Animal Cruelty

The ASPCA Field Investigations and Response (FIR) Team is 100% committed to the animals we rescue—and that commitment doesn’t waver during the holiday season. This year, nine dedicated team members will be missingcelebrations with their loved ones to care for more than 100 rescued dogs in Rowan County, Kentucky.

For more than two months, the ASPCA team has beenon the ground caring for the small-breed dogs including Chihuahuas, Dachshunds, Min Pins and Poodles who were rescued from horrifyingly filthy conditions. Thanks to the team’s hard work, the dogs continue to receive the care and comfort they need.

“This is just one of the many awful cases we respond to, and our main priority is always the welfare of the animals,” says Dick Green, ASPCA Director of Disaster Response. “Many of us will miss the holidays with our loved ones this year, but there is no doubt in any of our minds that this is where we belong. We owe these animals a second chance.”

The ASPCA would like to sincerely commend the following team members who elected to spend this holiday in Kentucky:

Dick Green
Bryan Hayes
Theresa Vargas
Dena Gayle Rosenberg
Tiffany Huggard-Lee
Shari Gordon
Jodi Jenkins
Sam Smith
Michelle Albin

To learn more about the Kentucky case, please visit our Raids and Investigations section.

Guest blog post by Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations.

Recently, we received word of a tragic story from Oregon in which a family’s beloved dog was strangled to death by a heavy-duty trap left by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services division. This little-known federal agency uses tax dollars to kill wildlife species that homeowners and ranchers consider to be problematic or nuisances. Unattended traps and poisons—and even helicopter hunting—are all routine features of Wildlife Services’ campaign to kill wildlife. Their work is often carried out without oversight or public notification, and as the event in Oregon shows, can have heartbreaking results.

Doug and Denise McCurtain found their seven-year old Border Collie, Maggie, caught in a Conibear trap set by Wildlife Services to kill nutria (a small, non-native wild animal) in their neighborhood. This trap, which is designed to break the neck and strangle an animal, was placed less than 50 feet from their backyard, near a pond where children and pets often play. The McCurtains’ homeowners’ association notified them that traps would be set, but the McCurtains were not informed that such a dangerous trap would be used on land, or that an unmarked trap would be placed so close to their home.

Unfortunately, Maggie’s case isn’t the first time a family pet has been killed by Wildlife Services. Tragedies like this happen all too often. Earlier this year, a beloved family dog in Texas named Bella was poisoned by an unmarked explosive device left by Wildlife Services containing sodium cyanide.

U.S. Wildlife Services must do more to prevent tragedies like these. Better notification of the dangers in the community could have spared Maggie’s life. As long as Wildlife Services continues to use lethal means to manage wildlife, the agency places our pets at risk and causes terrible suffering and death to thousands of wild animals each year. If this disturbs you, we urge you to contact your U.S. senators and representative and ask them to stop spending your tax dollars on dangerous programs to kill wildlife.

Guilty! Today the Marshall County Prosecutor's Office confirmed that two Mississippi residents—John and Nancy Garrison—pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty. The charges stem from a 2010 puppy mill raid when the ASPCA rescued more than 100 dogs found living in deplorable conditions.

John and Nancy Garrison were each sentenced to six months in jail and 11 months and 29 days of supervised probation. They were also ordered to pay $26,847.14 in restitution to the ASPCA and $2,793.19 to the Marshall County Humane Society, which will be suspended pending successful completion of the probation terms. As part of the probation, the Garrisons are prohibited from owning or harboring animals, and/or residing at any residence with animals for five years.

“The ASPCA is pleased the defendants are taking responsibility for subjecting these dogs to a life of pain and suffering,” said Tim Rickey, Senior Director of the ASPCA Field Investigations and Response Team. “The ASPCA appreciates the diligence of the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office for seeing this case through to the end. We hope to continue our work in investigating puppy mills and rid the nation of this cruel and inhumane industry.”

For more information on the Holly Springs, Mississippi, puppy mill investigation, please visit our puppy mill section.