To All of our friends & supporters - On November 10, 2014, two (2) Stafford County Sheriffs Deputies and three (3) Stafford County Animal Control officers executed a search warrant for an allegedly stolen dog at The Stafford SPCA, located at 140 Andrew Chapel Road, Stafford, VA 22554. The video of that Search Warrant can be viewed here: youtu.be/yMcZOANuqlY Almost 45 days prior, on September 26th, The Stafford SPCA rescued a female beagle that had been running at large in the WhiteOak area of Southern Stafford County for over a month (according to witnesses). Animal Control had been notified prior, but had failed to catch the animal. The Stafford SPCA was called out, after Animal Control failed, and within minutes rescued the dog. The dog had no tags, no collar, and no microchip. According to Animal Control, no lost or stolen reports had been filed on the animal (or anything similar, in the region). The dog was in dire straits. It was horribly infested with fleas and ticks. It was so anemic from blood loss that it couldnt even maintain core body temperature. Her gums and tongue were pale from lack of red blood cells. It had a belly full of parasites, and when it could finally poop, the stool looked like an oil sludge. It was too exhausted to move or eat, and was absolutely terrified. The Stafford SPCA notified Animal Control of the rescue, and took the animal in, provided medical and Veterinary care for her, and began the process of her rehabilitation. Since the dog appeared to have had puppies in the past, the Stafford SPCA organized a puppy Search & Rescue effort that scoured the woods along Belle Plains Road after Daisy was rescued. To answer peoples questions or concerns - we have a created a dropbox site with all of our supporting documentation (a full press release, copies of all search warrants and court orders, photos of the dog Daisy, photos of the puppy mill, pics of the back yard breeder property, and other items for your review). Please click here for access to all of the information (you may have to cut & paste it into your browser). https://dropbox/sh/4rvmdenbgns4wcj/AABoKnWPqBMKaR9NGUYdy_2qa?dl=0 A few days after Daisy was rescued, an SPCA Volunteer passing out found dog flyers encountered the Spindles, a notorious back yard breeder of beagle & hound puppies in WhiteOak. The breeders told our volunteer that the dog on our flyer was their dog, and had only been missing for a couple days (or was stolen by a neighbor... the story keeps changing). Stafford SPCA officials spoke with the supposed owners of the dog, but based on the descriptions of the animal provided by the Spindles, and based on the physical evidence and Veterinary assessment of the animal, the SPCA determined that it was not, and could not reasonably be, the same dog. The SPCA offered to consider any documents or photographs or digital pics that the Spindles may have to support their claims, but they provided none. The Spindles only identified the dog as theirs using a photo that the Stafford SPCA posted on a flyer during the search and demanded that the SPCA give Daisy to them. The Spindle family immediately made threats to have us arrested for stealing their dog, claimed that they were going to press charges, call the Attorney General, send the Sheriff, etc. The Stafford SPCA does not, and will not, cower to threats or intimidation, nor will we arbitrarily turn over any dog, to anyone, without some reasonable proof of ownership. This is especially true when the person claiming ownership runs a backyard puppy mill and may simply be seeking to add one more female to their breeding stock. The Stafford SPCA stands in the gap, to protect animals from abusers, hoarders, puppy mills, dog fighters, and even sometimes those people charged with enforcing the laws and protecting the animals, who dont. Stafford County Animal Control and Eric Olsen, the Commonwealth Attorney, have been particularly heavy handed in this case, and not one of them have considered the needs of Daisy, the dog that we rescued (as a living creature that has suffered greatly) in their deliberations. The Stafford SPCA has never denied having Daisy (the dog that we rescued). We do not have the Spindles dog (different animal - and we believe we can prove it). This is not going to go away, and we believe (based on the massive amount of tax dollars being wasted on this persecution) that this has very little to do with a female Beagle (that most people couldnt give away for free on Craigslist), and everything to do with trying to shut down the SPCA. We believe they want to remove the only voice putting pressure on Animal Control and the Commonwealth Attorney to take their duties seriously, and actually enforce the animal neglect, animal abuse, and puppy mill / back yard breeder laws that are already on the books. We have set up a Legal Defense Fund to help the Stafford SPCA to fight for Daisy, fight these charges, and so that our already limited Operational Funds are not depleted in legal fees. Please visit the following GoFundMe site. This is an important case. It is one that needs to be fought. We are fighting it, and we will continue to fight it, but we cant do it alone. We need your help to stand up for the animals in this community. (you may need to cut & paste this link in your browser too) gofundme/Voice4theVoiceless Sincerely, Bill Hoyt Executive Director Stafford SPCA https://dropbox/sh/4rvmdenbgns4wcj/AABoKnWPqBMKaR9NGUYdy_2qa?dl=0
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 00:49:07 +0000
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