Are These Puppies Going To Be Put Down Too

[lizbud]

Coming on the heels of another case where neglect by humans can lead
to terrible consequences. Will officials put these pups down as savage
beasts? Stupid, stupid people.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5563825


Edit: text added.

Mauled man's caretaker had drug, assault convictions

The caretaker of a terminal cancer patient who was mauled by hungry puppies in a Pierce County home last weekend had previous drug and assault convictions, as well as two citations for failing to license her animals, according to records.

By Noelene Clark

Seattle Times staff reporter


Unfed puppies maul man suffering cancer

The caretaker of a terminal cancer patient who was mauled by hungry puppies in a Pierce County home last weekend had previous drug and assault convictions and had been investigated for a dog-bite incident, officials say.

Pierce County Animal Control received a complaint in May that a woman walking through the neighborhood had been bitten by a dog from the same Parkland home, said animal-control officer Tim Anderson. When animal-control officers contacted the residents, they said the dog was in someone else's possession, Anderson said. Officers were unable to track down the dog, he said.

Some neighbors said the seven older dogs at the residence were intimidating.

"They were very aggressive," said one neighbor who asked not to be named. "They would go in a pack of five, six, seven of them."

Michael Warner, 55, was in critical condition Tuesday at Tacoma General Hospital after he was mauled by an unknown number of the puppies. The 27 dogs living at his home have been quarantined.

The caretaker and a relative of Warner's were arrested Saturday on suspicion of criminal mistreatment and obstruction of justice after they brought Warner to the hospital's emergency room suffering from dog bites. The caretaker brought two pit-bull puppies, which she said were responsible for the bites, Anderson said.

Those dogs have been quarantined by the Sheriff's Office.

The two women have not been charged, and both have been released from Pierce County Jail pending charges.

The caretaker had previous drug and assault convictions, as well as two citations for failing to license her animals, according to court records. Neither she nor Warner's relative was being paid by the state to take care of him, said Kathy Spears, spokeswoman for the state Department of Social and Health Services.

Deputies also are investigating large amounts of missing prescription medication, said Pierce County Sheriff's Office Detective Ed Troyer.

The unfed puppies didn't attack Warner, but rather used the frail man as a food source after he had been left lying on the floor of the house, Troyer said.

"We know it was the puppies," Troyer said. "We're just not releasing any of the gruesome details."



One neighbor said Tuesday that she had seen the adult dogs barking at and chasing other neighbors. She said the dogs once chased her to her front door.

Another neighbor, who lives next door to Warner, said the dogs didn't scare him.

"Every now and then, they'd get out and bark at me, but I'd just tell them to behave," said Dennis Selby.

In addition to the two dogs seized by the Sheriff's Office, Pierce County Animal Control seized 25 dogs from the home, Anderson said. The animals are in quarantine at the Humane Society For Tacoma and "in fine shape," said Denise McVicker, deputy director.

Dog owners need a permit to keep more than five dogs in one household, and the Parkland residents did not have one, said Anderson, the animal-control officer.


Noelene Clark: 206-464-2321 or [email protected]
Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed
to this report.

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company