Ban Puppy Mills

My niece's dog, Maggie, was the sweetest dog. She never showed a bit of aggression towards other dogs, cats, kids or people. She was given to my niece and her husband several years ago because she wasn't wanted. My niece told me last night that Maggie was killed by the county Sheriff. Here is what happened based on what she knows:

Her and Marley ran off last Saturday, Marley came home on Sunday night. Maggie didn't. Mark reported her missing, I don't remember what day. On Wednesday or Thursday, the cops got a call about a dog being at the Children Center, and the sheriff responded, and got contact with the dog.

She would not go to him, he tried coaxing her with dog treats and tried getting her in the back of his truck. She had lost her collar and tags somewhere and did not have it on (She is also microchipped). She backed up against the fence and started barking and growling and was hunched down. He felt that she was being aggressive toward him so he shot her. He then dropped her off in a ditch type thing out at the old gravel pit east of town.

The dog catcher wanted pictures of Maggie so we took some up to the police station today, and the dispatcher looked at them and told us that the Sheriff wanted to speak with us. So we went in his office and he told us his report, and asked to see the pictures and said that he was pretty sure that was the dog that he shot. So after we left we went out to where he dropped her off, and it was her. We brought her home and Danny and Mark buried her in the back yard.

In her letter to the local paper she recounts another incident with the local police department:

Over the summer we had a cat flopping around in the road in front of our house and we called the Police department. We think the cat might have been poisoned by anti-freeze or something similar. When the Officer arrived to the scene, what does he do? He asks for a knife and a black trash bag. Now what does he do, he runs the cat over with his car but the cat didn’t die so he slit its throat and put it in a black trash bag and put it in the trunk of his car.

This type of barbaric treatment of companion animals must stop! My niece lives in Newcastle, Wyoming. The same town I grew up again. I know quite well how backward this town is, they seem to be stuck in the stone ages. The police department has always done things their way, at times blatantly violating rights. Just because this is a rural community, it is not acceptable to treat animals so cruelly. I've spent time with Maggie. I'm guessing she was scared and after being away from home so long was very freaked out. She had never roamed from home prior to Marley joining the family (another unwanted dog they took in). She was a quiet, loving dog. She was around small children all the time and never shown an ounce of aggression or annoyance. She was the kind of dog that just rolls with whatever life brings. This is such a tragedy because her death was totally unnecessary and certainly preventable.

If you are interested in contacting the Sheriff's office or local newspaper here is the information. Newcastle is the county seat for Weston County so the Sheriff's office is located there. Kim corrected me in the fact that they do indeed live within city limits.

Weston County Sheriff's office
25 N Sumner Ave
Newcastle, WY 82701
(307) 746-4441‎

News Letter Journal (local paper)
http://www.newslj.com/contact.html