Two months ago I was made aware of the most horrific case of animal abuse I have ever been involved in Randolph Center, VT. For months, two dogs were deliberately locked in a garage and starved by Randolph, VT man, who has been cited with felony animal cruelty, but has yet to be charged.

A few months prior to the unfolding of this horrific situation the animal control officer was tipped off to check on the dogs being kept at this residence. Unfortunately when she arrived at the residence, the garage was clean and there was no evidence of dogs on the property. Without any evidence of dogs even living in this residence, there was nothing more animal control could do at that point. The ACO did, however, contact the Executive Director of RACDC (the landowner who provides low-income housing to our community) to make her aware of the situation and ask that she contact her if the dogs showed up again. She then passed the issue along to the property manager of RACDC and sadly, he and many others failed to contact the proper authorities once the dogs returned and the abuse continued. Because of that break in communication, no further intervention happened until the night of Sept. 9 when animal control was contacted for the second time. This time it was Burlington Emergency Vet Hospital calling to inform them of a dog that was brought in, barely clinging to life. He was a male German Shepherd that weighed only 37 lbs. His blood pressure was so weak, it didn’t even register on their machine. We later found out there was a second dog named Coon who the owner had successfully killed by starving to death. Tragically, after she died, Ace, who is now known as Phoenix, was forced to eat part of his best friend to survive. That is probably the only reason he is alive today. Coon was a once beautiful 8 yr old female German Shepherd and, at her age, she couldn’t withstand as much abuse as Phoenix who was much younger.

There were also two cats living in the home that were surrendered. The senior cat was very underweight and appeared to have a head injury of some sort. Sadly she had to be humanely euthanized to end her suffering. The younger cat appeared to be going blind and he was also very underweight. Miraculously he regained his sight and weight after receiving very basic care, indicating severe neglect within the home to have created his condition upon intake.

 

In honor of Phoenix's fight and the fight Coon and kitty lost, we are starting a petition to improve our animal laws and include mandatory reporting for animal abuse. Our local representative, Jay Hooper, has submitted the bill and once it is drafted, we will need the support of all local reps to pass it into law. The saddest part about this case is all of the people who knew about it and did not communicate with the proper authorities. Coon did not have to die. Phoenix did not have to suffer to this degree. This should have been stopped. Law enforcement officials can not barge into homes without evidence of a crime. They often rely on your cooperation to gain evidence so they can enforce our laws. The property manager should have contacted animal control as instructed. Because he chose to handle a felony without involving the proper authorities, Coon suffered to death. There were also several people that were aware and took pictures of these dogs as they starved, but did not contact the proper authorities. 

That being said, I would also like to encourage our state attorneys and judges to strongly enforce our animal protection laws. Without enforcement, our laws mean nothing. This is Felony animal cruelty and we expect the perpetrators to be charged as such! Please stand up for our defenseless society of animals. They need a hero and it could be you!

Jay Hooper, a House Representative is introducing the bill today. The next step is that it will go to a committee and if people agree with the idea a bill will be written and drafted. Please contact your local representatives/senators to make them aware of this movement so they can show support and help push it through.

Find your Senators here: https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/all/2022/Senate

Find your Representatives here: https://legislature.vermont.gov/people/all/2022/House

Governor Phil Scott

802 828-3333

Need help with what to write? Here is a template you can use to address your local officials:

Dear Representative —,

My name is – and I am a very concerned resident of the State of Vermont.

I am writing to you to ask for your support on a bill that is being introduced by House Representative, Jay Hooper to improve our animal protection laws by adding mandatory reporting of animal abuse. There was a situation in our home state in Randolph, VT where one dog was deliberately starved to death and another starved to the brink of death, as well as, two cats that were abused and one had to be humanely euthanized due to it’s condition. In this case, several people, including the property manager, were aware of the situation and did not communicate with the authorities leading to one dog's slow suffering and horrific death. If mandatory reporting were part of our animal protection laws, I feel these animals could have been saved.

As for the owner who did this, he will most likely receive a small fine or the case may even be dropped, as we have seen time and time again with animal abuse cases here in Vermont. People assume that animal abuse happens elsewhere, but the harsh reality is that it happens right here in Vermont all the time. Without adequate punishment for this crime, the offenders have no incentive not to do it again and as most now know, there has been a proven correlation between animal and human abuse. This should be a big concern for all of our representatives who care to keep their communities safe. Without mandatory reporting laws and harsher punishments, the animals in our state will continue to suffer behind closed doors. Coon and Phoenix, who cannot advocate for themselves, endured and experienced horrific abuse, we cannot idly stand by and allow this to happen again.

I appreciate your help and ask that you please send me a response letting me know if you will stand up against animal abuse and support the Bill being introduced by Representative Jay Hooper. I would appreciate your support in this matter!

Sincerely,

Full Name

Town of residence