate shelter” is used in the majority of laws with no definition of “adequate.”
In New York, the law requires that outdoor dogs must have shelter that is suitable to the breed of the dog, its physical condition, and the climate of the area. For cold weather they require a structure that is sturdy and in good condition that has insulation, has a waterproof room, and is large enough for the dog to stand and turn around in, and lie down with its legs outstretched.7 New York ranks fortieth on the ALDF rankings for 2015.
Conversely, Ohio, which ranks twenty-seventh, has a very poor law for animals left outside, which fails to require any specific humane requirements for shelter for dogs and allows tethering:
“All dogs, regardless of age, must be kept confined on the premises of the owner, keeper, or harborer at all times. Acceptable methods of confinement include a fence, a tethering device, a dog pen, inside a house or garage, or under adequate supervision.8
Palm Beach County, Florida, has a near-perfect law for the care of animals and how they must be housed. This law can serve as a model for legislation in other jurisdictions. The state of Florida overall is in the top tier of state rankings by the ALDF, coming in at number fourteen, but if all counties adopted the Palm Beach standards it would surely be even further up the list. However, Manatee County, Florida, is known for unfair treatment of dogs, poor animal shelter management, and has had several national high-profile dog bite cases. In one case, which will be discussed in chapter 7, two dogs were unjustly killed in a dog bite case. Subsequently, the Manatee County law used to murder two beloved Australian shepherds was declared unconstitutional. This is one of thousands of examples of how laws can vary greatly within one state. If the Palm Beach statute (seen below) was adopted nationally, it would be a major step in reducing the number of abuse, neglect, and animal cruelty cases in the United States.
Sec. 4-24. Animal care; manner of keeping. (Palm Beach County, Florida)
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person keeping an animal to fail to provide for that animal:
(1) clean, sanitary, safe, and humane conditions;
(2) sufficient quantities of appropriate food daily;
(3) proper air ventilation and circulation;
(4) adequate quantities of visibly clean and fresh water available at all times; and
(5) medical attention and/or necessary veterinary care when an animal is sick, diseased, or injured. Upon request by the division, written proof of veterinary care must be provided.
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person keeping an animal to fail to provide shelter for that animal.
(1) Shelter for dogs, cats, and small domestic animals must:
a. provide adequate protection from the cold and heat. When the outdoor temperature falls below forty (40) degrees Fahrenheit, all cats, small domestic animals, and those dogs that cannot tolerate such temperatures without stress or discomfort (i.e., short-haired breeds, sick, aged, young, or infirm) must be moved indoors or provided adequate heating to maintain a temperature above the forty (40) degrees Fahrenheit range. When the outdoor temperature rises above eighty-five (85) degrees Fahrenheit all dogs, cats, and small domestic animals must be provided air-conditioning, a fan, or another cooling source to maintain the temperature in the shelter at or below eight-five (85) degrees Fahrenheit;
b. provide protection from the direct rays of the sun and the direct effect of wind and rain;
c. provide a windbreak and rain break;
d. contain clean, dry bedding material;
e. provide protection from the elements at all times;
f. provide sufficient space for each animal to comfortably stand up, sit down, lie down, and turn around in the shelter. If the shelter is used for more than one (1) animal at the same time, it must provide enough space for each animal to comfortably stand up, sit down, lie down, and turn around simultaneously; and
g. provide a solid roof.
(2) Shelter for equine, bovine, ovine, and porcine normally maintained in outdoor areas must:
a. provide protection from the direct rays of the sun and the direct effect of wind and rain;
b. provide a windbreak and rain break;
c. provide a solid roof;
d. provide protection from the elements at all times; and
e. provide space for each animal to comfortably stand up, sit down, lie down, and turn around in the shelter. If the shelter is used for more than one (1) animal at the same time, it must provide enough space for each animal to comfortably stand up, sit down, lie down, and turn around simultaneously.
(c) It shall be unlawful for any person maintaining equine or ovine to fail to keep hooves trimmed so as to prevent lameness and extreme overgrowth causing deformities.
(d) No person shall tether an animal to a stationary or inanimate object as a means of confinement or restraint unless such person is with the animal and the animal is at all times visible to such person. Choke or prong-type collars shall not be used on an animal while such animal is tethered. As used in this chapter, tether means to restrain an animal by tying the animal to any object or structure, including, without limitation, a house, tree, fence, post, garage, or shed, by any means, including, without limitation, a chain, rope, cord, leash, or running line. Tethering shall not include using a leash or lead to walk an animal. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an animal may be tethered while actively participating in or attending an organized show, field trial, agility event, herding contest, or other similar exposition or event of a limited duration that involves the judging or evaluation of animals.
(e) Any dog maintained outdoors for all or part of the day in a fenced yard or other type of enclosure shall be provided a minimum of eighty (80) square feet of open space. An additional forty (40) square feet shall be required for each additional dog kept in the same enclosed area. Each dog shall be provided sufficient shelter within the enclosed area. Any enclosed area where a dog is confined shall be kept free of objects that may injure the dog and shall be cleaned regularly to remove feces. Dogs shall not be maintained outdoors during periods of extreme weather, including, but not limited to, hurricanes, tropical storms, and tornados.
(f) Animals must be given appropriate daily exercise.
(g) No humane slaughter of animals as defined in Florida Statutes §§ 828.22 and/or 828.23 shall be done within earshot or view of the public.
(h) It shall be unlawful for any person to tease or molest any animal.
(i) It shall be unlawful for any person to:
(1) leave an animal in any unattended motor vehicle;
(2) transport an animal in any motor vehicle without adequate ventilation or in unsanitary conditions; or
(3) subject or cause an animal to be subjected to extreme temperatures that adversely affect the animal’s health or safety.
(j) It shall be unlawful to transport any animal on a public road in any vehicle unless the animal is safely and humanely restrained (at a minimum by a harness with double tethering for dogs) so that the animal is unable to jump or fall out of the vehicle. When animals are transported in a pickup truck with a metal bed, the animals shall be provided protection from the metal bed.
(k) Animals shall not be allowed on any median or in any roadway, highway, or street intersection for any purpose other than crossing the same.
(l) Any person trapping an animal must:
(1) use a humane trap;
(2) provide protection from the direct rays of the sun and direct effect of wind, rain, and irrigation/sprinkler system;
(3) provide fresh water in the trap;
(4) remove the trapped animal within twenty-four (24) hours of capture. All trapped dogs and cats must be returned to their rightful owner, or to a governmentally operated animal shelter or humane society in the county; and
(5) make every attempt to locate the offspring of any lactating/nursing mother. No trapped animal shall be killed in any manner other than a method approved in the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines on Euthanasia, as may be amended from time to time.9
If you discover the laws in your state or town are lenient and don’t provide strict penalties, seek out other concerned pet parents and begin contacting legislators, city councils, county commissions, mayors, board presidents, police departments, or anyone you can think of to start change. Find out which officials have dogs and approach them first. You can easily become active in the animal community. Go to city council and county commission meetings. Attend special days at your state legislature that are set aside for animal welfare. Use social media to get the word out about laws that are not strong enough or a lack of enforcement of good laws.
You can start at your local shelter. Shelters are the safe havens for abused, neglected, or abandoned animals. You will only know if your shelter is adequately serving this purpose if you get involved. Volunteer at the shelter and be observant. Is the shelter clean? Are the dogs there being treated humanely? Does the shelter have a sufficient vetting process for prospective adopters so that dogs aren’t going from a bad situation to one just slightly better or even worse? Are the employees dedicated to the well-being of the animals or just collecting a paycheck? Volunteering at the shelter is a great opportunity to meet and become familiar with the animal control officers, which will be of great assistance should you need to report abuse or neglect.
Shelters should never send a dog out of their protected environment to a home where abuse or neglect has occurred. Shelters must investigate potential adopters thoroughly. Following are some suggestions you can bring to your shelter if it isn’t already implementing them.
1. Require a thorough application, valid ID, and have a reliable person verify all the information before considering the person as an adopter.
2. Criminal background checks will reveal if the person has been convicted of animal cruelty. Local police departments can do these with no charge and they shouldn’t be a problem if your humane officers are part of the police department. Anyone with a conviction for animal cruelty should be banned from the shelter at all times and never be allowed to adopt an animal.
3. A home visit is important to see where the dog will live and also how any other pets in the home are being treated. Most shelters ask that you have a fenced yard, but without checking they can’t verify that. Properly trained volunteers are invaluable in this step, as the shelter employees are often overworked and simply can’t do home visits.
