Category: Dog News

Dog news gathered from the Internet

Cocker spaniel club president sues humane society

The incident began on April 12, 2011 when Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) investigator, Matt Schaecher, executed a search warrant at a North Harris Road home in Ypsilanti, Michigan.  Harris was responding to an animal cruelty complaint.  Thirty dogs, mostly cocker spaniels, were seized by the humane society.  Owners Ralph and Melinda Hart failed to provide a kennel license as well as licenses for the dogs.  Melinda Hart is the president of the Detroit Cocker Spaniel Club and owner of Hartline Cockers.

The humane society claims the Harts kept their cocker spaniels in the garage stacked on top of each other in cages only letting them out to urinate and defecate.  “They don’t dispute they’re keeping the dogs in cages stacked on top of each other,” said Susan Kornfield, attorney for the HSHV.  No animal cruelty charges were filed although the Harts signed a field release statement.  In the agreement, seventeen dogs would be returned if the Harts obtained a kennel license and licenses for the returned dogs.

None of the dogs were reportedly ill from mistreatment although the HSHV euthanized three cocker spaniels–apparently they couldn’t find anyone to adopt them.  The Harts’ lawsuit filed June 27, 2011 sought return of their cocker spaniels adopted out by HSHV however the motion was denied in a Washtenaw county court.  One of the cocker spaniels reportedly belonged to the Harts’ son.

Canadian Cockerfest this July 24th

The Cocker Spaniel Rescue of British Columbia (CSRBC) will hold its eighth
annual Cockerfest this Sunday. Cocker spaniels and cocker spaniel owners alike are welcomed to attend. This year’s event will be held in Langley’s Derby Reach Park along the Fraser River. It sounds beautiful. 🙂 A raffle will be held for select items raising money for CSRBC.

Cockerfest 2010
Cockerfest 2010

Pit bulls attack woman and kill cocker spaniel

Marie Hustead
Marie Hustead holding Lucky's photo
A seventy-year-old woman and her cocker spaniel were brutally attacked in their own yard in Rootstown, Ohio. Marie Hustead was in her front yard around 7:30 a.m. last Friday morning walking her two-year-old cocker spaniel Lucky when she noticed two pit bulls (American Staffordshire terriers) across the street. She lost sight of them for a brief instant. The next thing she saw was Lucky being savagely attacked by both pit bulls. Hustead screamed, “They’re killing my dog, help him!” Desperately, she attempted to force them off Lucky when they began attacking her. Hustead was bitten multiple times before she ran inside her house retrieving a Swivel Sweeper. Unfortunately, the sweeper was of no use against the pit bulls.

By this time neighbor Vicky Spriggel heard the screams and came after the pit bulls with a log. She managed to chase them away. The pit bulls ran back to their home on Greenwood Road. Paramedics came and took Hustead to Robinson Memorial Hospital for treatment. Hustead believes she has between 20 – 40 stitches in both her hands and left arm.

Meanwhile, Lucky was taken by a neighbor to a local veterinary hospital and placed in critical care on a ventilator. After the vet explained the extent of Lucky’s internal injuries, Hustead made the difficult decision of putting Lucky down fearing he would suffer. “Yesterday I couldn’t stop crying, trying to come to terms with my little doggie…That was the best dog I ever had, the most loving. I couldn’t believe it happened that quick.”

Hustead had no idea pit bulls were in her neighborhood. Their owners had recently moved into town. “If we did know I would have been cautious,” says Hustead. Hustead says her neighbors with small children and pets are now afraid.

Cocker breeder prosecuted under new puppy mill law

Rescued Missouri Cocker Spaniel
Cocker rescued from puppy mill. Photo Humane Society of Missouri Lawrence County

Cocker spaniel breeder Linda Brisco, owner of Moser Kennel, was the first prosecuted under Missouri’s new [Puppy Mill] Canine Cruelty Prevention Act. The new law was also known as Proposition B approved by voters last year.

Brisco’s kennel was raided on June 28th for inhumane conditions she kept her dogs including failing to provide veterinary care for sick and injured dogs. State inspectors said they couldn’t see the kennel’s floor because it was covered with a thick layer of feces. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster says Brisco routinely used a shotgun to euthanize her dogs.

Seventy-three dogs were taken from Brisco’s kennel including cocker spaniels, Labradors, and other breeds. They are receiving medical care at the Humane Society of Missouri Lawrence County. Kostner says she will be unable to breed dogs for six years in a judgement handed down by the court.

Many Missouri breeders opposed Proposition B including Joe Overlease, president of the Professional Kennel Club of Missouri, claiming it denies Americans their rights and “lowers animal care standards.” Overlease owns a large scale operation called C & J Cockers which was cited last year for overcrowding and inadequate shelter.

Attorney General Chris Koster wants to rid Missouri’s reputation as a puppy mill state. “It is our goal that Missouri will gain the reputation as the state with the best and most humane breeders in the country.”