Fostering awareness

Harley, a two-pound Pomeranian, left, pants in the summer heat while Katie the horse stands nearby on Wednesday afternoon. Leah Mettler has rescued both animals, as well as many others. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

Fostering awareness

Local experts hope Vick case sheds light on animal cruelty

By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:33 AM PDT

Comments (19 comment(s))

Harley is a two-pound, teacup Pomeranian that was so severely abused, his veterinarian had to extract teeth and cut his nails because of serious infections.

"He looks like a fixer-upper," said Lodi Realtor Leah Mettler, who has rescued Harley and a host of other animals. "How anybody can mistreat anyone that small is beyond me."

Mettler loves animals, and it breaks her heart to see them abused or abandoned. She adopted Harley last Friday from Lodi's Animal Friends Connection.

"My barn is like an infirmary." said Mettler, who has 10 horses and a host of other animals at her ranch in the Galt area.

Mettler hopes that animal abuse will gain greater awareness due to the publicity surrounding the arrest and guilty plea of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

"That Michael Vick thing makes me sick to my stomach," Mettler said.

She hates the thought that any animals were abused, but she hopes the arrest of someone as well known as Vick may help reduce the amount of abuse, she said.

The Vick case has generated increased awareness, said Eric Sakach, director of a the U.S. Humane Society's western region in Sacramento, which covers five states. For example, Sakach spent Wednesday in Hawaii training law enforcement personnel on investigating dogfighting and cockfighting.

Harley was rescued by Leah Mettler. Harley was neglected. His toenails had grown so long, they had begun to grow into the bottom of his feet and most of his teeth had to be pulled. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

There are many types of animal abusers — those who starve them, beat them up, abandon them and engage in dogfighting and cockfighting.

But police officers and sheriff's deputies must prioritize whether to pursue animal abuse cases because of other crimes.

"The human case is always going to have priority over an animal," said Chris Sanford, who retired in February 2006 as a Galt police officer and now consults for the U.S. Humane Society.

Sanford became an expert investigating dogfighting cases during a 1999 case in the Galt area.

Sanford, a Lodi resident, travels all over the country investigating cases for the U.S. Humane Society.

Dogfighting is bad enough in itself, Sanford said, but crimes like drugs and homicides go with it. In recent years, there were homicides related to dogfighting in Portland, Ore., and Houston. He also sees a connection between animal abuse and crimes against human beings.

"If you look at serial killers, it all started with animal torture," he said.

Sanford became a dogfighting expert quite by accident. In 1999, he went to some property on Sargent Road, just west of the Galt city limits, to investigate a report of marijuana cultivation.

Recent animal abuse busts

Leah Mettler shows the tattoo of the jockey club numbers, on her horse Katie, Wednesday afternoon. Mettler rescued Katie and has begun to nurse her back to health. Katie has gained about 150 pounds since she has been in Mettler's care, "She has about 150 more pounds to gain," said Mettler. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

• Sheriff's deputies raided a cockfighting arena in July after getting an anonymous tip. Deputies responded to the 8900 block of Tokay Lane in south Sacramento County to discover 70 people fleeing from the scene on foot at a cockfighting event. Deputies detained seven people. At least 600 cockfighting roosters and hens along with spears and small knives were discovered.
• And in Fresno, police seized 11 dogs, several firearms and drugs during an Aug. 8 bust. The fights were videotaped, with a crowd cheering on the competing dogs.
Source: Sacramento Bee, KFSN-TV in Fresno.

He found the marijuana all right, but he also found a dogfighting compound, for which the property owner was later convicted, Sanford said. Officers confiscated 55 pit bulls from the Sargent Road property.

That case led Sanford to other dogfighting cases and ultimately to working with the U.S. Humane Society. He teaches classes to law enforcement officers on dogfighting and cockfighting.

The largest case in recent times sent Sanford to Ohio in April, where he helped the Cleveland Police Department, FBI and the U.S. Department of Agriculture raid at least a dozen dogfighting compounds that netted about 12 arrests and caused some 50 dogs to be seized, he said. All the suspects were professional dogfighters and members of street gangs, Sanford added.

While dogfighting has the majority of media attention, there are other kinds of abuse.

Mettler encounters dogs and other animals that are abandoned, which is quite dangerous in rural areas, where coyotes often kill animals at night. In her area east of Highway 99, she frequently finds people who dump their dogs onto private ranches.

Mettler has ideas on how to help reduce animal abuse.

"I think there should be discounts to get their pets spayed and neutered," Mettler said. "The solution is definitely stiffer penalties, make the offenders pay for the care of these animals. Fine them up the wazoo, and if they can't afford it, community service time."

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

Jason Johnson wrote on Sep 5, 2007 11:13 PM:

" Good job Aunt Leah! "

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