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Will your dog be next?

Columbia Star (not sure which columbia this is)
March 9, 2012 Edition
Dog snatched out of his yard and jailed
Will your dog be next?
By Julia Rogers Hook

Outside of court March 5, Pamela Selig and Randy Flowers show pictures of Apollo, one with their daughter and the other with their chihuahua on the bed. The Columbia court room on Washington Street was full Monday morning, March 5 as the owners of a three-year-old Pitt Bull tried to get their dog out of the city animal shelter.

Randy Flowers and Pamela Selig allege that City of Columbia animal control officers came into their yard and took their pet, Apollo, with no warning because their neighbor complained about his barking.

“I came home from work to find my dog gone and a note on our door telling me they had taken him because he was acting aggressive,” a frustrated Flowers said after the hearing. “Those officers said that he barked at them and that he was antagonistic toward them. Well they were in his yard. Why wouldn’t he bark at them? Then they threw a net over him and hauled him over the fence. He was scared and mad. Now they won’t let us get him out of the pound.”

This is the gate Superintendent Marli Drum said was not secured. She said it was being held up by a baby gate. According to the owners, the baby gate was only there so their chihuahua couldn’t get out. Selig was emotional to the point of tears. She said that Apollo was being punished because of his breed.

“ We have two Chihuahuas that were also in the yard,” she said, her voice cracking. “They left the other two dogs alone and took Apollo to the pound, put him in a little cage with a concrete floor, and they wonder why he growls at them. Apollo sleeps with us, he plays with the Chihuahuas, and he’s never been caged in his life, and now he’s in one and he has no idea why. He’s used to sleeping on furniture and the bed and now he’s on a cold cement floor. They won’t even let me take him a blanket.”

Marli Drum, superintendent of the Columbia Animal Shelter said the blanket issue is about keeping the cages clean, not punishing the dog.

“We do provide blankets for elderly or sick animals and the very young ones,” she said.

“But to give each animal a blanket would create a laundry load we aren’t prepared to handle. The cages are washed down daily, and blankets would have to be changed then. We just don’t have the manpower for that.”

Apollo was taken February 17, and the city has cited the couple with fines of almost $ 1,000. They said they would pay the fines but now the city wants them to build a new fence around their back yard that would assure the dog couldn’t get out.

Flowers and Selig said that’s ridiculous because the dog has never gotten out of the yard in the entire time they have lived there.

“Apollo has never even tried to get out,” Selig said. “He stays in the house most of the time anyway. But he loves his yard and he doesn’t ever try to escape.”

Drum said the officer stated that the dog was not properly contained in the yard.

“ The gate wasn’t secured that well at all,” Drum said. “It was being held up with a baby gate and recycling bin and a dog of his athletic abilities could easily jump the four-foot tall fence.

Selig and Flowers ardently denied that Apollo could jump that fence.

“The gate is not being ‘secured’ by a baby gate and a recycling bin. Those things are there to keep our twoand a- half pound Chihuahua from getting out of the fence. If the officer would have paid attention to the fence instead of dragging Apollo over it by his neck, he would have seen that the gate is completely secure.”

Apollo’s owners said that their dog is miserable at the pound, and he doesn’t understand what he’s doing there.

“I go visit him and as soon as he sees me, he wags his tail and licks my hand,” Selig said tearfully. “He’s never been caged before, and he always gets treats and a soft bed. Now he’s in that awful cage with a cold floor, and there’s no way to explain to him that we are trying to get him out. And now they’ve told me I could no longer bring him treats.”

Drum said that Selig was bringing Apollo food that could possibly upset his stomach, and that’s why they stopped allowing her to feed him.

“ We keep all of the animals on Science Diet here so their digestive systems don’t get traumatized,” Drum said. “ The dog’s owner brought him a cheeseburger, and we can’t be responsible for what that could do to his stomach.”

Selig said that the pound wanted her to sign off on Apollo, and she refused. Flowers said that this is just a power game for Drum.

