by Matt Hughes
J-E News Editor
Once again allegations of animal neglect at the Webster County Animal Shelter are circulating around the county. The last time, in March of 2010, the rumors came via an anonymous video shot inside the dog pound itself. This time the source is a local animal rescue.
“I have contacted Sheriff Frankie Springfield and the state police regarding an issue that occurred a couple of weeks ago,” said Jessica Graham, the director of Molly’s Mutts Animal Rescue.
Molly’s Mutts stated that they rescue animals from the Webster County Animal Shelter and other shelters in the surrounding area before the animals are euthanized.
Graham says that several weeks ago a photo began to circulate on Facebook showing seven dogs that had been found in an area just outside of Providence.
Two local residents went to the area where the dogs had been reported. Upon arrival they found that two dogs were already dead and the remainder were lethargic and hungry. “They loaded up all the dogs and brought them to the rescue.”
According to Graham, while she was examining the dogs she realized that she recognized them.
“They had all been housed in the local animal shelter and were previously either surrendered to the pound or picked up by our dog warden, Derrick Parrish,” Graham alleges.
From that point Graham said the shelter attempted to contact the acting dog warden, without success, so they reached out to Sheriff Springfield.
Graham claims that after a representative of the shelter spoke with the sheriff, Parrish called back.
“He explained that his padlock had been cut on Friday night and he noticed dogs missing,” she said. “We asked him if he had called the authorities because this is the county shelter on county property, and he stated that he had not reported it.”
Derrick Parrish, however, said that the break-in was in fact reported and is currently being investigated by the Webster County Sheriffs Department. Sheriff Frankie Springfield was in court and unable to confirm.
The area where the dogs were reportedly located is some eight miles from the pound, making it seem unlikely that the dogs, which included a 70 pound Pit Bull and a 22 pound Yorkie, would have traveled that distance as a pack on foot. Graham also claimed that the dog warden admitted that at least eleven dogs were housed in the same pen.
“Those pens wouldn’t fit eleven dogs,” said Parrish. “I’ve put eight or nine puppies into one pen before, but not eleven. The puppies are small and don’t take up as much space.”
Graham said the Yorkie was one the rescue was very familiar with.
“I had seen it on many occasions. It was very adoptable and I had asked the dog warden for it many times,” Graham said. “I was told that his owners were coming back to get it and it was not released to go to another rescue.”
Graham said that after advertising the Yorkie on Facebook and PetFinder, the rescue received a call from Cindy Parrish, an aunt of the acting dog warden.
According to Graham, the woman said that “she gave her nephew her dog, Benji.” The animal had been suffering from seizures and neurological episodes and it’s owner wanted to have it euthanized.
Graham says that Derrick Parrish claims to have had the dog put to sleep the same day that his aunt brought it in. When she told him that the vet had no record of that, he changed his story, claiming that the dog had died.
Parrish, however, said that this is not the case.
“My aunt doesn’t have a Yorkie, her dog is a rust-colored Dachshund.”
Graham reports that on another occasion she arrived at the pound to find a female giving birth in the pen with five male dogs.
“We give up reporting him to the police,” said Graham. “We are getting no where. We want the word out about the pitiful shape and horrid conditions at our county pound.”
“This whole situation has been blown out of proportion,” Parrish said. “It’s already been all over Facebook. There is only so much I can do when the pound gets broken into.
Judge Executive Jim Townsend said on Tuesday morning that he was unaware of the allegations against Derrick Parrish and the animal shelter. He seemed doubtful.
“How would they know the animals were from the Webster County shelter?” he aksed. “Molly’s Mutts doesn’t help out much. I don’t know where they get their dogs from, but they don’t get many of them from us.”
Townsend went on to report that he was aware of Molly’s Mutts and claims that many of the animals they rescue were running loose.
“I know that one of them even attacked a boy,” he said. “Some of them were also going over to the city park and scaring people.”
Townsend did say that he was aware of the break-in.
“We have a lot of trouble with people just going down to the pound,” he said. “The street light in front of the pound was broken out and the door was broken open. It’s possible that someone stole the dogs and dumped them, but the idea that Derrick would dump them doesn’t make sense. He just had to go pick them back up again.”
The facts in the matter are unclear at this time, but Molly’s Mutts Animal Rescue said that they do not intend to let this go until their is an investigation.
No comments:
Post a Comment