Lincoln County, Montana, Pound
At the time she resigned she additionally filed cruelty reports with the Humane Society and Flathead Animal Control of Kalispell, MT. When asked why she did not file a report with Lincoln County Health Dept, which administers the pound, she stated that she felt they condoned pet mistreatment and negligent operations as well. When John Peterson, overseer, came to the facility he would laughingly joke at their cruel antics.
There have been other people, Charlene Garrison of Troy for one, who testifies that when she adopted a dog from the pound a couple of years ago that the dog was drenched in a chlorine solution. She filed a report at that time with Lincoln County and threatened them to stop the practise or she would report them to the H.S. (she also wrote Senators) She feels that her young dog's eyesight was ruined because of the chlorine. Angie said that she was instructed to slosh undiluted bleach onto the floor of the holding pen, while the pet was in it, and then hose it out. She believes that some pets died from chlorine, rather than Parvo as was claimed. She saw pets with bloodied feet and attributed it to this sorry practise.
Seldom were pets kept the 72 hour waiting period before they were killed, many never made it back to the pound but were killed on patrol. Many pets just disappeared! Frank Hendrickson and Dyle Williams, pound director and assistant, admitted that they are afraid of dogs and were brutal in constraining measures. A Rottweiler came in that was profusedly bleeding from a severe snare and it appeared that other animals that had been picked up had been beaten.
She saw Dyle kicking a dog that didn't want to move. At the time she worked there they were doing their own euthanizing and often they failed to immediately kill the animal. When a euthanized cat that didn't die was removed from a cage it scratched Dyle so he kicked it around the room until it died. She saw animals that were still moving in amongst loads of euthanized pets headed for the dumping ground. A county landfill operator has attested to this fact, that some were dumped still somewhat alive. A poor old man brought in an older dog to be euthanized, thinking it would be humane, and it took the old dog 5 hours to die. She saw a Pomeranian that had been euthanized, injected between the ribs, that "screamed" and struggled for 4 hours before it died. It was hunched up and trying to tear it's own stomach out. She says they killed every day, especially big old tom cats and puppies. The puppies would all be killed save maybe one or two and they would all be together in a cage, the live ones crawling over the dead ones. Frank jokingly referred to his kill operation as a "processing plant."
She tells of one particular incident in which she begged Frank to keep three healthy puppies indoors because of the extreme cold at the time and he threatened her that if she didn't put them in outside cages they would be euthanized. So she did and they all died, one mysteriously frozen in a pool of blood. The back door of the facility was kept shut so that no heat was able to penetrate to the outer pens. When water was put out for them it immediately froze. She saw a pet's pee freeze immediately as it hit the bare concrete floor. Many will testify that the pets never had even a rag to sit on in their pens, although tons had been donated.
She was told their policy was to feed once a day and if she fed more she would get in trouble because of the extra messes. The pet's dishes, loose bowls, would often spill onto the chlorinated floor. She suspected they weren't feeding on Sundays and arranged the food scoop in such a way that she could tell they hadn't.
She says there were deceptive office practices. She would be instructed to tell someone their pet had been placed when it had actually been killed or wasn't there, but it was. She noticed that pets would be killed before being admitted to the facility so she tried to speed up the admittance recording forms, in the hopes that it would give the pets the 72 hour waiting period if it were on record, but they just kept disappearing. She began cross-checking the euthanasia records with her own records and discovered big discrepancies.
She says that they would deliberately pick up pets that they were sure the owner would ransome out, that they would open gates to let them out and even unleashed some. Her friend saw this take place.
At the time she quit she warned them that if they didn't shape up, and use a list of Humane Society suggestions, that she would report them again. This past spring she saw an account in a local newspaper of pets still being hosed in their cages, by a Linda Andreassen, and so she called Kootenai Pets for Life and reported these stories.
