A case of alleged animal cruelty in northern Michigan makes it’s way to Mid-Michigan. Kathy Hoekstra tells us about one animal who made it out alive, and about the effort to see that it doesn’t happen again.
Read more: State, Local, Crime
On January 11th, a severely emaciated male yellow labrador (Thor) was picked up by Crawford County animal control. The dog was immediately taken to Grayling Hospital for Animals, where the Animal Shelter of Crawford County Director made the decision to try to save the dog's life.
It all started with a dog named Thor, rescued in Crawford County., which lead to the discovery of 6 more neglected and severely emaciated dogs, one of those dogs was Trooper.
Trooper’s rescuer, Rick Leach, remembers "His ribs were showing... His hipbones were showing... Around his face around his jowls were all rubbed raw. He smelled really bad.. I showered him later that night and his fur fell off in huge clumps."
Trooper is doing much better today thanks to the love and generosity of Rick and a Bay City woman named Heather Smith who rescued all 6 dogs. "I'm a volunteer for a few steps from home and Heather contacted me to see if I'd take in Trooper and foster him and after some thought I said, yes I would." The online and broadcast crusade to help Trooper as well as Thor and the other animals is gaining momentum thanks to a growing group of angry citizens who want to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. "Animal cruelty is something that happens all the time. A lot of it goes without being known about. This is a story that's a wonderful story about that type of situation where some dogs were found and were rescued." That included Thor. While Thor is thriving, his former owner, Larry Baumgrat, will be in Crawford County Court in June to face one count of animal cruelty. He has not been charged in Roscommon County, and in fact, was re-issued a kennel license. |  |
We spoke to the Roscommon County Prosecutor, he tells NBC25 the dog owner voluntarily turned over the 6 dogs, and his animal control officer did not think there was enough evidence to press charges. That animal controller could not be reached for comment.
Important Links:
Story #2 -Warriors for animal rights
Thors Warriorswww.thorswarriors.com
A Few Steps From Homewww.fewstepsfromhome.homestead.com
MichiganState University College of Law-Animal Lawwww.animallaw.info/contact.htm
Michigan Association of Animal Control Officerswww.maacoweb.com
Attorneys for Animalsattorneysforanimals.org
Roscommon Countywww.roscommoncounty.net
Genesee County Humane Societywww.geneseehumane.org
