Animal Cruelty

State must take cruelty to animals much more seriouslyOn April 11, the Salisbury Police Department lost a valuable member. Danny, a veteran police horse, was maliciously attacked in his pasture.It appears that the attackers viciously hacked at two of Danny's legs with either an axe or chain saw. Mortally wounded, Danny was left lying in his own blood, suffering for hours.The irony of Danny's death is that just before his attack, Maryland legislators passed a law making the deliberate injury of a law enforcement animal an aggravated cruelty offense.

Increase the penalty for those involved in dogfightingOne of our members shared with us the very comprehensive article ("Police raid suspected dogfight," March 22) by Amy Oakes on the dogfight raid in the Villa Nova area. What a telling portrayal -- a bloody plywood fighting ring and a "Beware of Dog" sign posted near a child's slide.It is unfortunate that the Baltimore police think this is merely a sporadic incident. This heinous and atavistic "blood sport" is pervasive throughout the country and, obviously from this incident, dogfighting is well-organized in your area.

Eight adults and a juvenile were charged yesterday with animal cruelty and related offenses after Baltimore County police broke up what they said was an organized dogfight Saturday night in Lochearn.All were arrested in a raid on a dwelling in the 4000 block of Buckingham Road, police said. The adults were being held at the Garrison Precinct last night in lieu of bail, ranging from $25,000 to $150,000, police said. The juvenile was released to the custody of his parents.Police did not release the names of the suspects.

The new director of Baltimore's Animal Shelter is getting a rough welcome from animal rescue groups in the city who say they are frustrated with the agency's response to animal cruelty complaints.Last year, the City Council held a hearing on ways to improve the shelter's response to complaints. A study three years ago found animal cruelty complaints in Baltimore had remained open for as long as three years. Council members recommended improvements such as computerizing the animal shelter, noting problem pet owners and requiring more thorough pet licensing.

A dog owner who injured his pet by walking it from a moving car was convicted yesterday on three animal cruelty counts and a pair of drug charges in Dundalk District Court.Scott Theodore Eckrote, who has moved from Pikesville to Reisterstown since his arrest in the highly publicized incident, faces a maximum of 21 months in jail and $4,500 in fines at sentencing scheduled for Aug. 1 -- and could lose his dog, Barkley, as well.Eckrote, 25, a mortgage company loan officer, was convicted by Judge Barbara Jung of unlawful torment to an animal, causing it unnecessary pain and suffering and failing to provide veterinary care.

What constitutes horse abuse?The Maryland Racing Commission confronted the issue head-on yesterday and handed down a 30-day suspension and $500 fine to a driver at Rosecroft Raceway who it thought had crossed the line in two instances from rough handling to animal cruelty.The commissioners said that Fern Paquet Jr., 27, of Temple Hills had been guilty of cruelty to animals in both cases, although Paquet contends he was disciplining a horse in one instance and was using aggressive driving tactics in the other.

A small fire at a pig farm on historic property in Elkridge Thursday led Howard County animal control officials to discover dozens of unhealthy rabbits living in abandoned cars and dilapidated cages on another farm on the property.About 10 animal control employees converged on the rabbit farm off Mayfield Avenue near the Deep Run stream Friday to seize the 80 rabbits. The seizure took place the morning after a fire caused $5,000 damage to wooden pigpens, but didn't injure the 60 pigs.The rabbits were taken to animal control facilities in Baltimore and Prince George's counties because the Howard County animal control facility is not large enough to accommodate them, said Sgt. Steven Keller, a county police spokesman.

What constitutes horse abuse?The Maryland Racing Commission confronted the issue head-on yesterday and handed down a 30-day suspension and $500 fine to a driver at Rosecroft Raceway who it thought had crossed the line in two instances from rough handling to animal cruelty.The commissioners said that Fern Paquet Jr., 27, of Temple Hills had been guilty of cruelty to animals in both cases, although Paquet contends he was disciplining a horse in one instance and was using aggressive driving tactics in the other.

A Bel Air man who accidentally shot his finger while destroying his family's pet cat in his basement has been charged with animal cruelty and discharging a weapon within 150 yards of a residential dwelling, a sheriff's spokesman said yesterday.Christopher Bledsoe, 26, of the 1900 block of Millington Square, Bel Air, was given a criminal summons Thursday after the Harford County state's attorney reviewed a deputy's report on the Jan. 5 incident.According to the report, Mr. Bledsoe was not seriously injured but sought medical attention at Fallston General Hospital, where an emergency room nurse notified the sheriff's office of a shooting of a suspicious nature.

The Howard County state's attorney's office will not prosecute a Mount Airy veterinarian on the animal cruelty charge on which a Circuit Court jury deadlocked last month.The decision ends the case against Dr. Richard Burroughs, who was tried twice in two years.The first trial in District Court ended with his conviction in May 1993 on two animal cruelty counts.Dr. Burroughs, 53, appealed for a jury trial in Circuit Court. That ended with a jury clearing him on one count and deadlocking on the other.