“She doesn’t like pitts, and she wanted us to let her murder our dog,” he said. “We will never do that. We love Apollo, and this fight isn’t over. We are going to get him back. Now the city is making an example of him. They are saying they can come on your property and take your dogs from your yard. That is dead wrong.”

Drum said she harbors no dislike for any breed of dog.

“I love animals in general and have over the years owned all different breeds of dogs,” she said. “This was nothing personal. A neighbor complained, and an officer went to the home to investigate the complaint and found the dog to be aggressive. Now it’s in the hands of the courts.”

Deloris Mungo, an animal rights advocate and volunteer with Pawmetto Lifeline agrees that Flowers has a point about how the dog was taken.

“The laws are so vague and poorly written that no one has any actual guidelines,” she said. “If the animal control officer can walk into a fenced-in yard and take an animal at will, then there needs to be some new legislation. In my opinion, if Richland County requires a warrant to search private property, why would the city ordinance supersede the county ordinance? Any dog will bark at an intruder that comes into its yard. That’s what they are supposed to do.”

Mungo said that during a recess in the hearing, she was talking to Flowers’ and Selig’s lawyer, Katrina Wright, when one of the animal control officers involved walked past them muttering a derogatory remark.

“He walked past us and said ‘lawyers and prostitutes…. don’t have much need for either one.’ I looked straight at him and asked Katrina if she heard what I heard. She said she did.”

The accused officer, Dennis Flory, was the same officer that took Apollo from his yard. He called the lawyer later in the day and apologized, Mungo said.

“But he hasn’t apologized to me yet,” Mungo said. “And if Katrina is the lawyer…then what does that make me?”

Another passer- by heard a similar remark from the same animal control officer and has sent a letter to Columbia City Police Chief, Randy Scott. Drum said that she was unaware of any altercation at the hearing.

When the officer was asked for a comment by this reporter, he declined.

What bothers Mungo and many other people at the hearing is that this is the caliber of person who is in charge of animals in the city.

“How can you feel safe and know that your animals are getting humane treatment with people like this man in charge of them?” Mungo said.

Flowers may have articulated it best.

“They call that road that the pound is on HUMANE Lane…..and then they steal our pet and throw him in a cage. What a joke.”

Jane Brundage, cofounder of Pets Inc. in West Columbia said that while this particular incident is indeed awful, pet owners across the Midlands need to worry.

“If these laws pass in Richland County, animal control officers will be able to take your animals from your yard if a disgruntled neighbor complains. Two other shelters offered to house Apollo at the hearing, but the city refused. Why? He would get better care and not be so traumatized. These shelters would have housed him for free, but the city refused. Why not alleviate tax payer dollars and let Apollo be in a better environment”

Other advocates echoed Brundage’s sentiments.

“ This is simply a power play for Marli,” one animal advocate who asked for anonymity said after the trial. “It’s happened over and over. She could care less about the animals. She’s just making a stand and letting everyone know she’s in charge. I doubt seriously that Apollo will get out of this alive. She will figure out a way to kill him.”

Drum said that after the March 21 hearing, Apollo would be returned to his owners but depending on the outcome of the trial, they may have to make some changes to his lifestyle.

“If the dog isn’t found to be aggressive, he will be released and go back home as is,” she said. “If he is deemed to be aggressive there are certain changes that will have to be made. They will have to do something about the fence, which they may not want to do since they are renters. He will have to be kept in a kennel of some sort or secured on a chain. When he goes out, he will have to be muzzled and as with all dogs in public, he will always have to be on a leash.

Brundage said that Selig and Flowers may get Apollo back, but after this horrific experience, he will be a changed dog.

“He’ll probably never be the sweet dog he was before that agent dragged him over the fence and threw him in a cage,” she said. “This will teach him fear and to not trust humans. It’s such a shame.”

