poison

In early spring of 2001, in Haleyville, Alabama, Kathy West Barnes went out to her hay shed and found her Chow mix dead due to poisoning. Two years ago, she lost 8 dogs to poisoning. Apparently, these poisonings have begun again.

On April 7, 2001, Wanda King and her then 10-year-old daughter, Cassie, came home to find Sassy, their Boston Terrier, at the door, jerking from seizures and with foam coming out of her mouth after having been outside and then let back in by a relative.

They rushed Sassy to their veterinarian, but Sassy died enroute.

At least 6 other residents of Ellenburg Drive have also been victims of pet poisonings.

Wanda�s daughter, Cassie, said of her puppy, Sassy, "I was sad and I was scared. We had her five years. I can�t stand it. I don�t know why that was done to such a sweet little dog."

How do you explain something like this to a 10-year-old, when we, as adults, don�t even understand it? Can you imagine having to explain something like that to your child and having to try and comfort her?

According to the veterinarians who examined both dogs and several of the other dogs in the subdivision, the dogs all showed the classic symptoms of insecticide poisoning, in particular, Fonofos. The symptoms of this poison include vomiting, diarrhea, drooling or foaming, twitching, weakness and difficulty breathing. An animal who ingests this poison usually goes through a painful death.

Fonofos is so toxic that it has been banned by the EPA.

Apparently, this is another case in Winston County, Alabama, that the officials are doing nothing about. According to sources, the police haven�t even questioned the person who committed these crimes, even though the person admitted to one of the subdivision residents that he poisoned the animals.

The residents of the subdivision are putting up a $500 reward for anyone who has any information leading to an arrest or conviction. Those who have information or may have witnessed any of these crimes, please call one of the following phone numbers of some of the residents:

205-486-3016
205-486-8338
205-486-5693

We definitely need to move on this one. Please write your letters to the following officials and demand that they perform a thorough investigation. Insist that they DO something about this individual who is free to come and go and poison animals at whim.

The Honorable Bill Pryor
Attorney General of Alabama
Office of the Attorney Genera
11 S. Union St., Montgomery, AL 36130
Phone:(334) 242-7300 (ask for the Executive Division)
Fax: (334) 242-4891
http://www.ago.state.al.us

Please also cc your letters to Alabama's governor:
The Honorable Don Siegelman
State Capitol, Room N104
600 Dexter Ave., Montgomery, AL 36130
Phone: (334) 242-7100
Fax: (334) 242-0937
http://www.governor.state.al.us

Alvis E. Tidwell
Winston County District Attorney
Post Office Box 1596
Hamilton, Alabama 35570-1596
Phone: 205-921-7403
Fax: 205-921-4443

Larry Albright
Mayor
City Hall
1901 11th Avenue
Haleyville, Alabama 35565
Phone: 205-486-5201
Fax: 205-486-5775

Kyle Reogas
Chief of Police
Haleyville Police Department
1901 11th Avenue
Haleyville, Alabama 35565
Phone: 205-486-5201
Fax: 205-486-5775

Chad Fell
The Northwest Alabamian
Highway 195E East
Haleyville, Al 35565
Phone: 205-486-9461
Fax: 205-486-4849
Email: [email protected]

August 28, 2001

Dear (Mr. Shapiro or Ms. Walters):

I am writing you to make you aware of a situation that I believe warrants media attention. In Winston County, Alabama, there have been 3 cases of animal cruelty/torture/killings in the past 12 months (these are the only 3 that I am aware of). This seems to be a trend in Winston County, Alabama.

In Delmar, Alabama, on August 29, 2000, William Robinson became angry because the family dog was rummaging through the garbage. Robinson retrieved a gun and shot the dog twice. After seeing that that the puppy was still alive, Robinson picked up the puppy and dumped the suffering dog on a pile of trash, doused him with a flammable substance and set him on fire. According to neighbors, the puppy was screaming as the flames were engulfing his body, and then finally, the puppy inhaled flames into his lungs and died. The puppy�s screams of pain and agony were heard by neighbors, but the neighbors were unable to get to him. And, if that isn�t horrible enough, Robinson�s children were witnesses to this violent and cruel crime.

The Attorney General's office presented the case before a Jury for felony indictment on May 1, 2001; however, the jurors were unable to reach the unanimous agreement required to indict. This decision bodes ill for any other animals or people who will encounter Mr. Robinson in the future (including the new dog that Mr. Robinson is reported to have acquired).

Responding to many calls and letters he has received about this case, Alabama Attorney General, Bill Pryor has said publicly in a press release that he would consider re-submitting the case if presented with new evidence. However, according to Alabama law, new evidence is not necessary to pursue the case against Robinson. Alabama recently passed a law, which went into effect August 1, 2000, that upgrades the penalty for intentionally torturing a dog or cat from a misdemeanor to a Class C felony, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. This law came into effect approximately one month before Robinson allegedly committed this crime against his dog.

Consider this: What message did the outcome of this case send to the people of Winston County and the state of Alabama? Apparently, that animal cruelty is no big deal in the State of Alabama.

The second case that I�m aware of occurred over the Memorial Day weekend of this year in Double Springs, Alabama; again in Winston County. The Ward family woke up that weekend and found that their barn had been burned down and that their pet Australian Shepherd, Waldo, was missing. When the debris and rubble from the fire were being cleaned up on June 23, 2001, Waldo was discovered in the burned-down barn with a machete in his neck, his snout cut off and his jawbone removed. Waldo�s leg bone was dismembered from his body as well. The Ward family owned two machetes, but two were found lying near Waldo�s body, and one was found in Waldo�s neck., which makes a total of three.

Though they have suspects in this case, no one has been arrested.

The third instance of pet killings occurred this past spring. Eight residents of Ellenburg Drive in Haleyville, Alabama, Winston County, were victims of pet poisonings. Approximately 10 dogs were poisoned and, according to the veterinarians who examined several dogs in the subdivision, the dogs all showed the classic symptoms of insecticide poisoning, in particular, Temik, which is a poison that is so toxic that it has been banned by the EPA.

Apparently, this is another case in Winston County, Alabama, that the officials are doing nothing about. According to one of the subdivision residents that I have personally spoken with, the police haven�t even questioned the person who committed these crimes, even though the person admitted to one of the subdivision residents that he poisoned the animals.

Since the Will Robinson case was never resolved, I, along with many other people, believe that that is the reason that these other two cases are not being taken seriously and that that is why they are moving along so slowly. Why have a new law if it isn�t going to be enforced? If the Will Robinson case were to be prosecuted, then the other cases and any future cases would be resolved in a more expeditious manner. Also, a fair and just resolution to the Robinson case would make future potential animal abusers/killers think twice before they commit this type of crime.

People are not happy about this repeated animal cruelty trend. They are not sitting idly but are working very hard to see that Will Robinson and the perpetrators of these other two crimes are held accountable for their actions. They are angry and will not tolerate animal abuse. I have enclosed with this letter three petitions�one for each case�along with the signatures. If you�ll take a look at these signatures, you�ll see that people from all over the country have signed them; not just people who live in Alabama.

I have also enclosed correspondences from the Humane Society of the United States to the officials of Alabama, as well as a couple of press releases publicized by the HSUS. They have been working vigorously to try to get the Will Robinson case prosecuted.

If you have any questions or need additional information, I can be reached at the following phone numbers and/or email address:

XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
[email protected]

You can also read more about these cases on my anti-cruelty website, www.ptinnocents.org.

I hope that you will consider publicizing this story. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jamie J. Knight
Address: XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX