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Thursday, July 26, 2007
Officer has full schedule dealing with animal cruelty complaints
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The mixed retriever starts barking as soon as we pull up. He’s in a backyard kennel. Next to the kennel is a large water oak tree with a chain wrapped around it’s trunk.
Last time a Gwinnett County Animal Control officer visited this Stone Mountain residence, the pooch had been chained to that tree. That’s a violation of the county’s six-month-old anti-tethering law. He also had a horrific case of fly bites, the result of flies nipping at his ears in search of a blood meal. It’s a common condition in outside dogs.
A week ago, the dog owners were told to get this pooch to a vet. Officer Mike Chatham stopped by the house Wednesday to see if they’d done it. He knocks on the door. Nothing.
When we walk toward the kennel, the dog retreats, sullenly, into the kennel dog house. Chatham tries cajoling to no avail.
On Wednesday, I rode shotgun with Chatham, an 11-year veteran of the county’s animal control unit. He’s one of two cruelty investigators who traverse the county responding to complaints of neglect regarding all types of animals, but usually canines and cats.
Incident reports have been on the uptick recently, and Chatham suspects a lightning rod for the surge may have been Michael Vick’s federal indictment on dogfighting charges.
Or episodes of Animal Planet, the cable TV channel.
“People see that show, and they say, ‘Hey, my neighbor is doing that,’ ” said Chatham, a 1990 graduate of South Gwinnett High.
People and animals can make for an intense intimacy. Vick picked the wrong illegal activity to allegedly hitch up with. He should have ran a brothel, a gambling ring or a crystal meth lab. None of those criminal acts would have garnered the wrath of the general public like allegations of drowning, electrocuting and hanging dogs.
Wrong victim. Wrong network of activists and advocates to rouse.
As a reporter, I wrote more than my share of stories about loss of life. None ever generated the kind of response like a 1999 story about two kitten killers. The Hall County boys poured gasoline on a 3-month-old tabby, then set it on fire with a cigarette lighter.
“Dunkin’s” tale sparked a national outrage. Missives came from across the globe. Outrage about the loss of a human seems more muted, almost expected.
I asked Chatham to put animal passion in a better context for me. After all, he’s in the profession that looks out for the welfare of Fido as well as the occasional horse, goat, rabbit or deer.
“I don’t know what the connection is,” said Chatham, a family man who has three terriers. “But it’s strong.”
Animal lovers praise Gwinnett’s anti-tethering law. It’s unlawful to restrain or anchor a pet with a chain, rope or cord unless it is being held by a person. The law was adopted due to an increase in animals, mainly dogs, dying from heat stroke and self-strangulation, said Joey Brooks, the county’s other animal cruelty investigator.
Citations can carry up to a $1,000 fine or jail time, but the county doesn’t want to be punitive. Unless the animal’s in eminent danger, owners are given time to take care of the conditions.
“We look at the overall situation,” Brooks told me. “Are they being neglected? Can they reach their water?” On any given day, the animal control office receives about 100 complaints a day. The 30 or so officers each travel 150 to 200 miles a day. The expansive county, mixed with its treacherous traffic, limits the number of reports and follow-up cases they can address.
When Chatham checked his computer around 10:15 Wednesday morning, 15 new complaints had come in since 8 a.m. The Stone Mountain residence with the fly-bitten retriever was his second stop of the day.
Before leaving the house, Chatham tries the door one more time. This time, a teen emerges. He said his mom planned to take the dog to a vet Wednesday. Chatham hands him a “neglect form” about the time his mom drives up. She, too, indicates that the dog is scheduled to see a vet.
On to the next case.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
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