Washington Humane Society HLE Division

I have been late this week getting my blog out because is has been a intense week for me.  On Monday our Humane Law Enforcement Division served two unrelated search warrants in one day.  That was a first for me since starting here at WHS.  One of the warrants relates to an ongoing investigation so I cannot give details at this time.  The incident which led up to the second warrant began Sunday afternoon when Senior Humane Officer Schindler received a call about a man beating a dog.  When Officer Schindler arrived at the address the man and the dog were no longer outside but witnesses described a horrible scene of a man beating his dog with a brick.  Officer Schindler accompanied by MPD went to the house and spoke with a man there who claimed the dog was gone and refused to let them in the house.  Officer Schindler was reluctant to leave and stayed outside the house after MPD left.  He called me at this point and we discussed our options.  I explained that I thought there was some procedure for getting an emergency search warrant but did not know what it was.  Officer Schindler then called another MPD Officer who gave him a number to call.  Because we did not know how badly injured the dog was (witnesses had reported the dog being struck repeatedly in the face with the brick) we did not want to wait until the next day.  While trying to track down the procedures for an emergency search warrant Officer Schindler saw the man leave the house with a large cart covered with clothes.  Afraid that the dog might have died and the man may have been trying to dispose of the body Officer Schindler followed the man.  Eventually he found some MPD Officers but at this point the man had disappeared.  Officer Schindler returned to the house and again called me.  As we were having no luck getting an emergency search warrant we were weighing our options when the man came back to the house and went back inside.  Officer Schindler called an Animal Control Officer for assistance and when he arrived they both went to the door.  The man opened the door but again refused to let them in leaving the iron gate locked.  The man denied that there were dogs at the house yet the Officers could hear dogs barking.  Finally the man said he would check and went upstairs.  At this point Officer Schindler got a glimpse of a dog looking at him.  When the man came back downstairs Officer Schindler asked to see the dog.  As soon as the man approached the dog the dog dropped to the floor cowering.  The man dragged her over and Officer Schindler could see immediately that she was very underweight but also that she did not match the description of the dog who was beaten.  As the man would not let the Officers in and lacking a warrant they had no choice but to leave.  After Officer Schindler called me once again we decided the only course was to type up a warrant to serve the next day.  I typed the warrant up that night not finishing until well after midnight.  I also kept Officer Schindler up calling to ask him again and again to explain exactly what the man said or the witness claimed to have seen.  We met early Monday morning and took that warrant along with the second warrant to the courthouse.  In the meantime, Officer Schindler also had to do the paperwork for the arrest of a man who had a warrant out for animal cruelty.  WHS had obtained the arrest warrant after impounding three emaciated puppies from the man.  The man had been arrested by MPD on Friday after they found over 100 grams of cocaine on him.  While he was being processed police discovered a second birth date which led them to the outstanding warrant for animal cruelty.  As the man’s arrest was already being processed police had to wait for him to be released before arresting him on the Cruelty to Animals warrant.  While Officer Schindler did the paperwork I went to get the search warrants signed.  Both the assistant US Attorney and the judge cringed at the witnesses’ descriptions of the dog beating.  When everything was finally finished at the courthouse Officer Schindler and I drove immediately to the house where the beating occurred.  MPD showed up quickly and we went to the door.  There was a different man home mow who opened the door and since we were armed with a warrant he let us in.  The house turned out to be a maze of rooms with a variety of animals in it.  All told there were four dogs and one little kitten at the house.  Two of the dogs appeared to be kept chained at the top of the steps.  According to the man, who gave varying accounts of what had occurred and who had beaten the dog, one of the chained dogs was the victim of the beating.  The man released the dog from the chain and the dog immediately lunged at Officer Schindler.  Unfortunately his life of being kept chained, beaten and intimidated had left him a very aggressive and unpredictable dog.  But still a dog in need of help.  We quickly impounded all the dogs and the kitten.  The very underweight dog and the beaten dog went to the vet.  The dog who suffered the beating miraculously appears to have survived his ordeal without any major or life threatening injuries.  But plenty of scrapes and bruises.  The case is still under investigation and WHS hopes to identify the person responsible for beating the dog so he can be brought to justice. 

             It was a long and busy day and neither Officer Schindler nor I got home until close to 10PM.  But it was also a satisfying day and one that reminds me of how crucial WHS’ mission to protect animals in the District of Columbia from harm is and how hard we work to fulfill that mission every day.  And not just our Humane Law Enforcement Division.  Everyone at WHS works to ensure that more animals do not have to suffer the fate of the dog beaten with the brick--from our Humane Education department who teach kids about empathy and compassion to our shelter staff who keep animals off the streets to our dedicated administrative staff to those at our spay and neuter clinic who help to make sure there are no more unwanted animals born.  But foremost it is our supporters who make it possible for us to do this work everyday.  Whether you provide financial assistance to shelters, donate supplies, volunteer your time, speak out for animals in need—you make a difference for animals in the District of Columbia.