Okay, I’ve got a question for y’all. I ran into a situation today that is very disturbing. I was out trying to locate a family on a child neglect case. When I finally found the place they were supposed to be living, I found a dumpy trailer out in the county (nothing particularly unusual there) with the windows busted out and about 2-3 feet of grass and weeds around the place and the front porch barricaded. That isn’t the disturbing part. There were animals everywhere....several dogs and cats apparently living under the house, a pit bull chained to a dog house and 3 pot belly pigs in a pen. These animals all appeared emaciated and there didn’t appear to be any food or water anywhere and it’s over 90 degrees out.
So, first thing I did was call local law enforcement to find out if this place was in city limits or not, since I knew that one of the local officers had had dealings with the family. He told me that it was not, but that they’d had several complaints about the animals. So I asked him what I should do to assure that these animals were taken care of. He referred me to county sheriff’s department, but said that they wouldn’t do anything about it. I called sheriff’s department and was redirected to dispatch. The woman I talked to said that they do have jurisdiction, but that the attitude of the sheriff’s department is that “it’s their animals and if they want to starve them to death, it’s their business.” She took the information, but wouldn’t make any promises.
Then I called the local animal shelter/humane society. They said that they were not funded by the county and don’t go out on calls and suggested I call the animal cruelty officer. They provided me a cell number. Turns out that the animal cruelty officer is also with the sheriff’s department. I called her and she also took the information, but said she couldn’t promise anything would be done about it.
How the h*ll does this happen?? Isn’t there someone (other than PETA) who oversees these kinds of situations? After seeing how the animals are treated, I shudder to think how they treat their kids.
Anyway, I’m done ranting....for the moment. Any ideas would be appreciated. No wonder Arkansas has the rep it does.
Call the most aggressive, ambitious, investigative reporter in the state, hopefully a popular or well-respected one with a television station. Offer the story to him/her first and if you get a luke warm response, ask for suggestions or direction.
Contact candidates running for election in that area.
Did you get pics?
Boy, Sweets, you’ve really got a tough job. Isn’t it wonderful that we have so many social agencies and none of them are “able” to help. Sickening! I’d be so downright angry, I’d probably call a news station....somebody who might sit up and take notice and get the word out and maybe get a few arses fired to boot. I mean animal abuse is a crime, right? Somebody isn’t doing their job and there needs to be some accountability here.
I can understand your frustration. I’d be peed off too!
Yes, ASPCA, but they may not want to be bothered depending upon the area.
Frustrating as hell, I know.
But with people being litigation happy for B.S., it’s often better to stay out of it if you are in law enforcement.
Maybe having 60 minutes show up on a few doorsteps might help?
Hope you can find someone who can deal with this.