Eagle Point man gets 30 days for starving dog

Mail Tribune ^ | 12-19 | Mail Tribune

[ambrose]

December 19, 2002

Eagle Point man gets 30 days for starving dog

St. Bernard was 100 pounds below weight when animal control rescued it

By SARAH LEMON
Mail Tribune

An Eagle Point man who left his St. Bernard dog chained up without food or water for several months will spend 30 days in jail for the crime.

Fredric Lorenz Hines Jr., 37, of the 10000 block of East Antelope Road, pleaded guilty in Jackson County Circuit Court Wednesday to a charge of first-degree animal neglect. In addition to the jail term, Hines was ordered to complete two years of probation, 80 hours of community service and pay restitution costs for the dog’s rehabilitation. He can no longer own animals.

Dog lovers, breeders and canine rescue workers who attended the hearing complained that Hines’ sentence was too light.

"I would have liked to have seen him have the same treatment that the dog got," said Ann Warren, who represents a local terrier rescue society.

Hines left his 3-year-old St. Bernard — named Chief — chained up in the cold and rain for several months while he and his wife, Tianna Hines, were going through a divorce about a year ago, according to reports from county animal control. Tianna Hines became aware of the dog’s condition a few days before Christmas and signed the dog over to animal control.

When Chief arrived at the S. Bernard Rescue Foundation in Shady Cove, he weighed less than 90 pounds, about 100 pounds shy of the normal weight for adults of the breed, rescue workers said. Veterinarians who examined the dog said Chief had eaten part of his leg to survive.

The dog also had putrefying sores on his neck from the chain, his eyes had sunken into his skull and he could no longer stand, said Penny Mayben, of the rescue foundation. When Chief finally was walking again, blood puddled under his feet because his toenails had cracked, she added.

Veterinarians could testify that Chief — a dog bred to withstand cold conditions — would have died within two days from hypothermia had he not been taken from Hines’ property, said Rachel Bridges, deputy district attorney.

Hines argued in court that Chief wasn’t always chained up. But the dog had bitten several of his friends and had to be restrained, he said.

Chief’s rescuers, however, said the dog never showed signs of aggression and played happily with other dogs, cats and children once he recovered.

"That dog doesn’t have a mean bone," said Paul Bodeving, who breeds St. Bernards in Josephine County. "And if any dog deserved to bite somebody, that one did."

Chief has since fully recovered and been adopted by a local family, Mayben said. The rescue foundation has placed six St. Bernard dogs in the past two weeks and 44 in the past year. Because of Chief’s severe condition, he most likely would have been euthanized at the animal shelter had the rescue foundation not agreed to care for him, Mayben said.

Two Rottweilers taken from Hines’ home were put down because they were aggressive and unfit for adoption, according to Colleen Macuk, director of the county’s animal shelter. Confiscated after Chief was taken away, the Rottweilers also showed signs of neglect and malnutrition, Macuk said.

The District Attorney’s Office dismissed two counts of animal abandonment in connection with the treatment of those dogs when Hines agreed to plead guilty to neglecting Chief.

Hines still faces felony charges of aggravated first-degree animal abuse for allegedly killing his neighbor’s dog with a .22-caliber rifle in February. He was set to go to trial on all charges against him Wednesday, but the court date was postponed for the second case because key witnesses were out of town, Bridges said.

Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail slemon@mailtribune.com

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[ambrose]

Ping.

There's actually a happy ending to this one.

[Bella_Bru]

Chief has since fully recovered and been adopted by a local family

A happy ending, thankfully.

[ambrose]

I just don't get these sick mutants. If they are no longer able or willing to have the dog, why don't they give them to the local humane society?

[Bella_Bru]

Or a rescue organization? There are so many breed specific groups who will gladly take the dog off of the owner's hands and find him/her a good home. And, because they are almost always run by former breeders or enthusiasts of the particular breed, who tend to be more knowledgeable about the dog, the usually have fewer come back than the shelters do once they are adopted out. This is because they can educate the adoption candidate and screen them to make sure the match will work out.

[pabianice]

There is no punishment too harsh for this sort of abuse.

[bigfootbob]

"If they are no longer able or willing to have the dog, why don't they give them to the local humane society?"

Good question. I worked with the Mastiff (St.Bernards were bred from these), Rescue here in Washington State. I've always wondered how someone could treat animals like this vermin treated his dog. These dogs aren't cheap. I've seen them short chained, left out in the elements without any shelter. One particularly ugly case had a Mastiff short chained to a post in an open pasture. Every time the dog would dig a hole for shelter the owner would fill the hole with rocks and excrement,(human & farm animals), had his tail chopped off and beaten regularly. All of this because it chased and killed a rooster. I imagine the dog was hungry, because the owner said the dog ate the rooster.