An Anne Arundel County woman and her adult son were arrested Wednesday on animal cruelty charges in the alleged abuse and neglect of 21 malnourished and flea-infested dogs found living in their home, authorities said. Janet Taylor, 51, and her son, Jeffrey Taylor, 38, of Orchard Beach were arrested shortly after noon Wednesday and each charged with 21 counts of animal cruelty and 21 counts of inflicting unnecessary suffering or pain on an animal, according to the office of County Executive John R. Leopold.

Two teenage twin brothers charged as juveniles with fatally burning a pit bull are being held without bail on new adult charges after police said they raided their Southwest Baltimore rowhouse and found guns and marijuana inside. Travers and Tremayne Johnson, 17, are each charged with possession of firearms, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to police and prosecutors. Court documents say the two were suspects in the dog burning last month, and their father confirmed that they are charged as juveniles with animal cruelty in the case.

Animal welfare, public safety are linked Along with the Baltimore community, the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was deeply troubled and saddened to learn of the recent incident in the city involving a pit bull named Phoenix, who was doused in gasoline and set on fire. Several bystanders watched as Phoenix cried in pain, but with the exception of a lone police officer, no one came to her rescue. This, coupled with the recent torture and burning of a cat, has sparked outrage across the state.

The daughter of an 81-year-old woman imprisoned in a cat abuse case was convicted Wednesday on similar animal cruelty charges by a Howard County judge. Nese Icgoren, 52, of the 7300 block of Swan Court Way in Columbia faced 148 counts in the mistreatment of cats found dead or dying by animal control officers in August 2006. Authorities found more than 50 live cats, only three of which survived. Neighbors had complained to county authorities about the odor coming from the townhouse that Icgoren shared with her mother, Ayten, and said bugs in the residence were infesting adjacent homes.

A 24-year-old woman has been charged with animal cruelty by Baltimore police, who said her dog had to be put down after the pet was locked inside a car for 2 1/2 hours with temperatures that reached 102 degrees. Lakiesha Tate of the 6800 block of Old Town Brook Drive in Gwynn Oak was charged in a criminal summons that requires her to appear in court, according to Officer Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman. If convicted, she could be sentenced to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. The Baltimore Health Department issued a statement yesterday warning that a vehicle's interior temperature can rise 40 degrees in one hour, even if the outside temperature is a moderate 72 degrees.

A Carroll County farmer was convicted of animal cruelty and selling contaminated meat yesterday after he waived his right to a jury trial in Circuit Court - the most recent in a series of dealings with authorities that date to the early 1990s. Also, in a separate case involving environmental crimes that the state was set to prosecute next week, Carroll County Circuit Judge Thomas F. Stansfield convicted Carroll L. Schisler Sr., 61, of discharging animal carcasses and waste into a stream and littering the farm with more than 500 pounds of trash, including numerous junked cars.

On one side of the street in Glen Burnie is Pets Galore, with its perky puppies and its shelves stocked with food. On the other side, in a nondescript house, nine dogs and four cats went without water and starved for weeks, animal control officers said. By the time police arrived, drawn there by complaints of the stench, five of the dogs were dead. In what Anne Arundel police are calling the worst case of animal cruelty in county history, the home's owner has been charged with 27 counts of the crime after officers' grisly discovery last month.

Two women charged with animal cruelty after authorities discovered in their Columbia townhouse more than 50 cats, many of them malnourished, along with the decomposing carcasses of 17 others, avoided jail time or fines yesterday by striking a deal with prosecutors on the eve of their trial. Ayten Icgoren, 80, entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant concedes that prosecutors have sufficient evidence for a conviction but does not admit guilt. In exchange, Howard County District Court Judge Neil Edward Axel sentenced her to probation and ordered a psychological evaluation.

Nadia Wasserman said the smell from her next-door neighbor's townhouse last summer was "horrible." "We have a deck and could not enjoy it because of the smell," she said. "Then the wind would blow, and you would think you live in a barn." What Wasserman smelled was cats. Today, her neighbors - Ayten Icgoren, 79, and Nese Enetullah Icgoren, 50, who share a house in the 7300 block of Swan Point Way - are scheduled for trial in Howard County District Court on more than 200 counts of animal cruelty.

People collect lots of things - salt shakers, antiques, dolls - but when they start to collect animals by the hundreds, it crosses a line. It's called animal hoarding, and aside from being an issue of animal cruelty, experts are calling for further examination of a disorder they say is widely misunderstood. In the latest case in the region, a 51-year-old Mount Airy woman was found guilty of 46 counts of animal neglect Tuesday after 119 living cats, and at least 100 dead ones, were found in her home.