Animal Lovers

ROCKVILLE, MD — With lows dropping into the teens at night, Montgomery County authorities are reminding residents not to leave pets tied up and unattended outside. Pet owners face a $500 fine for violating the ordinance. The Director of the Montgomery County Animal Services Division Thomas Koenig says his officers will enforce a county regulation that says, “a person must not tether a dog under circumstances that endanger its health, safety, or well-being including: unattended tethering of the dog during a weather emergency.” Enforcement of the regulation goes into effect during periods of extreme cold, wind, and heavy snow, which can all be damaging to dogs and other animals. Montgomery County Police Animal Services officers urge residents to bring pets indoors during extreme weather. Even animals that are accustomed to living outdoors can be susceptible to the dangers of cold weather. Livestock animals should have a place to get out of the wind and dry bedding should be ...

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Brevard County sheriff's deputies arrested a man Wednesday morning after they say he ignored firefighters' commands and tried to save his dogs from his burning home. Brevard County Fire Rescue crews responded to 2387 Victor Road at around 5 a.m. Wednesday after someone called 911 to report the fire. Fire investigators tell News 6 they found the home was full of smoke from a fire that appeared to start in a television and spread. They say Wendell Joyner, 58, kept going inside his burning home to save his three dogs. "I got out of the house, and then I realized, 'Oh, wait a minute, my dogs are in there, " Joyner said. "So, I went back inside to look for my dogs." Joyner tells News 6 he kept getting overcome with smoke, and he had to keep coming outside to breathe. He said he saw an opportunity when he grabbed a firefighter's ax and threw it through a front window to get access to his dogs. Deputies tackled Joyner,...

A Missouri police chief has quit following allegations he took a lost puppy to a firing range and shot the animal to death. Andrew Spencer of Sparta was asked by city officials to leave his post and remain with the department as a sergeant, but chose instead to resign after the November incident. The shooting, which took place in November, sparked outrage after the 16-month-old dog's owner chronicled the events on Facebook. Elizabeth Womack described her dog Chase as a "playful and loving puppy who wanted to do nothing but play and cuddle. He played with our son and watched over him." But in his police report, dated Nov. 11, Spencer painted a portrait of a difficult-to-control dog barking at people in a neighborhood with children. "I did not want to destroy the dog if we could help it, and certainly did not want to destroy it in a neighborhood where it was possible children were watching," Spencer wrote. The former police chief instead forced the do...

FBI data collection to begin effective January 1 2016.... Animal abusers will now be grouped into the same category as murderers! They believe animal cruelty is and should be identified as a violent crime, one that leads to bigger things if it goes unchecked. No longer will violent cases of animal cruelty be included in the “other offenses” category simply because the victims of the crime are animals... The new FBI categorization is significant because it affirms that at the highest level of our government animal cruelty is recognized as a violent crime." According to the FBI, the official definition of animal cruelty will be: Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly taking an action that mistreats or kills any animal without just cause, such as torturing, tormenting, mutilation, maiming, poisoning, or abandonment. Included are instances of duty to provide care, e.g. shelter food water care if sick or injured transporting or confining an animal in a manner likely to...