The owner had been contacted by the Animal Control people, but his ranch was large enough that when he saw the animal control he would release the dog and hide the mistreated animal before they could catch the guy. I went onto the property after being informed by the animal control folks and confronted the a$$hole. After threatening the guy, (I'm 6'4", 280lbs.), with bodily injury, he sold me the dog for $200.00. We rehabilitated the sweet dog and placed it into a home with 3 kids.

I've seen folks move away and leave the dogs behind. And with these large breed dogs you have a lot of dog fighting enthusiasts buying them to be bred with pitbulls. This undues 200 years of selective breeding civilized people have done to remove this trait. Mastiffs were used as war dogs and bear baiting, (stab out the eyes of a bear and placing the dog and bear in a ring to fight to the death),until the 1700's when England banned the "sport".

I don't see much of a way to stop this other than punishing the abusers forcefully and educating breeders about these kind of issues. But you are always going to have a "backyard" breeder who's more concerned about money than the welfare of the animals they produce. Sick bastards!

[zoyd]

Whenever I need to boost my blood pressure, I find an episode of Animal Precinct on the Animal Channel to watch.

It's amazing how nonchalant people are about abusing their animals.

[Frohickey]

I'm still thinking that this is a case of private property. Dogs and other pets are property, and the person has every right to do so as they please with it.

I think that the judge should have dismissed the case, and instructed the Animal Control folks and St Bernard Rescue to cease and desist all actions and lawsuits against the person. I would think a media blitz in all the newspapers, TV stations and internet websites with the guy's full name, address, phone number, place of employment and full facial photo along with a story saying Animal Control and St. Bernard Rescue are 'sorry' for infringing on this guy's private property rights.

Lets see what this 'positive' exposure would do to the guy, and his prospects for friendship, companionship and employment. :)

[afraidfortherepublic]

There are so many breed specific groups who will gladly take the dog off of the owner's hands and find him/her a good home.

We adopted a beautiful Golden Retriever this year from Golden Retriever Rescue of Wisconsin and I couldn't be more enthusiastic about the work that they do. The only history I know about my dog (which the foster mom and I both think is a lie) is that he was found running as a stray in a resort town near here. A young woman caught him and took him to her parents' home in another state because she couldn't keep him. There he was locked in a shed for six weeks until someone persuaded the woman to turn him over to a rescue organization.

He was in perfect health, although a little underweight and frantic about being locked up so long. We were told that he was about two, but I think he was more like one -- just a big pup full of energy. You can tell he is a well-bred dog in need of a little obedience training, which I provided.

The real story? I think that he was the cast-off from a broken romance. The young lady was not about to let her ex get custody of the dog and couldn't keep him herself. There is something about her demand that the dog be nuetered before he was placed into a new home that makes me think this was a revenge surrender.

The result? I have a beautiful, fairly well-behaved (he is still a puppy, after all) Golden who is the light of my life. He comes to work with me daily and even goes on weekend visits of several hundred miles. He's never had an accident in the house or office and never has barked or growled at anyone. Just a big sweet dog who loves tennis balls.

Another think about him is that he is frightened of measuring tapes (his only fear). I think that someone may have hit him at one time. He is just a super dog.

[afraidfortherepublic]

St. Bernard dog

[afraidfortherepublic]

Here is one waiting to be rescued!

[technochick99]

I'm not affiliated with any individual rescue, but work with several of them doing transports. It's a great way to help animals if you don't have the time and energy commitment to foster.

I transported a St. Bernard 2 weeks ago with a broken, dangling, atrophied leg. Sweet and affectionate dog, but had his own opinions about where we would walk. I was unable to fully control this STRONG 3-legged dog, and have decided to remain a miniature pinscher owner forever.

[afraidfortherepublic]

I was unable to fully control this STRONG 3-legged dog,

We trained in obedience with a flat coated St. Bernard named Jack. The mom was having trouble getting Jack to sit where she wanted him to, and her little boy said, "Just spit in your hand and he'll follow you anywhere!"

She didn't hear her son, as she wrestled Jack, but I did and I just about cracked up. But I tried it with my Golden, and it works!

Thanks for your good work!

[Bella_Bru]

Of course, because even though they are breathing and capable of feeling pain, it's still property and therefore if you wanted to tie M80s to the dog, that's ok, right?

[Bella_Bru]

fairly well-behaved

Well, he is a Golden, and they are rather rambuncious! :-)

[dtel]

You are a damned good man. Kudos Sir!

[sinkspur]

There's actually a happy ending to this one.

Actually, there's not.

Hines is still breathing.

[kaylar]

If you use sarcasm in a reply, better put a < sarcasm>, < /sarcasm> in your post. Otherwise, people are going to just read the first sentence and fly off the handle, even though the rest of your reply makes it clear that you're NOT one of the loathsome "animals are property, so it's OK to abuse them" crowd, several of whom pollute FR on a regular basis.

[sinkspur]

I'm still thinking that this is a case of private property. Dogs and other pets are property, and the person has every right to do so as they please with it.

You're not thinking.

Actually, abusing an animal is a felony in over 40 states. Your fellow citizens disagree with you, thankfully.