“The Park County Sheriff’s Office has seized about 100 starving and neglected sled dogs after finding eight other dogs dead.”
- MSNBC Colorado 9News
Photo Credit: Lewis Geyer
About 100 starving sled dogs have been seized from a racing business in Colorado.
Colorado’s state veterinarian says an anonymous tip led authorities to Pawsatrack Racing Sled Dogs in the Park County town of Hartsel, about 70 miles southwest of Denver. The facility is owned by Sam and Diane Walker of Florissant.
Authorities say they found six dead husky-type dogs and seized 30 starving dogs immediately. On Thursday, animal protection authorities took the remaining 70 dogs and placed them in shelters around Colorado.
“Some are a little thin, but aside from that, no major concerns noted at this point,” said Dr. Jeff Fankhauer, a veterinarian with the Denver Dumb Friends League.”
Court papers obtained by 11 News show Sam Walker received a state kennel license in 1998. Walker was found guilty of animal cruelty and violating animal ordinances in Teller County in 2003.
At that time, the Walkers kenneled more than 100 dogs at their home in Florissant.
The same year, they were ordered to reduce their number of dogs to 30, and agreed to remove them from their Teller county property.
Dr. Keith Roehr, the state vet, says the dogs were all crossbreeds of Alaskan descent used in sled racing.
Park County sheriff’s officials were investigating the dogs’ owners for possible animal neglect charges, but as of Thursday afternoon no one had been charged.
The dogs are now receiving medical care in state shelters, and may soon be available for a new owner.
“It could take a few weeks to a few months until some of the dogs are ready to be placed for adoption,” said Michelle Ray, a Denver Dumb Friends League spokesperson.
Here is the official release from the Park County Sheriff’s Office:
On Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at approximately 1:45pm Sergeant Bobbi Priestly of Park County Animal Control received a call from the United States Humane Society.
Sergeant Priestly was informed by the United States Humane Society that they had received an anonymous tip that a sled dog facility located near Hartsel, CO, had dogs that were dead and dying from apparent neglect and starvation.
Park County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control responded to 6000 Forest Service Road 108 where they discovered approximately 100 dogs in severely neglected and starving conditions.
During the early morning hours on Wednesday, December the 16th, 2009 Park County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Officers executed search warrants at the sled dog facility. Over 100 animals were found in extremely poor physical condition.
Dr. Kate Anderson with the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Protection scored the animals on the Hennekee Body Score System and determined several of the animals scored 1 or less on a scale of 1 to 9. Animal Control Officers and volunteers removed 30 dogs that were rated in the poorest condition and transported the animals to facilities in Colorado Springs, Buena Vista, Salida and Park County.
On December the 17th, 2009 Park County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Officers removed the remaining 70 animals and will be placing them in approved facilities throughout the state. Rescue operations are ongoing at this time.
Sam and Diane Walker who reside in Florissant, CO, and whom operated the sled dog facility, could be facing multiple counts of animal cruelty and neglect.
Anyone wishing to help can contact The Park County Animal Rescue at PO Box 604, Fairplay, CO 80440.
source: KKTV
!! VIDEO FOOTAGE !!
WARNING: Some footage is graphic and disturbing, viewer discretion is advised.
To view video footage from KKTV, CLICK HERE.
To view video footage from 9NEWS, CLICK HERE.
“Dr. Kate Anderson with the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Protection scored the animals on the Hennekee Body Score System and determined several of the animals scored 1 or less on a scale of 1 to 9.”
- KKTV News
HOW TO HELP
Donate to the organization which initiated the rescue:
Park County Animal Rescue
PO Box 604
Fairplay, CO 80440
Donate to the Leadville Animal Shelter, which has reportedly taken in 10 of these dogs:
Leadville Animal Shelter
800 Harrison Ave
Leadville, CO 80461
Donate to the Arkansas Valley Humane Society in Buena Vista, which reportedly took in 13 dogs. Visit their website to learn how you can donate where they need it most:
http://ark-valley.org/Page.aspx?PageID=1283
Donate to the Denver Dumb Friends League, which has reportedly taken in 24 of the dogs:
http://www.ddfl.org/news.htm#huskies
303-751-5772 or CLICK HERE to donate online.
Donate to the Longmont Humane Society, which has reportedly taken in a number of the dogs:
http://www.longmonthumane.org
303-772-1232 or CLICK HERE to donate online.
Donate to the Boulder Humane Society, which has reportedly taken in a number of the dogs:
http://www.boulderhumane.org
303-442-4030 or CLICK HERE to donate online.
What is amazing is the fact that the state vet said that they passed the state inspection and had ample shelter if properly feed. And then went on to say that there was plenty of food on the property.. So if everything was okay and taken care of , how do they explain the dead dogs and the 30 starving dogs, and please don;t say they hired someone who was supposed to be caring for the dogs, and they had no idea what was going on. It is the owners responsibilty to make sure the animals are properly taken care of , no excuses accepted.
This is aweful! This is why my rescue exists. These people were not willing to surrender thier sled dogs. they would rather starve them?? makes no sense. There is NO EXCUSE whatsoever for this or any animal neglect cases. NONE!
As a sled dog recuer I have seen this before however this is still totally nausiating! These people would rather starve thier dogs to death than surrender??? NO EXCUSE! NONE! no animal abuse/neglect is excuseable. there are always options.
I hope these two get the max sentencing that a judge can give them and I hope they rot in HELL.
Impressive webpage. My friends and I were just talking about this the other evening. Also your blog looks excellent on my old laptop. And thats rare. Nice work.
any idea where they went?
I'm looking to add a new member to the wolfpack..
Hello – just a short note to say kudos for this entry. Very educational.
I like the fact you are really developing this. Thanks for keeping us informed!
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I have just sent an email to the director of the PACFA and asked how she could explain why a convicted animal abuser was allowed to have even one dog? I agree with the poster "don't try to tell us someone was supposed to be feeding the animals" if these are animals for your business don't u have an interest in the well being of the animals? And what type of sled could these animals pull, they can barely stand up! Disgusting!!! There is no excuse for this type of thing and all of us that agree need to find some way of making the laws stricter so that this is punishable for someting other that a slap on the wrist and the next question is? there have been at two other charges over the years that were dropped against these vile people.