Latest news with #Kezirian
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
A car door opened in a Narragansett shopping plaza. 14 Belgian Malinois dogs came rushing out.
A wild scene unfolded in Narragansett on Wednesday, May 21, when 14 dogs burst out of an SUV in a shopping plaza parking lot, with some of the dogs running into the nearby Marshalls/HomeGoods store. After the dogs were rounded up, a similar situation happened at a nearby ballfield, when the dogs again poured out of the car, this time attacking and badly injuring one of their own, a young, smaller dog. "I have never seen anything like it. I'm not sure anyone has," said Wayne Kezirian, president and general agent for the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The dogs are all Belgian Malinois, large animals that are bred for protection and often used as police dogs. The owner told Kezirian he was driving with all 14 in his SUV from New York to Maine, where he was planning on moving. "I don't know how he drove the car with all the dogs in it. There wasn't an inch to spare," Kezirian said. A woman in another car was traveling with the man. Her car had three dogs inside, according to Kezirian. The man told Kezirian he stopped at the shopping plaza because the dogs had started to fight, and he wanted to take one of the dogs from the car. When he opened the door, they all rushed out. "It's a protective breed, so they're difficult to handle anyway," Kezirian said. The Narragansett police responded to Salt Pond Plaza and found two vehicles parked near West Marine containing a total of 17 dogs, according to Narragansett Police Lt. Justin Hoffman. "As officers approached, the rear door of one of the SUVs unexpectedly opened, allowing 14 Belgian Malinois to escape and run through the plaza," Hoffman said via email. "Some of the dogs entered nearby businesses. With the assistance of bystanders, officers were able to help the owner safely return all 14 dogs to the vehicle. Fortunately, no injuries were reported during this initial containment effort." Since there was no local animal control officer on duty, Hoffman requested help from South Kingstown Animal Control, he said. Their officer "promptly responded" and also contacted the RISPCA, Hoffman said. When Kezirian arrived from Warwick at about 12:30 p.m., the dogs were back inside the car. They were still restless. As they moved in the tight quarters, they kept bumping into each other and hitting the horn. "You'd have thought somebody was behind you at a red light," Kezirian said. The police and animal control filled Kezirian in on what had happened. He said, "It was a much more complicated situation than I envisioned." Before Kezirian got there, the police persuaded the dog owner to voluntarily surrender several of the dogs, Hoffman said. To ensure the safe transfer of the dogs, the police decided to use a Local Little field enclosed by a fence, according to Hoffman. The police told the owner to remove the surrendered dogs one at a time, according to Hoffman, but as soon as the door opened, the dogs again charged out of the car, this time attacking the younger dog. "They all turned on one dog and were attacking that dog," Kezirian said. "As a pack, they were attacking that dog." The owner couldn't stop the attack. Hoffman and the other Narragansett officers stepped in "to protect the dog, using department-issued OC (oleoresin capsicum) spray to break up the assault long enough for an officer to retrieve the injured animal," Hoffman said. Narragansett Police Officer Patrick Canavan lifted the younger dog and carried it away. "If he had not done that, that dog would be dead," Kezirian said. As Canavan carried the dog, several dogs still tried getting at it, prompting the officers to spray the dogs again, Hoffman said. "Miraculously, none of the officers or individuals present were injured during this chaotic incident," Hoffman said. Once the animals were taken away, the police contacted the Narragansett Parks and Recreation Department, which "decontaminated the baseball field using the facility's irrigation system," Hoffman said. The dogs' owner, after talking with Kezirian and the police, ultimately agreed to give up nine of the dogs. The RISPCA has three of them, while South Kingstown Animal Control, which works with the Narragansett Police Department, has six. Among the dogs in the RISPCA's care is the young one that was attacked by the others. Her name is Liberty. She's one year old. Kezirian brought the three dogs back to RISPCA by about 4 p.m. Wednesday, where veterinarian Michelle Pinto had Liberty in surgery until about 8 p.m. "She's covered with stitches. She's expected to be OK," Kezirian said. The owner of the dogs was cooperative, Kezirian said. He told Kezirian he was planning to move from New York to Maine and also sell some of the dogs. "I'm not sure his grasp of reality was solid," Kezirian said. The man is in his 40s and resides in Ontario, New York, according to Kezirian, who declined to give the man's name. The man described the woman in the other car as his girlfriend. They were traveling through Narragansett on the way to Maine because the woman has some ties to the area, Kezirian was told. The dogs are skinny. The owner told Kezirian he ran out of money and was rationing their food. Kezirian said Narragansett police officers bought food for the dogs. Kezirian said it seemed