Demand Tell City, Indiana- Shooting Dogs Must Stop!!!!

[PuppyBreath]

Harely (pictured to the top) was shot in Dec 06 in Tell City IN. by the Chief of police. This is how all dogs are killed in this city, they are then dumped in the Ohio river.


JOIN US AND HELP IN THE MADNESS> DEMAND AND END TO CRUELTY!


www.USAnimalProtection.org
UnitedStatesAnimalProtection
Animal Shelter Reform


DEMAND TELL CITY INDIANA SHOOTINGS STOP!!!!

It is said the president of the council wants to be mayor yet he is not willing to do anything to stop these shootings or bring the shooters up on charges. There is no aco in this town so shooting will continue. We must join together to stop this. The county commissioner Jody Fortwendell would go for a full time aco but the other two commissioners will not vote for it because the county council will not provide funding. We still have a chance through the Perry county District Attorney. Bob Collins is the D.A. 812 547 2750. Charges must be brought against shooters. If we do not set an example these shootings WILL continue.


President of Tell City Council is Gerald Yackle 812-547-4692 [this guy strongly desires to be Mayor] Yet will not do anything to stop these shootings or will not push for prosecution.


Tell the Tell City Council to FUND the Perry County shelter! STOP THE SHOOTINGS! They ARE willing to cover the ACO position in Tell City.


Two Tell City policemen, along with the Chief of Police, testified to the
city council members that Harley was acting in a vicious manner prior to
being shot. The city council members were eager to accept that story. It
is very apparent that they do not intend to take any action against Dave
Faulkengberg, the chief of police who shot Harley, and who has shot several
other animals as well. The mayor's authority only allows her to demote the
police chief one level which I am pretty certain she intends to do because
she is livid over this mess. It requires the city council authority for
more severe action.

Indiana State law "IC 36-8-3-18" states "A Humane officer shall be
appointed in every city from among members of the police department. The
Humane officer shall detect and arrest persons violating humane statutes.
He is entitled to the same pay as other police officers and is subject to
the control and discipline of the police department. If there is an
incorporated humane society in the city, the humane officer shall attend
the stated and special meetings of the society and shall report to it, at
least once per month, on all matters relating to his duties under the law
for the previous month. If a humane statute or ordinance has, to his
knowledge, been violated, he shall, if directed by the president of the
humane society, file his affidavits before a court charging the person
violating the law with the violation".
It should be noted that the term "humane society" or "humane organization"
is in reference to those entrusted with providing care to the animals. In
Perry County, Indiana, it is us, the P.C.A.S. Inc., and not the "Humane
Society" who provides care to the animals.

Harley, and many other domestic animals, would not have been shot if the
elected officials of the City's of, and also the County of, Perry County,
Indiana adhered to Indiana statute mandates. Only in the last six months
did the Perry County Council members finally [and reluctantly] agree to
fund a part Humane officer. The officer will only function 17 hours per
week. The position is classified as a part time contract person who is not
eligible to receive benefits, is only to be paid $10 per hour and will
function only 17.5 hours per week.
This was done by the commissioners because the county council members
refuse to obey state law and fund a full time employee who would be paid
the same pay and benefits as any other police officers as state law
mandates.

The problem is we have individuals who would like to perform as animal
control officer but the only qualified people who want to perform the part
time position are those who already have full time employment. We
drastically need help to apply pressure the county council members to
adhere to state law and fund an animal control officer. The animals would
then be handled by a Humane officer who works closely with the shelter and
not by police who do not want to mess with animals. We have included
offices for an animal control officer and also one for the Humane Society
in our new shelter building.

Its amazing but they say the county can't afford a full time animal control
officer that is mandated by the state yet at last Mondays meeting they
donated $25,000 to the "Council for the Aging" that is not mandated by the
state and donated $5,000 to yet another organization that is also not state
mandated.

The President of the Perry County Council is Pete Franzman who was just
elected to his 5th term on the council.

Council President - Pete Franzman[ work] 812-547-3062
pete@... [home] 812-547-7730

County Attorney - Chris Goffinet [work] 812-547-7081 [email]
cgoffinetlaw@... [home] 812-547-3891

County Administrator [secretary to commissioners and councilmen] Sarah
Peter 812-547-2758 sarahp@...

