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Friday, October 08, 2010
'Dog-Napping' Takes Crazy Turn
Copyright © 2010 Albuquerque Journal
By 2010 Phil Parker
Journal Northern Bureau
SANTA FE — Call it the case of Crazy, the stolen Yorkie.
Or call it a crazy case, because that's what it is.
First, a Yorkie is "dog-napped" by a well-meaning employee of a well-known animal shelter who fears the pooch is being left out in the hot sun.
Then, the head of the animal shelter responsible for the dog-napping is cited and 15 of her dogs are confiscated because she left them in the hot, covered bed of her truck — while she is inside the sheriff's department trying to explain the reason behind Crazy's dog-napping.
And, finally, Crazy goes on a 1,000-mile-plus trip — to Denver and back — before she is returned to her original owner.
Here's how it unfolded:
An employee of the Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary snatched Crazy from outside the Bureau of Land Management offices in south Santa Fe on Sept. 28, based on an apparently bogus tip that the little Yorkie was being abused.
Natalie Owings, director of the well-known and respected sanctuary, stopped by the sheriff's office on Thursday to explain what she called a "big mistake" for her role in the abduction of the Yorkshire terrier puppy.
Owings' efforts to explain the canine kidnapping ended up poorly. Deputies seized 15 dogs she had left in her truck, because the sheriff says the pooches were suffering from heat.
Owings said the windows on the truck shell were down and the animals had water, but Sheriff Greg Solano said the animals got too hot in Owings's Dodge pickup.
"They were suffering from the heat," Solano said. "The temperature in the vehicle was 111 degrees. At least one puppy is lethargic and being treated for a temperature of 107 degrees. The rest are doing well but need to cool down."
Owings said she was taking the animals to a vet for vaccinations when she stopped off at the sheriff's department, off N.M. 14 south of town, and that there is no shade in the parking lot. As she was inside speaking with a detective, someone entered the building to report the animals sitting in the truck.
Solano said Owings was cited with 15 counts of neglect or failure to care for an animal, a misdemeanor punishable by a $50 fine per dog.
More serious charges may be pending against Owings, however, for the dog-napping that brought her to the sheriff's office in the first place. She will likely be charged with larceny in the coming days for having Crazy taken from the BLM site, Solano said.
According to a report filed with the sheriff's office, Hector Gardea-Romero, who works at the BLM, contacted authorities about his dog being stolen from a shaded area outside the building.
Gardea-Romero told the investigator "he takes his little Yorkie puppy to work with him, and lets the puppy play outside under a shaded area," the report says.
Grainy surveillance video showed a man getting out of a truck parked nearby, walking to the shaded area where the dog was tied, then walking back to the truck.
Heart and Soul had received a call about a dog at the BLM that was "in poor condition and hungry, with no food or water, all matted and tied to a bush and getting tangled," Owings said Thursday. "We do this all the time, and no one bats an eye."
On Wednesday, Crazy was returned to Gardea-Romero.
But the pooch took a long route to get home.
After Crazy was taken, Owings found a family in Denver — regular donors to her sanctuary — to adopt the dog, and Crazy was driven there, she said.
But after the Heart and Soul employee who pulled off the dog heist saw news reports about authorities looking for those responsible for Crazy's disappearance, he contacted the sheriff's office and arranged to get the dog back.
He drove to Denver, got Crazy, and brought her back to Gardea-Romero, Solano said.
But not before Crazy's new owners in Colorado asked Gardea-Romero if he would take about $2,400 to let them keep the dog. He declined the buyout offer.
Heart and Soul Sanctuary is located in Glorieta, east of Santa Fe, and Owings has packed the sanctuary's pens with hundreds of animals, including cats, horses, rabbits, ducks, llamas and goats. Abandoned or abused animals are taken there to be adopted, but if no home can be found for an animal, Owings lets it live out its days there.
Owings has worked out an arrangement with the Santa Fe Animal Shelter to take in animals that aren't getting adopted.
"I've visited several times, and the animals are in wonderful condition there," said Mary Martin, executive director of the Santa Fe shelter.
There are usually between 30 and 40 dogs at Heart and Soul at any given time, and when Owings walks the grounds, she's often trailed by a large and eclectic pack, including puppies and older dogs on their last legs. The sanctuary's all-donations budget covers about $5,000 a month in veterinary bills.
Animals in need are usually brought to her rural sanctuary, Owings said, but when possible, Heart and Soul has workers or volunteers go pick up abused pets. Asked if she thought there were other cases in which dogs were mistakenly taken from owners in a manner that could be considered stealing, Owings said, "This has never happened before, never in all my 30 years working here. We've had nothing like this."
She added: "I don't think I'll go on a tip any more."
Solano said Owings is likely to get back the 15 dogs confiscated Thursday, but he described the situation as "disturbing."
"If people think any animal is being abused, they're encouraged to call our office," Solano said. "We'll investigate, and if the dog's being abused, we can legally take the dog."
He said Owings and her group are "taking dogs without any evidence they're being abused. For someone who purports to care for dogs, to take the dog like this, to put people through this, is a horrible thing to do."
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