Two small dogs are back home in Garfield 10 days after being placed in a kennel in Pea Ridge, while the man who tried to save them has a citation for theft of services.
Pea Ridge police said they were told the dogs were picked up in Pea Ridge; they were actually found in Garfield. As the result of an investigation, police cited Shane Artz of Garfield for theft of services because police said he lied to them and said he picked the dogs up in Pea Ridge, according to Police Chief Ryan Walker.
Artz said an employee at the Pea Ridge Vet Clinic told police they were found in Pea Ridge. The police report states that Artz told police he was "traveling on Curtis when he observed two loose dogs running around in the street."
The dogs' owner, Shani Delossantos, said she could not afford to get her dogs because she was initially told by someone at the vet's office it would cost $180 to get them out of the pound.
That changed Monday afternoon, when she learned she could get her pets after paying $67 to retrieve her dogs. Walker said that the confusion with the fees was the result of the new contract and the intial quote was from the old contract including all services. He said that since Delossantos doesn't live in the city, she should not be charged "under normal city ordinances" and that since the dogs were so small, they could be placed in one kennel, thereby cutting boarding fees in half.
On Friday, Aug. 21, the dogs were picked up by Artz in a parking lot in Garfield and taken to the Pea Ridge Vet Clinic. Artz said he was asking advice for options on what to do with the dogs when an employee of the clinic told him the clinic is the pound and he should say he found them in Pea Ridge.
Delossantos, who lives in Garfield, said she had been out of town for a couple of days. When she came home and found her dogs missing, she found out where they were and called Pea Ridge Vet Clinic to claim them, but was told she would have to talk to the police and pay the boarding fees.
"I was out of town and the dogs followed my son to the bus stop," Delossantos said, adding that her son thought he chased the dogs back home, but they apparently wandered. "I got home and noticed the dogs weren't there. I thought they were at my daughter's; she lives nearby."
Delossantos said her daughter told her about a Facebook post that showed them in Pea Ridge; she called the Pea Ridge vet and police, but was told on Tuesday, Aug. 25, that she had to pay $180.
"I don't have that kind of money," she said, explaining that the "lady at the vet" called back and said it would only be $150. Delossantos, who explained several different extenuating circumstances, said she was not able to get into Pea Ridge to the vet's office when they were open nor to pay the fee, but was still trying to raise the money.
A photograph of the two dogs was posted on the Community of Garfield Facebook page as being found by Artz at 8:24 a.m. Aug. 21. Later that day, the photograph of the same two dogs was posted on the Pea Ridge Police Department Facebook page with a statement that the dogs had been found in Pea Ridge.
Artz said he saw the two dogs running around the Garfield school and was worried about them either being hit by a vehicle or causing an accident because of a driver swerving to miss them. He said he picked up the two dogs, took them home and posted them on Facebook. He said he couldn't keep the dogs because he already had four himself.
"The vet we use is on Lee Town Road, so I figured I'd stop in there and get information," Artz said, adding that, while one employee was on the phone behind the front counter, another lady came from the back and asked if she could help him. He asked about options for two dogs he had found. He said she said that "we're the pound ... we can take them. Don't say out loud you found them outside the city."
The dogs were accepted by the clinic; Pea Ridge police arrived to take a report.
"I didn't know they were there for me, I thought they were there for the vet," Artz said, stating that when the police asked him where he found the dogs, he said, "In the area.... The lady at the vet's spoke up; she basically took over. I just stood back and let the whole thing unfold."
He said he did not tell police the dogs were picked up in Pea Ridge.
The dogs were then posted on the Pea Ridge Police Department page in an attempt to find their owners.
The two dogs posted looked familiar to Nadine Telgemeier, former Pea Ridge City Council member. She posted a comment asking if the two were the same as the two posted by an individual a few hours earlier found in Garfield.
"We want to help people; we want to help the dogs. We need people to help us with honesty. If it's outside the city limits, we will help you get it to the right holding facility... ultimately, there is a greater likelihood of the dogs being returned to their owners if they're in the correct holding facility," Walker said.
Walker said that although fostering is good, it is used after an initial holding period when the dogs' original owners are likely to be found.
Walker said that he didn't plan to charge the original owner of the dog. "I'm not going to make her pay for them from the time he brought them in, but from the time she claimed them... she could have just had her dogs. We tried calling her. The vet tried calling her."
With no contact, the clock ticked off five days. Once that span was reached, dogs picked up by police are available for adoption.
"The dogs are being adopted," Walker said Monday afternoon. "She's had five days to come get them. We've had someone who wanted to adopt them the whole time." When the potential adopter didn't show up, Walker notified Delossantos that she could get the dogs at the drastically reduced rate.
At 9:18 p.m. Aug. 21, the Pea Ridge Police Department Facebook page posted: "Based on information provided to the PRPD it appears these dogs were not found in the city limits of Pea Ridge as originally claimed by the person dropping them off. I have seen several people offering to foster them. And I have also seen one person claiming that we will just euthanize them if they aren't claimed. Once again, false statements are being made. I will explain again that we don't just euthanize dogs at will. We work hard to adopt dogs that aren't claimed. With everyone's help on Facebook and the Humane Society of the Ozarks, we have adopted ALL unclaimed dogs so far this year. We try our best to reserve euthanizing for major trauma. We do our best to always do what's best for the dog.
"Regarding fostering, after the initial hold, fosters are good options. However, in a situation like this, the dogs need to be held initially at the correct facility first so the owners can find them. BCSO uses a humane society to hold dogs for a period of time so owners can reclaim them. The purpose of this vs. (versus) immediate foster is so owners have one place to check for their animal instead of hundreds of different fosters across the county."
Sally Baker Williams, with the Ozark Humane Society, wrote: "Found pets being turned into the wrong shelter or department is a challenge for all shelters. The absolute best chance a lost pet has of being reunited with their owners is always to turn it into the appropriate agency. I know people mean well, but it makes the work of rescues and shelters exponentially more difficult."
General News on 09/02/2015