San Francisco judge voids murder-by-dog verdict

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

SAN FRANCISCO–Overturning the March 21 verdict of a Los
Angeles jury, San Francisco Superior Court Judge James Warren on
June 17 voided the second degree murder conviction of attorney
Marjorie Knoller, 46, for allowing two Presa Canario dogs to escape
her control and kill neighbor Diane Whipple, 33, in January 2001.
“There is no question in this court’s mind that in the eyes
of the people, both defendants are guilty of murder,” Warren stated
on live television. “In the eyes of the law, they are not.”

Did alleged nonresponse to pit bull calls lead to addiction and murder?

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla.– Involved in a landmark case more
than a decade ago pertaining to the legal liability of a humane
society for dog attacks, the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society was
sued again in June 2002 in another case which, if successful, could
extend the liability of animal care and control agencies to indirect
effects of traumatic incidents.
Arthur Cheney, husband of murder victim Rhonda Kimmons
Cheney, 42, contends that PAWS and county officials improperly
ignored complaints about aggressive and vicious behavior by a pit
bull terrier who lived near Florosa in Santa Rosa County.

State legislative summaries

July 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August, 2002:

A felony cruelty penalty and a statewide system of
registration, regulation, and inspection governing private animal
rescuers take effect in Virginia on July 1.
The felony cruelty provision applies only to deliberately
fatal injuries inflicted upon owned pet dogs or cats. Offenders may
be jailed for up to five years.
The bill governing rescuers was requested by the Virginia
Federation of Humane Societies in response to complaints about lost
animals not being reunited with their families, because the
discovery of the animals running at large was never reported to local
shelters. The bill also anticipates the possibility that dogfighters
may use “breed rescue” as cover to obtain animals, a scam recently
uncovered in several other states.

Pentobarbital in food kills tiger

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand; CHARLESTON, S.C.–The New Zealand
Ministry of Agriculture in mid-May 2002 made permanent the December
2001 suspension of the Dog’s Delight Ltd. operating permit, for
allowing pentabarbitone from the carcasses of dogs and cats killed by
lethal injection to contaminate food that the company donated to the
Wellington Zoo.
In October 2002 the tainted food killed a 13-year-old tiger
named Jambi. It was the first case of which ANIMAL PEOPLE has record
of an animal who was verifiably killed by barbituate residues in a
commercial pet food.

Cat show breeder Rexelle convicted

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

Prominent show cat breeder Debra Rexelle, 50, was on May 17
convicted of four felonies and four misdemeanors pertaining to the
alleged gross neglect of 212 cats found at her rented home near
Modesto, California, in August 2000. She was acquitted of nine
other charges, including a felony count relating to the discovery of
about 50 dead cats at the same site.
Rexelle was fined for keeping more than 50 cats on the
property without the correct license in 1993, but claimed to have
passed an inspection by local animal control officers in February
2000.

Greyhound abuse

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa; EAGLE CREEK, Oregon; LILLIAN,
Alabama–Three greyhound racing scandals broke in different parts of
the U.S. within just three days preceding the Memorial Day weekend,
and all three seemed to confirm the darkest allegations of
anti-greyhound racing protesters about how the dogs are trained and
culled.
“Investigative reports released by the Iowa Racing and Gaming
Commission show that Victor ‘Jay’ Rangel, 33, of Council Bluffs,
was accused by witnesses of using a whip on the greyhound Primco
Glasco, and striking the dog with his hand,” William Petroski of
the Des Moines Register reported on May 20.

Rats, mice, birds, dogs and bears all lose in weakened U.S. Farm Bill

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

WASHINGTON D.C.–U.S. President George W. Bush on May 13
signed a Farm Bill that The New York Times editorially called “a
regrettable reversion to some of the worst polices of the past.”
The New York Times referred in specific to “a $50 billion
increase in subsidies to big producers of row crops such as feed corn
over the next 10 years–a 50% jump over present levels and a complete
reversal of promising attempts to wean farmers off all subsidies.”
The chief effect of the higher row crop subsidies will be to continue
artificially suppressing the cost of feeding poultry, hogs, and
cattle in intensive confinement.

Puppy mills

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

Sixty surviving dogs, among 75 seized in January from
breeder Inocente Dominguez Morales of Harlingen, Texas, were to be
auctioned on May 25, “as ordered by Cameron County Justice of the
Peace David A. Wise, much to the dismay of the Harlingen Humane
Society,” said South Texas Animal Sanctuary president Bob Sobel.
“The ruling to sell the abused animals and award half the proceeds to
the abuser is a blemish on the enforcement of anti-cruelty laws,”
Sobel continued. “There was no penalty, no fine, no admonition to
compel future observance.” Wise invoked an old law which pertained
originally to the sale of strayed cattle. The Wise verdict did not
apply to about 25 dogs held by the South Texas Animal Sanctuary in a
related case, seized a day after the Harlingen raid from the Puppies
“R” Us franchise owned by Patrick Scott Kingsbury in Weslaco,
Hidalgo County.

Good dogs, bad dogs, and a dog who was framed for murder

June 1, 2002 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2002:

SAN FRANCISCO– California public agencies in early May 2002
continued a recent trend of favoring good dogs’ right to live in
public housing and emphasizing the culpability of owners for bad dog
behavior–especially owners who could be expected to know better than
to allow it.
The California Fair Employment and Housing Commis-sion
assessed penalties of $18,000 against the Auburn Woods I Home-owners’
Association for allegedly discriminating against former tenants Ed
and Jayne Elebiari by barring their dog Pookie, who was adopted from
a shelter in 1999 and helped them cope with severe depression.

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