4. Are the screeners at the shelter trained in adoption procedures? Gut instinct goes a long way if the screener is trained and has experience, but even then there’s no way to be 100 percent sure the person will be a good pet parent.
5. Listen to any children who are with the adopter. Kids generally tell the truth. If they say their last dog got killed, ran away, or is just “gone,” find out what happened.
Become aware of everyday situations of neglect or abuse you can see just about anywhere. The following situations can’t be ignored. They require attention and at least cause suspicion for the welfare of the dog when it’s not in public.
1. Watch for dogs left in cars. The temperature in a parked car can rise thirty degrees per minute even with the windows cracked and cause heatstroke, permanent brain damage, or death to a dog in a matter of minutes. Call the police, but if the dog is clearly in distress, rescue them by any means possible. Only nineteen states—Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin—have statutes that specifically prohibit leaving an animal confined in a vehicle.
2. Pay attention to dogs that are treated badly by being yelled or sworn at, jerked on their leash, called bad names, and/or appear scared of their owner.
3. Watch for signs of dogfighting. Pit bulls in particular that have a lot of scars or are wearing a heavy studded collar and chain are often used in fighting or by drug dealers to protect their stash. In this case you can get an animal officer to check for the dog’s license, and in doing so he may discover enough evidence of fighting to seize the dog.
4. Does a dog look malnourished? Do you see certain dogs running loose and scavenging for food behind restaurants or dumpsters?
5. Does a dog look defeated—sad, listless, no tail wagging? If so, something is probably wrong with their home situation, and through a little detective work you could help this dog. I have seen dogs like this used in begging schemes and, in fact, I helped rescue one.
I was heading to my local farmers’ market and saw a man with a large backpack literally hurl a very small dog to the grass. I quickly turned around and drove back, but they were gone. I did call and report the location, description of the man and dog, and what I had witnessed to the police.
The next day at lunch I saw this same man with other men and the same dog. They were taking turns walking through the farmers’ market begging with the dog as their prop. To the surprise and embarrassment of my boyfriend, when I saw them in the parking lot I jumped up and ran after the man with the dog.
I asked him what he was doing with the dog and he said he needed food for it. I asked where he lived and he pointed to the area under the interstate bridge. I offered to take the dog. He said no. The dog was apparently very young and was in bad condition. He was extremely dirty with tangled hair and eyes almost matted shut. I said I’d get food if he would wait, but he said he couldn’t. I called the police. He was long gone when they arrived.
So I called a friend of mine who helps dogs in an “underground” sort of way. He was ecstatic when he heard my story, as he’d been trying to buy this dog for about four weeks from these men. He’d seen the dog in many different panhandling scenarios with them. Each time he offered to buy the dog the price went up. I told him where the guy told me they were “living.” Around 5 a.m. the next day I got a call from my friend, who told me the dog was safe. The dog now lives with a very nice woman and will never be part of a begging scheme again.
This wasn’t a case where any of these men cared for this dog, nor had they bonded with it. They would never tell my friend where they got it and most likely have moved on to another town and have another dog that I can only hope gets rescued.
As responsible pet parents, unless an unforeseen or extraordinary event occurs, abuse and neglect will never be part of our dogs’ world. We must be aware of the “other” world that millions of dogs live in, make sure our dogs never fall into the hands of anyone who would harm them, and most of all speak up at every opportunity and do everything possible to stop animal abuse, rescue the dogs that have been victimized by an abuser, and keep our elected officials informed of the problem so stringent legislation “with teeth” is in place in our state.
I don’t know what happened to my dog Sadie before I adopted her. I’ve been told bits and pieces of what is known of the first eight weeks of her life, but one strange thing has never been explained. Sadie is afraid of people with crutches, wheelchairs, or walkers and people who limp. I have no idea why she is frightened of these things, it’s just very evident that she is.
I first noticed this when we walked on the river path by our house. She was no more than three months old when a man who limped quite noticeably and walked somewhat sideways encountered Sadie and me on the path. She began a low growl as he approached, which escalated into her standing on her tiny hind legs and barking shrilly, and as he passed she hid behind my legs. I looked at her as if seeing her for the first time because I had never witnessed any type of blatant dislike bordering on fear from Sadie.
