spencerdog

To: [email protected]
Subject: Badly abused puppy

Last December, Thomas E. Spencer's girlfriend called police and told them that he had been beating their four-month-old puppy all day. When police arrived at the Georgia home of the 54-year-old Spencer, they heard a dog squealing in pain. Upon entering Spencer's bedroom, they found him kneeling on the bed, with the puppy's head propped tightly between his knees. He punched the dog repeatedly in the head with his closed fists in
front of police; the dog's eyes were swollen shut and bleeding. The puppy's blood covered Spencer's pajamas and the bed. Police charged Spencer with only an ordinance violation and took the puppy to the vet. Unbelievably, they then returned the dog to Spencer's home.

I request that this dog be removed immediately from Spencer's home and that felony cruelty charges be aggressively continued. This excuse for a person needs to go to jail. Do not allow psychological testing to be a barrier to his prosecution. He should also be forced to pay any and all medical charges for the care of this puppy and failure to pay should be considered contempt of court.

Please give this your immediate attention. Thank you.

Lynn Walker

Beaten Dog Case Helps Define State Law
Reported by: Jennifer Leslie

District attorney Paul Howard says he may remove a 54-year-old man from his home because of how he treated a previous household pet.

Alpharetta police arrested Thomas Spencer in December for wedging a puppy's head between his knees and beating the dog's face. Alpharetta policeman Chris Lagerbloom said Spencer's girlfriend called 911 to get help for herself and the animal.

The police arrested Spencer and charged him with making terroristic threats and felony animal cruelty.

The German Shepherd puppy received treatment.

Spencer returned home to his girlfriend who then asked police to return the dog.

"It was her dog," Lagerbloom said. "It was her house, and she was the one who called us the first time to come there. Based on that information, we felt it reasonable at that time that she was competent to provide safety and welfare to the animal."

Veterinarian Michael Good disagrees.

"A person like that should not have an animal under their care until they show they've received therapy and understand what they're doing is wrong," Good told 11Alive Investigative Reporter Jennifer Leslie.

Now Spencer and his girlfriend claim someone stole the puppy.

Neighbors say there's a different dog at the residence, and D.A. Howard says new state animal cruelty laws don't give his office the authority to remove the new pet from the home.

"New Georgia provisions doesn't address dogs not involved and animals that we can't show are harmed in any way," Howard said.

He says instead his office may take Spencer away from the animal and send him to jail on parole violation charges. Spencer's girlfriend called the police again recently. As a result, Spencer was charged with simple battery.

Howard said the incident with Spencer may help other animals in the county.

The Fulton County DA said he's in the process of drawing up guidelines for future animal abuse cases. Those guidelines will recommend that a judge remove and impound abused animals.

Neither Spencer nor his attorney would respond to Leslie's questions concerning this story.

To: [email protected]
Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2001 9:46 AM
Subject: Thomas Spencer, animal abuser, Indictment No.: 01SC06390

I have heard that the District Attorney Paul Howard is in the process of drawing up guidelines for future animal abuse cases which will recommend that a judge remove and impound abused animals. This is a wise step and I would like to add please make the request that ALL animals residing in the household of the abuser be removed immediately when charges are instituted.

This action particularly is necessary in the Spencer case, since another dog is in the home and cannot be removed because this isn't the victim of the abuse, but this dog is still in mortal danger and there is no proof that the abused dog in Indictment No. 01SC06390 wasn't murdered and not stolen, as alleged by Spencer, I believe this request in neither extreme nor inappropriate.

I ask that anyone reading this email please assist Atty. Howard in his efforts to get this important milestone accomplished. Thank you.

Sincerely,

The District Attorney's office has been overwhelmed with calls regarding this case and is taking it very seriously. The following letter shows that they are committed to seeking justice for the dog involved. At this point it is not necessary to call the District Attorney's office regarding this issue. Although they do welcome your comments via mail.

To follow is a letter from the Fulton County District Attorney's Office:

To Whom It May Concern:

The District Attorney's Office has received dozens of telephone calls in recent days regarding the animal cruelty case against Thomas Spencer as the result of an e-mail sent to your members. While I appreciate everyone's concern for the dog in question and their desire to see this crime appropriately punished, the volume of calls and the time required to address them has become overwhelming. If members wish to express their feelings about the case in future, they may, of course, do so. However, I would respectfully request that these communications be done in writing so that our response may be more easily managed. We received nearly 400 letters and cards prior to indicting this case and made it a point to answer each of those letters. We will be happy to do the same for your members--either individually or as a group. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

The status of the case is as follows. Following his arrest on 12/31/00, Spencer bonded out of jail. Following treatment, the dog was released to Spencer's girlfriend (who owns the home where they both live, claims ownership of the dog, and called 911 to report the abuse). The dog was NOT released to Spencer himself.

The District Attorney's Office received the case through the routine "bind-over" process some weeks later. The case was indicted under Georgia's new felony animal cruelty statute in May and is proceeding through the regular steps by which all cases are disposed in Fulton Superior Court.

Spencer has a court date on 08/30/01. However, it is unlikely this case will be disposed on that date as this is merely a "case management calendar" date and NOT a formal plea & arraignment calendar date.

As to the removal of the dog from the home, this Office is currently working on this issue and determining what legal steps and procedures are required in order to accomplish this. I will update you when action is taken in this area. It is our intention to move as quickly as is possible, however I cannot at this time give any specific timeline.

Please be assured that, contrary to what some people seem to have understood, this case has not "fallen through the cracks" nor is it being overlooked or taken lightly. The District Attorney has assigned one of our most senior attorneys to this case, and we are keeping close track of its progress. I hope that this information is helpful to you. Again, any comments are welcome. We only ask that they come in written form so that
they may be answered and addressed in the most efficient manner possible. Thank you.

Best regards,

Erik Friedly, Director of Public Affairs
Office of the Fulton County District Attorney
136 Pryor Street, SW
3rd floor
Atlanta, GA 30303