The courtroom was full on Monday with animal advocates and people who didn’t even know Apollo’s owners. They all said they were just coming to make a stand for the unfairness of the incident.

“ This dog did absolutely nothing,” one rescue worker said in the hall. “This is wrong on so many levels that you can’t begin to count them. Marli Drum and that agent that took the dog should be ashamed of themselves.”

Brundage said this was a sad and sordid story, but it was not a one time thing.

“Columbia residents need to understand that if the Richland County Council passes the new animal ordinances that are before them right now, the next time, it could be you that has your pet taken from your yard. It could be you begging for your pet’s life. People need to get involved and let the city of Columbia and the Richland County Council know how they feel.”

When the judge announced a March 21 postponement of the hearing and said he wouldn’t release Apollo until then, the room’s reaction was everything from shocked gasps to open weeping. As they left the court room people kept going up to the couple and hugging them and saying how sorry they were. Selig tearfully thanked the people but her main concern was her pet.

“I just can’t believe he has to stay in that awful place for another two weeks,” she said. “He hasn’t done one wrong thing. He’s never bitten anyone or gotten out or hurt a soul.

You just can’t explain it to him like you could to a person. This is so awful. We’re willing to pay the fines. Even people accused of murder can get out on bail. Why won’t they let us have our dog at home?”

As we go to press with this story, Pamela spoke to the Star. “When I went to visit him today, another dog that was very aggressive was placed in the cage next to Apollo. When I sat down to pet him, that dog charged his cage and was growling and gnawing at the bars. Of course Apollo growled back and tried to protect me. My biggest fear is that the city will deem that as aggressive behavior and put him down. I can’t hold him, I can’t do anything but pet him through the bars. That mean dog was there for the first time today. I don’t know why they put him next to Apollo. He’s going to torture my baby. And Apollo is going to be there for two more weeks, and we can’t do one thing to help him.”

It should be noted that last week The Columbia Star ran an article about another pitt bull, Knolla Grace, who was picked up by the same officer, Dennis Flory. Knolla Grace and another dog of a different breed had gotten out of their fence. Witnesses and the dog owners said that Flory returned the other dog to their yard but took the pitt to the pound. While she was there, the pound had another break-in and Knolla Grace was taken. She’s been missing ever since. Some of the other stolen dogs were found in the Bamburg area where authorities believe they are being trained to fight. There is a $ 1,000 reward for her return.

There were several break- ins at the pound where only pitt bulls were stolen. Carey Shealy, owner of Statewide Security Systems, installed surveillance cameras for the pound at no cost. One thief was caught on camera, but he was wearing a hooded jacket and never looked directly at the camera. Shealy said he just wanted to help catch the dog thieves and had the means to do so. Brundage said Shealy did the same thing for Pets Inc. in West Columbia.

__________________
2012 National Grand Show Champion, World Show Bluetick Female CCH GRCH 'PR' Southern Flame Blame it on the Rain (Rain)
2012 Purina Show Bluetick Breed Winner GRCH 'PR' Southern Flame Grt Balls o' Fire (Jerry Lee)
2013 World Champion Bluetick, 2013 AO Overall Bred By winner GRCH 'PR' Sexy and I know It (breeder)
2015 AO Overall Dual Champion NTCH GRCH 'PR' Sexy and I know It (breeder/owner/handler)
2016 Grand American Overall Dual Ch, Overall Show CHampion NTCH GRCH 'PR' Sexy and I know It

AKC CSG, UKC CCH GRCH 'PR' Southern Flame Bad News Bandit (Bandit)
2010 National Grand Champion Bluetick
2013 AO Bluetick Stud Dog winner

CCH GCH 'PR' Southern Flame Elvira - the one that started it all

southernflamekennel@earthlink.net

RIP Southern Flame Elvira (the cornerstone of the kennel) 5/16/02-1/17/14

RIP Southern Flame Scarlet (the lone Redbone) 5/11/01-7/19/13

RIP Southern Flame Wild Irish Rose (Rosie) 6/15/09 - 3/12/15

RIP Southern Flame Too Hot to Trot (Bonnie) 3/27/07 - 4/20/15

RIP Southern Flame Bad News Bandit (Bandit)