President of Tell City Council is Gerald Yackle 812-547-4692 [this guy
strongly desires to be Mayor]

Tell City Attorney - John Werner 812-547-7066 [office]

You can also follow this link http://www.courierpress.com/news/2006/nov/29/dogs-shot-dumped-by-river/ and voice your opinion.

 

[PuppyBreath]

U.S Animal Protection and Animal Shelter Inc. wants cruelty charges pressed against the Chief of Police that shot these dogs.
NEWS 25 Investigates Viewer's Concerns On Animal Control Issues In Tell City

story: Emily Zander

TELL CITY, IN - NEWS 25 investigates a story that comes from Telly City viewers. NEWS 25 took their story and claims and questioned the Tell City Mayor.

One Tell City couple gave NEWS 25 pictures and video of three dogs they found by the Ohio River. The couple said it witnessed one of the dogs being shot by police...and then discovered the body had been dumped. One dog was shot and killed when it got loose in the streets of Tell City.

Keira Armstrong was one of the two who found the dogs. She told NEWS 25, "Collar, name tag, toenails painted. Cute as can be and we come down here and find her all mangled up. It was disturbing."

Armstrong and Jeremiah Brown found three dead dogs by the Ohio River and took pictures and video of the graphic scene.

NEWS 25 then took the pictures to the city's Mayor.

Brown told NEWS 25 one of the dogs, a boxer, was killed on November 14th, but the body was still lying on the bank Monday morning at eight o'clock.

He met with Mayor Gayle Strassel who he said told him the Street Department had been too busy to bury the animals-but by the end of the day, the bodies had been removed. Brown said, "Why throw the animals way over this riverbank because you can see how steep it is and they're laying probably 20-30 yards apart, rotting. That doesn't sound like to me two weeks ago they were going to bury them."

Perry County Humane Society President Jim Carter told NEWS 25 , "To me, that's flagrant. That's a disease causing problem."

NEWS 25 took these animal control issues to the Tell City Mayor. NEWS 25 wanted to know what she thought about these pictures.

Mayor Gayle Strassel said, "These pictures are sad, they're disgusting. The one mistake the city did was they didn't dispose of the dogs properly."

Strassel told NEWS 25 this kind of dumping is illegal but says no disciplinary action will be taken saying the street department commissioner is new on the job.

NEWS 25 Emily Zander questioned, "Isn't this kind of common sense? if I were to take my dog down there and dump it by the river I would face some sort of penalty. That's illegal dumping."

Strassel replied "Right. Chances are nobody,would ever know who did it. It happens all the time." Zander said, "But we know who did it."

Strassel said to NEWS 25, "Right but what good would it do for me to fire the Street Department people?"

Strassel told NEWS 25 it is legal for police to shoot dogs if they become aggressive-which she says police said the boxer did. But she assured NEWS 25 she does not condone the Street Departments decision to dump the animals.

Everyone NEWS 25 talked to Tuesday said the real issue here is the fact that Perry County does not have an Animal Control Officer.

Mayor Strassel told NEWS 25 the County Commission is in charge of replacing that position.

I am a member of this Organization and we are fighting to have the laws changed here. Shootings dogs in cold blood is NOT a humane form of animal control !

 

[Purdue#1]

dogs in harrison county get shot all the time. it's nothing new. dog kills livestock or is aggressive. farmer shoots dog. problem solved. now that is a law in indiana. if an animal is on your property, you have full right to shoot it. There's a leash law, but it is not enforced. if it destroyed anything then the owner has to pay for what was destroyed, wether it was cattle or your own pet. The people who live in harrison county are animal control. it took a month for the "shelter" to pick up two dogs. it's not even called a shelter. it is just Harrison Animal control. Used to be on petfinder, but not anymore.

 

[Spirit2010]

noo! not my state!! nooo, I want to help, but can't. my mom's dog, got shot, by this one person, and this person owns a dog, a German Shepard. well, this stinks, eek, I want to help this soo badly. It is wrong, and inhumane, like you said.

 

[bubbatd]

Yes, we have a leash law here in Marion Co. but no loose dog would be shot if lost or roaming. It would be different in rural areas with damaging feral dogs. Even if " attacked " by these dogs and having to shoot , the dumping is horrible .!! Someone HAS to step in there !

 

[joce]

Why are the dogs being shot-I didn't really get that out of the story.

If it was in the country and they were chasing livestock then I can't blame them-but it says in the city so I am assuming it has nothing to do with livestock.

An ac officer didn't help here-the cops need to take a class on dog behavior or something. What do the expect the ac officer to do I guess is my question. To solve the probelm here he would have to ride with every cop every day. If there was an ac officer already the only diffrence may be they shoot the dog and then call them to dispose of the body. The problem is if the cops are trigger happy they are not going to call the ac.

Hopefully the publicity they got on this will make them think about it a litttle more though.

And if they do get an ac officer look into what they require for one. I swear al ours had to do was run thorugh an obstacle course carrying twenty pounds or something-doesn't even have to like dogs

 

[Boemy]

Are they just shooting the dogs because they're loose? If so, that's appalling, especially since they mentioned one dog had a collar and name tag; usually a name tag has a phone number and address on it too.

Dumping them on the riverbanks is not only horrific from an animal lover's point of view, but also very unsanitary.

 

[carlar]

That is sooo sad. There should be some way to stop it.

 

[Delisay]

- "Strassel told NEWS 25 this kind of dumping is illegal but says no disciplinary action will be taken saying the street department commissioner is new on the job." Can anything be more ridiculous? If you or I dumped a carcass we'd be charged and we aren't even in the running for the job!!! That's like saying "Oh, the Police Commissioner is new...we won't charge him for holding up the liquor store because he didn't know it was wrong yet". (To get the job doesn't the interview procedure require applicants to, er, have a clue about it???!!!)

- What is it with America and guns??! "If it (canine or human) isn't doing what I want it to do right now, I can just shoot it (...rather than try a little harder to solve the problem)"...????!!!

- Anyone who habitually shoots innocent creatures (with collars, name tags and painted toe nails - i.e. loved pets), must be a cold and aggressive person with 'issues'. We all know how instinctively dogs behave toward cold aggressive people.... so "He charged at me..." - I wonder which came first? Most confident, well-adjusted, non-aggressive dogs will still defend themselves if they sense aggression or threat from a human.

 

[Miakoda]

I just want to first off state that I find this thoroughly & pukingly disguisting.

But there is another side to this: When pet owners will step up & become responsible & quit allowing their dogs to run loose or "escape" time after time, then this type of scenario wouldn't be happening. It's so easy to pass the blame onto others, but reality is it's YOUR job as the owner of a pet to keep it properly confined at ALL times. Period. If something happens to the animal when it's not being watched by you and/or not confined, it's YOUR fault....not the person who hit it with a car, shot it, kicked, it, etc.

 

[Purdue#1]

Put yourself in the cop's shoes. a dog is charging at him with very large teeth. What is he going to do? stand there and see what it does or shoot at it before it bit him? if it bit him then they would be punishing the owner instead. Yeah they shouldn't have dumped the dogs in the river, I agree, but as far as shooting the dogs, they have full right to shoot it if it charges them. when something charges you, you don't pay attention wether it has painted toe nails or a collar. it has a weapon(it's teeth) and it is threating.
They would do the same thing to a person with a gun as a weapon who was charging them. they would shoot him before they got shot. They don't pay attention if they know the man or not.



and Miakoda is right. if people love their dogs they should make sure they don't get loose.

 

[Delisay]

If something happens to the animal when it's not being watched by you and/or not confined, it's YOUR fault....not the person who hit it with a car, shot it, kicked, it, etc.

I have to profoundly disagree with this!! (Fortunately, most criminal courts also disagree, but just to reiterate...)

The reality is that accidents will always happen from time to time; despite our best care animals will occasionally get out, just as children will occasionally run away or stay out without parents' permission. If that pet is shot, kicked to a pulp, or hit by a car, or if that child is shot, kicked to a pulp, raped or hit by a car - to claim that those violent acts by another person are categorically somehow the parents' fault...and that the driver, kicker, shooter or rapist are categorically not at fault for their own violent actions merely because a victim was out and about and available... What a perspective!

Suffice it to say that turning cruel and violent people into innocent parties, and victims into guilty parties merely for walking free in their world...well, most of us, and fortunately most legal systems, evolved far beyond that quite a while ago.

(Sorry, that just hit a spot.)

D.

