Latest news with #AnimalServices
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Groundbreaking for St. Joseph Animal Shelter to get underway
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) — After a decade long discussion, a project to relocate the St. Joseph Animal Shelter is set to begin this month. In a press release, the City of St. Joseph confirmed a ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17, at the site area of the $5 million project at 3409 S. Belt Highway. St. Joseph Mayor John Josendale, Animal Services staff and volunteers will be in attendance. Members of the public are welcome. The project is supported by $3.4 million in Capital Improvement Program funds and $1.6 million raised by the Friends of the Animal Shelter. Ellison-Auxier Architects provided design services for the new facility, which utilizes an existing city-owned building on the property that will be significantly expanded with new construction. E.L. Crawford is the construction contractor for the project. The plan for the new shelter includes an increase from the the current 8,000-square-foot facility as the new location is set have 13,000 square feet of space. It will also feature separate holding spaces for cats and dogs, an infirmary, a designated intake spot and additional parking spaces for visitors. We're really excited about the space and having flex areas for the animals," Animal Service manager Holly Bowie said. "It will increase the health of our animals because we'll be able to separate sick animals from healthy ones. Bowie said the new shelter will help with, not only having more space for animals, but space for community engagement. "Right now, we just don't have the ability to do that," said Bowie. "The visibility of the location is really exciting for us. We're hoping that we can engage the community more and have more visitors at the shelter. Public services, including adoption processing, at the current animal shelter location will not be available on June 17, so staff can attend the groundbreaking. However, priority field service complaints will be answered. If weather conditions become an issue, the ceremony will be moved inside the existing building on the site. The project is slated to be completed by June 2026.
CBS News
3 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Good Samaritan stops couple from dumping kittens in San Bernardino
A handful of kittens are resting at the San Bernardino City Animal Shelter after a Good Samaritan stopped a man and woman from abandoning them in a random dirt lot. Elisabeth Lomeli said she spotted the couple dumping cats last Friday afternoon near the intersection of East 40th Street and Harrison Street. On that day, temperatures hovered around 100 degrees. "It was very hot," Lomeli said. "I was dying in the car with the A/C." Lomeli and her friends confronted the couple, who had placed the cats in a metal cage. Lomeli took the cats away from the couple after a heated exchange and the woman claiming that the shelter wouldn't take the pets. "The mom cat was very terrified," she said. "Once we got it opened, the mom cat jumped out." Lomeli brought four kittens to the shelter while her friend stayed behind to find the cat that escaped. She said the kittens were sick and malnourished. Rescue teams are still searching for the cat that got away, but managed to find two more kittens in the nearby brush. "I don't have no respect for [that lady] and for the man himself," Lomeli said. The San Bernardino City Animal Services said they are investigating the encounter and will notify the police.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Walton County deputies arrests owner for dog left in hot car
WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – The Walton County Sheriff's Office responded to Scenic Drive after multiple reports of a small dog left in a hot car for an hour on Saturday. According to the WCSO, the car wasn't running, and the windows were only slightly cracked. The vehicle was opened by deputies using a lockout kit, and the Yorkie was pulled out and given water. Deputies said they called the number on the dog's collar. After a short time, 26-year-old Andy Matute Villatoro of Houston, Texas, showed up. He was at the beach, deputies confirmed. Villatoro was placed under arrest for animal cruelty. Walton County Animal Services arrived and said they tested the temperature inside the vehicle, the readings came back at 120 degrees. Villatoro was given a $1,000 bond and is still incarcerated at this time. The Walton County Sheriff's Office urges you not to leave your dog inside a hot car. It only takes minutes for a parked car to become a death trap for an animal, even with the windows cracked. If it's 85 degrees outside, it can exceed 100 degrees inside a car in under 10 minutes. Dogs can suffer heatstroke, brain damage, or death during that time. Officials added it's not only dangerous and inhumane, it's illegal. If you see a dog left in a hot car: Call 911 immediately Provide location and vehicle details Wait for the cavalry Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Dogs Are Dying On Skid Row and City Officials Are Letting It Happen, Animal Activist Says