We subsequently took her story to the County Commissioners, they refused an investigation, and instead chose to bar our volunteers from the county pound
Our newly formed pet rescue group, "Kootenai Pets for Life," has twice requested the commissioners investigate claims of cruelty by their pound staff, but they have ignored 250 volunteer members and instead barred the group from the pet holding facility. At least five accounts of heinous cruelty have been reported, one from a former employee, in which pets were not fed, kicked to death, frozen to death, and apparently beaten to death.
The request for an investigation of these claims to the county, has
created a volatile situation; pound staff is now hostile towards even the mention of the Kooteani organization. A few weeks ago, two volunteer members attempted to enter the animal control pound to take advertising photos for adoptive placements at www.montanapets.org, but the animal control officer bellowed "there will be no photos taken ever!" in an enraged voice and menacingly followed them to their car (with a screw driver in his hand). This was reported to Lincoln County Health Department, but they totally ignored the situation.
This week the Anti-Cruelty Division of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a national organization of attorneys who specialize in the protection of animals and work to ensure the enforcement of exisiting animal protection laws, has written to the county requesting an investigation into claims of pet cruelty.
Kootaeni Pets for Life has adoptively placed 75 pets in four months' time (the county placed only a few, one-percent in ALL of last year).
Kootaeni Pets for Life also:
funded the medical costs and spay and neutering for most of those pets they placed;
donated 1,000# of pet food to the needy and to the two animal pounds (Troy and Libby);
purchased fiberglas pallets for the outside pens, steel bowls and hangers for both facilities.
Dr. Doug Griffiths, DVM, a board member, can attest to these facts. (406-293-7410)
Please call Lincoln County commissioners in Libby, Montana at 406-293-7781, ext 207, or email them at the email address below, and/or contact state officials and ask them to intervene.
These pets hover in extreme weather conditions on frozen concrete, often not fed on the weekends, waiting for a lethal needle. Animal control has been quoted as saying that they don't feed the ones they're going to kill, which would be 99% according to their statistics.
It appears that an entire county of thousands of people is under the dictation of only three people-the commissioners. I have
written to the Governor, the Attorney General (and the Senators, but no reply yet) and they in return say nicely that it's entirely up to the
commissioners.
Please contact the following to demand that humane treatment is afforded to these animals.
LINCOLN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
[email protected]
RITA R. WINDOM, Commissioner
DISTRICT NO.1, LIBBY
JOHN C. KONZEN, Commissioner
DISTRICT NO.2, TROY
MARIANNE B. ROOSE, Commissioner
DISTRICT NO.3, EUREKA
JOHN PETERSON, Sanitarian, Lincoln County, Montana
(He is the supervisor of Animal Control in Libby, Montana)
EMail Address: [email protected]
Another contact: Montana State Representative, Libby
Eileen Carney, State Representative
P.O. Box 1193
Libby, MT 59923
mailto: [email protected]
Phone: 406 293-6407
Another (Humane Organization - friendly) Contact:
HSUS, Billings, Montana
490 N. 31st St. Suite 215
Billings, MT 59101
contact Dave or Sylvia to ask that HSUS investigate further at 406-255-7161or email to [email protected].
Newspaper contacts are:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Ruth Bushnell
EMail: [email protected]
Phone: 406-295-5050
(Board Member of Kootenai Pets for Life)
What horrors have been presented about the conditions at the Lincoln County Pound and the heinous treatment of the 'prisoners' of this death camp has sickened the world wide internet community of companion animal lovers.
There is no justification, legally or morally which would permit such abuses and violence to innocent animals. Because of the human hand they are in such a place and by the human hand they are further mistreated, tortured and killed. This cannot be tolerated in our society, or your community.
I hope you would want to stop this immediately, terminate all involved and prosecute each one for cruelty to animals. Surely your State and community have laws against such unacceptable violence. People who are paid to care for animals cannot be allowed to perpetrate such disgusting actions.
Thank you for your time and please investigate this cruel situation.
Sincerely,
-Your name-
Lynn Walker
PTI Writer
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