reasonable for the owner to keep five of the dogs, because the five could fit reasonably well in his car. It would also be difficult to find adoptive homes for the five dogs he kept because of age, illness and temperament, according to Kezirian. If the RISPCA seized the dogs and pressed criminal charges, it would take longer to find the dogs new homes, because they'd have to wait until the conclusion of the criminal case, Kezirian said. Additionally, he said, the charges could be difficult to prove. "It was the lesser of two evils," Kezirian said. Now the RISPCA and South Kingstown Animal Shelter have nine more dogs in their care. Boarding and veterinary costs will add up. Kezirian noted that the agencies could use financial support. Kezirian said the RISPCA will check with law enforcement agencies to see if they're interested in adopting any of their dogs for police work. After that, the dogs would be put up for adoption from the general public. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Fourteen Belgian Malinois dogs burst out of a car in Narragansett
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Injured dog recovering after attack at Narragansett ball field
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA) is asking for the public's support as its staff slowly nurses an injured Belgian Malinois dog back to health. Liberty was one of three dogs brought to the RISPCA from a Narragansett shopping plaza Wednesday afternoon. Investigators believe her former owner was traveling with Liberty and 13 other dogs in his SUV from New York to Maine when he pulled over to stop them from fighting. 'These are large dogs and it was a small SUV,' RISPCA President Wayne Kezirian told 12 News Wednesday. 'This person was literally covered in dogs.' The 14 dogs inside the man's vehicle escaped as soon as he opened the door, according to the RISPCA, with at least three of them running into the nearby Marshalls & HomeGoods store. Kezirian said somehow, the man was able to round up the dogs and drive them to a nearby little league field so each one could be removed from the car in an enclosed space. RISPCA: 14 dogs ran loose in Narragansett shopping plaza The dogs bolted from the car again, but this time began attacking Liberty in the middle of the field. Kezirian said the dogs had to be pepper sprayed in order to be safely separated. Liberty was rushed to the RISPCA's Animal Health Center, where veterinarians began treating and bandaging the deep bite wounds that covered her body. The RISPCA Liberty has also tested positive for Giardia, which is an intestinal parasite that causes diarrhea, weight loss and other digestive issues. Veterinarians are now monitoring Liberty's condition very closely. The other two dogs in the RISPCA's care were not injured, but are also 'incredibly fearful and terrified.' 'These dogs need a lot of medical care, food, and most of all, love,' the RISPCA wrote in a social media post Thursday. Anyone interested in donating to Liberty's care can do so online. Her medical expenses will be paid for through the RISPCA's Tails of Hope fund, which is designated for 'shelter animals in need of a little extra love to make them adoptable.' Liberty's former owner is not facing charges at this time since he was cooperative. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
22-05-2025
- Boston Globe
In R.I., 9 of 14 Belgian Malinois dogs seized after running amok in Narragansett shopping plaza
RISPCA received a call from animal control to respond to the scene around 11 a.m., as officials were uncomfortable allowing the owner of the dogs to continue on the journey with such a large number of animals, Kezirian said. Advertisement When Kezirian arrived, he learned the 14 dogs had run amok in the shopping center, but the owner had been able to corral them back in his SUV by the time Kezirian got there, Kezirian said. Seeing the vehicle stuffed like a 'clown car,' Kezirian said the scene left him feeling like he was daydreaming. Advertisement 'I felt like I was at a red light …. and someone behind me was repeatedly beeping the horn, because there were so many dogs in this car that they were repeatedly rubbing up against the horn button, and the horn in that car was going off constantly,' he said. 'That's how many of those dogs were in the car.' Kezirian said it was reported that at least three dogs, when they were loose, entered the nearby Marshall's and HomeGoods stores. Cait Sincerny told 'It was chaotic at first,' she said. 'Everyone was just shocked at what they were seeing.' Belgian Malinois are 'a breed that's bred to be protective,' Kezirian said. 'It's highly sought after, if you get the right dog, for police work,' he said. 'They appear to be similar to, but a bit taller and lankier than most German Shepherds [and are] highly intelligent and very protective of the owner.' A plan was ultimately devised to drive the dogs to a nearby ball field that was fenced and gated, so the owner could remove the dogs one by one, under the condition that several of them would be surrendered, according to Kezirian. 'When he opened the door to start taking the dogs out one at a time, the dogs rushed the door, and all 14 of the dogs escaped at one time,' Kezirian said. In the fray, some dogs began attacking a younger one, he said. 