Dogs Are Dying On Skid Row and City Officials Are Letting It Happen, Animal Activist Says originally appeared on L.A. Mag. City officials are being accused by a prominent animal rights activist of ignoring horrifying abuses being inflicted on Skid Row dogs that include being injected with drugs by addicts, caged under heavy tarps in sweltering temperatures, beaten, stabbed and even sexually attacked. Rebecca Corry, the nationally recognized founder of Stand Up For Pits Foundation, said her pleas with the Los Angeles Police Department, Mayor Karen Bass and Animal Services, to do something about pain being inflicted on dogs on Skid Row have gone unanswered even after the body of a woman was found in a homeless encampment where her remains were being eaten by dogs."The rage I have, the sadness is unbelievable. We have seen Skid Row rampant with dog abuse, but the City of Los Angeles has done nothing. Mayor Bass, stop ignoring us," Corry told Los Angeles in a passionate interview. Her foundation also posted a video containing a number of the allegations she says are being ignored by officials. The city's budget could cut $4.8 million from the Animal Services department. Bass's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Social media is ablaze with videos of some of the ongoing dog abuse, but there is no enforcement or police response whatsover Corry says, even after she bombards the LA Animal Services Department and the North Central Animal Shelter, which services the areas being reported, with calls for help. The city dismantled its animal cruelty task force in 2021, making it even harder to stop the horrendous mistreatment of dogs in plain view amid the poverty and despair that stretches over the 54 blocks that comprises Skid Row. Corry also had harsh words for Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who has vowed to make the pursuit of animal cruelty cases a key initiative for his office. "He promised the public he would do more to protect animals, and no one is going to Skid Row and doing anyone," Corry said. Hochman's office said that it remains "firmly committed to the aggressive prosecution of animal cruelty," and points to the 25 animal cruelty cases currently being prosecuted. Among the most egregious cases include: a Los Angeles man is charged with drugging and killing a female bulldog in April; a man in Hollywood is charged with tossing a terrier to its death from a fourth-floor balcony; and in Sante Fe Springs another man is charged with stabbing a German Shepherd with a sickle. "It is important to understand that under the law, law enforcement agencies are the first to investigate these crimes," Hochman's office said in a statement. "A case must be presented to our office for legal review and consideration before we can act. That is the required legal procedure, and we follow it diligently. Animal cruelty is a serious crime, and this office will continue to treat it as such." Corry insists that she called the LAPD and Animal Services about the dogs caged under a tarp and no one responded. "These dogs could die out there. Why don't we care? Empty promises are no longer going to be tolerated by the animal welfare community." This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Police searching for woman accused of leaving pet to die inside Cobb County apartment
Police in Cobb County are looking for a woman accused of leaving her pet to die inside her apartment. In that apartment, Cobb County Animal Services told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell they found two other pets near death, a cat and a dog. Investigators went to check out the apartment after getting a tip, Newell learned. They found a dead bearded dragon inside. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 'The dog and cat both came in, they were both very near death,' Steve Hammond, Director of Animal Services, told Channel 2 Action News. Inside the apartment, police found deplorable conditions, saying the woman left her animals inside for months. 'The person renting the apartment hadn't been seen since January,' Hammond said. 'Almost three months since they had last been seen.' TRENDING STORIES: Boil water advisory issued in Buckhead neighborhood where residents haven't had water for 24 hours LIVE UPDATES: Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued across metro Atlanta Georgia Tech student killing: Shooter snuck into apartment building, waited for victim, police say Investigators said they got involved in the case in April after receiving a tip that the animals had been left alone in the apartment. 'We found the cat that was severely emaciated, also an emaciated dog and a deceased bearded dragon,' Hammond said. The bearded dragon may have starved to death, investigators told Newell, and the cat and dog were visibly, severely underweight. 'They were what we call a one out of nine on the body condition scoring,' Hammond explained. Now police are looking for the renter, Destiny Jackson, who is facing numerous charges, including aggravated cruelty to animals. Hammond promised that the department 'will hunter her down.' cobb county Animal Services is urging pet owners to take advantage of the resources they offer to help prevent deaths of animals. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