 

[Boemy]

Was the animal charging them, though? Or is this just their form of animal control? Do they shoot any loose dogs, friendly or not? If they're shooting aggressive animals trying to maul them, I have no problem with that, but if they just shoot any loose dog, that's wrong. It sounds to me like there were many bodies by the river, which makes me suspect the latter.

 

[Miakoda]

I have to profoundly disagree with this!! (Fortunately, most criminal courts also disagree, but just to reiterate...)

The reality is that accidents will always happen from time to time; despite our best care animals will occasionally get out, just as children will occasionally run away or stay out without parents' permission. If that pet is shot, kicked to a pulp, or hit by a car, or if that child is shot, kicked to a pulp, raped or hit by a car - to claim that those violent acts by another person are categorically somehow the parents' fault...and that the driver, kicker, shooter or rapist are categorically not at fault for their own violent actions merely because a victim was out and about and available... What a perspective!

Suffice it to say that turning cruel and violent people into innocent parties, and victims into guilty parties merely for walking free in their world...well, most of us, and fortunately most legal systems, evolved far beyond that quite a while ago.

(Sorry, that just hit a spot.)

D.

So your saying that if my neigbor's dog who is left to roam loose 23 hours of the day bolts out in front of my car & I hit it that I am responsible & should have to pay the penalty for it? This isn't Oregon in 1700 anymore.

And I wasn't talking about the dog that got loose only once. IMO, if dog gets loose once, shame on him.....twice, shame on you. In all my years of being alive & having dogs in the family, we've never had dogs get loose. So it is possible.

And again, I began by stating that I find this disturbing, gross, & it pisses me off. HOWEVER, it is the owner's responsiblity to make sure their pet is safe from harm, not anyone elses. That's just reality. For example, when I moved onto my little dead end country street, I let everyone know that if they should ever see any of my dogs loose, call AC & call the sherriff. If they wanted to try & catch them, that was fine as my dogs love any & all people, however I would never expect someone else to not be afraid of a roaming APBT & would not get mad if they followed protocol to get the dog picked up. It's not their responsibility to keep my pet from bothering other people, animals or to protect it from getting hurt......that is all MY responsibility.

 

[Spirit2010]

I know in the park here, everyone just lets their dogs run freely, when we play softball, and they need to put them on leashes, the park has plenty of signs to keep your dogs on leashes, and they are welcomed. Just on leashes. but yes, Miakoda is very right. it is YOUR fault, not the one who hit it. but, yes, very true, who would want to shoot a dog with painted toenails, a collar, a leash, and all that stuff? Cold people who just hate dogs.

 

[Purdue#1]

well, if the person is being charged by a dog with painted toenails or not and has a gun the person will use it. If a dog is charging you, its charging you and means harm wether it has painted toenails or not. The painted toenails doesn't mean that the dog is friendly, it just means it has an owner that it somehow got away from.


Oh, and there is also a law in IN that if someone hits the dog, the damage caused by the dog to the car has to be paid for by the owner of the dog.


People are supposed to keep accidents from happening. It might be an accident, but it is the owner's fault.For example, if a car hits another car from behind because they were not paying attention. it might be an accident, But it is still their fault to pay for the damage caused to the driver.
Same thing, if you don't pay attention to what your dog is doing and it gets hit in the road, then it is your fault and you also have to pay the damage to the car. It might be an accident, but it is still your fault.

 

[tessa_s212]

As to whether or not the cops are legit in shooting the animals, it is still a fact that the owners should not let their dogs roam free.

 

[PuppyBreath]

The fact remains, the dog was NOT given any medical treatment. It was forced to walk on its' own with bullet wounds! This in itself is cruelty to not provide medical attention. Instead, they just threw it in a kennel and left to die a painfully slow death.

 

[joce]

that is probally true but our animal control wouldn't have done anything-in fact they have done the exact same thing here and just drove the dog back and forth between the pound and apl untill it died. . AC is not whats really needed but they need to educate the community as a whole. Maybe work on bringing in an animal control officer but the cost to pay them usually means even less money to the dogs.

 

[Julie]

If dog owners took responsibility for their own dogs............
then we wouldn't be disscussing this.
Why are the dogs roaming? Oh I know, so a cop can have some target practice. It is so much fun. And they all just love to do it.

As for animal control, I have seen the lethal injections given by an uneducated dog catcher.... I would much rather be shot that go thru that!