'They were mauling that dog until one of the police officers from Narragansett …, went in – with great personal risk – and scooped that dog up,' Kezirian said. Advertisement The officer pepper-sprayed the attacking dogs, and turned over the injured one to the RISPCA, he said. According to Kezirian, the dog was severely injured and was in surgery until later Wednesday night, but is expected to survive. RISPCA also took in two others, and the animal shelter took custody of six others, as per an arrangement negotiated with the owner, Kezirian said. The man was not criminally charged and was cooperative, he said. Narragansett police and South Kingstown Animal Control did not immediately return requests for additional information on Thursday. 'The negotiated deal allowed the owner to keep five of them, and the reason I did that is that two of them were epileptic and would not have been adoptable,' Kezirian said. 'Two of them were older and he was clearly attached to them and appeared to be in good enough condition, and one was a dog that I, from a practical perspective, couldn't handle on site and he could.' According to Kezirian, if dogs are not seized with an agreement and are part of a criminal case, they can be 'in the system for months or years as the case proceeds through the court' before they can be put up for adoption. 'We make these difficult decisions in a lot of these instances so that we can take immediate ownership and we can deal with these dogs and place them more quickly for the benefit of the animal,' he said. 'It's always a difficult choice when we negotiate these but that's the incentive for that agreement.' Kezirian said the three dogs RISPCA took were all between nine and 12 months old and underweight, but otherwise are 'relatively healthy.' The owner said he ran out of money and had been rationing their food during the trip, according to Kezirian. Advertisement However, Narragansett police officers 'of their own accord, made sure that he had food in the car before he left,' he said. Kezirian said RISPCA regularly sees cases involving hoarding tendencies, which he suspects was a factor in what happened in this instance. But he has never encountered anything quite like what happened on Wednesday, 'with animals in a parking lot running free,' he said. 'When these dogs bolted out of that car, it was more than just looking like a clown car,' he said, describing when the dogs were let loose on the ball field. 'They were just tumbling out of that car and chasing that other dog. It was a pretty ugly scene.' Christopher Gavin can be reached at
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
RISPCA: Dogs run loose in Narragansett shopping plaza
NARRAGANSETT, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RISPCA) is investigating after more than a dozen dogs escaped a car in a Narragansett shopping plaza Wednesday. RISPCA President Wayne Kezirian told 12 News a man and woman were traveling from New York to Maine with 17 Belgian Malinois dogs split between two vehicles. Kezirian said his understanding is that the man, who had 14 of the dogs in his car, had pulled into the Point Judith Road parking lot to stop them from fighting. 'It was an absolutely untenable and difficult situation,' Kezirian explained. 'These are large dogs and it was a small SUV. This person was literally covered in dogs.' The woman, who Kezirian said was driving in a separate car with the other three dogs, had 'much better control' of the ones in her vehicle. Kezirian said he was told by officers who were called to investigate that the 14 dogs had escaped the man's vehicle, with some of them running into the nearby Marshalls & HomeGoods store. 'What's remarkable to me is that these dogs got out of that car … and the person transporting them was able to round them up and get them back in,' Kezirian said. 'It was evident that this was an unsafe situation, and that these dogs were underfed,' he continued. Kezirian said officers followed the driver to a nearby little league field so the dogs could be removed from the vehicle one by one in an enclosed space. 'As soon as the door was cracked, the dogs bolted out of the car,' he recalled. Kezirian said the dogs immediately began attacking a younger puppy in the middle of the field and needed to be pepper sprayed in order to be safely separated. 'This dog was literally being mauled by a pack of other dogs,' he said. Kezirian said the RISPCA has nine of the dogs, including the injured puppy, while the South Kingstown Animal Shelter has six. Kezirian said that, since the man cooperated, he allowed him to take two of the dogs back to New York due to capacity issues. 'It was a lesser of two evils situation,' Kezirian explained. 'The dogs we allowed him to keep were dogs that we would not be able to safely care for and adopt out, and he seemed to have them under control.' The woman claimed to have separate ownership of the dogs in her vehicle and was allowed to keep them, he added. No charges are being filed against the man at this time. However, Kezirian said he may face charges in the future if he refuses to cooperate with the investigation. Kezirian said the puppy is being treated by RISPCA veterinarians for several bite wounds. He added that another dog suffered an open gash wound and was brought to a veterinarian by South Kingstown Animal Control. TJX, the parent company of Marshalls & HomeGoods, opted not to comment on the situation. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