RIP Southern Flame Triple Trouble (TT) 12/17/04 - 11/19/16

RIP Southern Flame Blame it on the Rain (Rain)

RIP AdeleMay's a Smokey Bandit (Adele)

RIP Southern Flame I Like Ike (Ike)

RIP Bella the Beagle

Bear, Jerry Lee, Camo, Maybellene, Lacy, Thor, Sissy, Merle, Tina, Bridgette - the Blueticks, Hollie - the Aussie

Columbia and Richland County. Has to be South Carolina. I hope the owners can bring civil action directly on the individual employees. I hope they get fired as a minimum. I wish the legislature would repeal the laws that give them that unconstitutional authority. Those people need to go through a phsyco logical evaluation before the are hired.

dog

thats the trouble now days these dog wardens and animal rights people do what they want and get away with it as far as the niebors that caused this to happen they would be having alot of bad bad days and the warden that said that would have got hurt bad right there in the court house i have no use for people like that im a old country boy i dont get mad i get even 1 way or another jmo

The animal cops say there is a law that they do not have to divulge a third party who made the complaint even when it is a frivolous complaint and I think they are Lieing.

dogs stolen

the best and only thing to do is keep some one watching the place at all times when they break in shoot them where they stand simple wont steal no more

This is definitely Columbia, SC. Much too close for comfort to me since my parents live in neighboring Lexington county. I'm glad they're still a rural area.

I hate this for these folks if the whole situation was truly innocent on their part. I know I wouldn't have a very rational response if something like this happened to me.

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quote:

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Originally posted by l.lyle
Columbia and Richland County. Has to be South Carolina. I hope the owners can bring civil action directly on the individual employees. I hope they get fired as a minimum. I wish the legislature would repeal the laws that give them that unconstitutional authority. Those people need to go through a phsyco logical evaluation before the are hired.

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The only interesting tree hound is an accurate tree hound.

Re: dogs stolen

quote:

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Originally posted by hillbilly56
the best and only thing to do is keep some one watching the place at all times when they break in shoot them where they stand simple wont steal no more

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North Country Plotts

shouldnt the unlawful search and seizure come into play here as well?

__________________
2012 National Grand Show Champion, World Show Bluetick Female CCH GRCH 'PR' Southern Flame Blame it on the Rain (Rain)
2012 Purina Show Bluetick Breed Winner GRCH 'PR' Southern Flame Grt Balls o' Fire (Jerry Lee)
2013 World Champion Bluetick, 2013 AO Overall Bred By winner GRCH 'PR' Sexy and I know It (breeder)
2015 AO Overall Dual Champion NTCH GRCH 'PR' Sexy and I know It (breeder/owner/handler)
2016 Grand American Overall Dual Ch, Overall Show CHampion NTCH GRCH 'PR' Sexy and I know It

AKC CSG, UKC CCH GRCH 'PR' Southern Flame Bad News Bandit (Bandit)
2010 National Grand Champion Bluetick
2013 AO Bluetick Stud Dog winner

CCH GCH 'PR' Southern Flame Elvira - the one that started it all

southernflamekennel@earthlink.net

RIP Southern Flame Elvira (the cornerstone of the kennel) 5/16/02-1/17/14

RIP Southern Flame Scarlet (the lone Redbone) 5/11/01-7/19/13

RIP Southern Flame Wild Irish Rose (Rosie) 6/15/09 - 3/12/15

RIP Southern Flame Too Hot to Trot (Bonnie) 3/27/07 - 4/20/15

RIP Southern Flame Bad News Bandit (Bandit)

RIP Southern Flame Triple Trouble (TT) 12/17/04 - 11/19/16

RIP Southern Flame Blame it on the Rain (Rain)