I began seeing this same reaction every time we were near a person in a wheelchair, and more so if it was a man. Sadie was with me for book signings of our first book at Book Expo America, and she loved all the people coming to our publisher’s booth. She posed for photographs and was having a great time until someone with crutches, a wheelchair, braces, or a limp came to our booth to get a book signed. First the growling, then the high-pitched bark, then she’d retreat under the table and growl and bark intermittently. I apologized to people, saying I’d adopted her and she obviously had a bad encounter with someone in the past. On our book tour, in store after store there was at least one of these incidents. Sadie turned into a different dog when confronted with anyone who had a physical impediment.
Then her worst nightmare came true. I had an accident and broke my ankle. I came home from the hospital with a walker until they could set it. Sadie came running to the front door to greet me and went crazy—barking, backing away from me, growling—and hid behind a chair. I tried to coax her to me, but she wouldn’t come until the walker was out of sight.
The next morning was a struggle as I tried to make my way with the clumsy walker to my car while Sadie growled, snarled, and tugged on her leash. She appeared relieved to reach the Jeep and hop into the back compartment, until she saw that was where the walker was going and leaped to the front seat.
I picked her up from day care that evening with a fresh new cast and a pair of crutches. Her behavior was even worse. She had to be coaxed out from behind the door and carried to the Jeep.
I placed the crutches in the passenger seat, and Sadie retreated to the backseat. I could hear growling and an occasional bark over the radio. When we got home, I carefully placed the crutches under my arms and opened the back of the Jeep to retrieve Sadie, and she leaped into the front. It took a long time, but I finally hobbled myself into exhaustion and got her in the house. I placed the crutches in the spare bedroom, but that didn’t solve the problem. She would go to the door and bark and growl at them.
She hated me crawling up the steps and would bark and whine. This went on for two miserable weeks until I begged for a walking cast earlier than the doctor felt was best, but he relented when he witnessed Sadie’s behavior.
What caused this? I’d rather not know, but I do know it was something profound, and most likely very painful for her. Let’s do our best as pet parents to prevent abuse and neglect and bad memories for our four-legged companions. Let’s do our part so that when a person strikes out and harms an animal, our laws will have the necessary strength to bite right back and provide swift justice and punishment.
An important change in policy at the FBI went into effect in January 2016. The FBI has routinely tracked reported crimes and kept a database that has proved extremely valuable in prosecution of crime. Now the agency’s Uniform Crime Reporting System will add cruelty to animals as a category. This reporting system will create a better picture of animal abuse and help implement new strategies for intervention in animal abuse and enforcement of laws across the country. Presently, only a third of communities in the United States are participating, but that will greatly enhance the abatement of and punishment for animal cruelty.
The reporting and tracking system will cover four categories:
• Simple and gross neglect
• Intentional abuse and torture
• Organized abuse, such as dogfighting and cockfighting
• Animal sexual abuse
It’s a great and noble goal to work to eliminate animal cruelty, but the reality is that despite our best intentions and efforts, like other crimes, it will continue. Every pet parent can make a difference by helping only one dog and protecting their own, paying attention to the status of laws in your state and in particular your local community, volunteering at the shelter or other dog rescue organizations, and being a watchful friend to your four-legged neighbors. Even if we guard our own dogs relentlessly, the unforeseen might happen and they will go missing. Just the thought of this puts most pet parents into a near panic attack, but knowing what to do in this worst-case scenario is crucial. West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Robin Davis and her husband had every available resource for the best care and protection of their beloved golden retrievers, yet one went missing. Their story has important lessons for all of us. Thousands of dog missing posters, television advertisements, billboards, and monetary awards later, one question remains unanswered: How did this dog disappear?
4. Kellert, S. R. and Felthous, A. R. 1985. Childhood Cruelty Toward Animals Among Criminals and Noncriminals. Human Relations 38:1113–29.
5. Animal Legal Defense Fund 2015 U.S. Animal Protection Laws Rankings.
6. Used with permission from the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
7. N.Y. AGM. LAW § 353-B: Appropriate shelter for dogs left outdoors.
8. Ohio Revised Code Section 955.22C.
9. Code of Laws and Ordinances Relating to Palm Beach County Government § 4-24.