RIP AdeleMay's a Smokey Bandit (Adele)

RIP Southern Flame I Like Ike (Ike)

RIP Bella the Beagle

Bear, Jerry Lee, Camo, Maybellene, Lacy, Thor, Sissy, Merle, Tina, Bridgette - the Blueticks, Hollie - the Aussie

Folks I have owned pits and a lot of other breeds in the 40 years I have been training dogs for differant things. Pits don't fight any easier than any other breed BUT once they engage they have the instinct to fight to the death. Just like our hounds have the instinct to hunt. Now that being said I think pits should be kept were they can't get out. They can easly go over a 4 ft. fence. Let a kid tease one threw a fence. Better yet let your kid tease one threw a fence.
I know the kid shouldn't do it but fact is they do on there way home from school all the time. I hate to see a dog taken but if a person loves there dog they should keep them so they can't get to kids and kids can't get to them.
Think of it this way. If it was a loaded gun in the fence you know it cant jump out but would you want your child playing in the yard next door unatinded?

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I breed pit bulls have 15 right now and I have down sized keep them in a fence in a kennel or on a chain for their own safty if some one came and took one from my yard they would prob get shot If they were worried about someone getting bit a kid would be way more likely to get bit by one of those chihauha dogs even though I can t spell their name they are more aggressive than a pit ever dreamed of being
With that being said anyone that has delt with pits would prob. know when they do bite they do way more damage but if they are on their own property then they should be left alone If I want to keep a loaded gun in my house car or on my lawn that's my buisness

quote:

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Originally posted by buffaloriver
I breed pit bulls have 15 right now and I have down sized keep them in a fence in a kennel or on a chain for their own safty if some one came and took one from my yard they would prob get shot If they were worried about someone getting bit a kid would be way more likely to get bit by one of those chihauha dogs even though I can t spell their name they are more aggressive than a pit ever dreamed of being
With that being said anyone that has delt with pits would prob. know when they do bite they do way more damage but if they are on their own property then they should be left alone If I want to keep a loaded gun in my house car or on my lawn that's my buisness

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__________________
UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL
Grady Jarvis
808 N. Main St.
Tonkawa Okla. 74653
580-628-0507
CH 'PR' Grady's Dark Woods Waylon -Bluetic

NITECH 'PR' Grady's Insane Tinker Bell (Tink) - Treeing walker --Okla. State Hunt open redg. winner

'PR' Grady's Barley - Treeing Walker

I would agree if there was any past incidence of the dog getting out of the fence but basically what happened here is neighbor complained the dog was barking the ppl went to investigate said the dog was dangerous took said dog from it's own yard left the ankle biters
if it were an 800 lb horse in the yard that could trample bite kick a kid and yes jump a 4 ft fence if it wanted to it would have been left alone this is a clear case of breaking and entering and theft of property and if ppl allow it to continue u will not have any property rights left
the goverment will be able to come and go and take as they please this could def be your dog next
What if they drove up in your drive way and seen your keys were left in your vehicle and said well this is dangerous a little child could come along and go for a joy ride wreck the vehicle and kill ppl we will have to impound it until you go to court pay your fines to get it back
Or say you are mowing your lawn and get off your mower to go in for a drink of water and here comes the police cause your neighbor called and complained about the noise they decide your mower could be a danger with that sharp blade and a child might come along and engage it and get ran over so they drive away with it
The list goes on and on

quote:

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Originally posted by l.lyle
The animal cops say there is a law that they do not have to divulge a third party who made the complaint even when it is a frivolous complaint and I think they are Lieing.

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quote:

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Originally posted by MTCoonHunter
If the other party pleads not guilty to the charges, then the 3rd party's name may be divulged. If the other party pleads guilty and agrees to pay the fines w/o legal action, then the 3rd party's name is NOT divulged.

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mess wid my dogs.....they die, plain and simple