animal abuse

A trio of goats in a tiny pen in the hot sun in a field off Route 63 has a caller to the Genesee County Animal Shelter concerned, and the animal control officer asked to speak to the caller, according to a dispatcher.

Earlier today, The Batavian received an email from a passerby who does not live locally. She wrote:

"I was traveling through yesterday on Route 63 between Batavia and Oakfield and noticed three goats in a VERY small fenced enclosure with no shade available. There was a small plastic 'house' but I'm not sure they would all fit inside and I'm sure it would be horribly hot if they could have. The enclosure was in the middle of a field not far from the road.

"I went by before noon and back again around 5:30. They were all still there. ... I felt so bad for them. What they need is definitely a larger fenced area and some thing to provide shade -- even a tarp over part of the fence would be OK."

A caller to dispatch reports a small white car with a small yellow dog barking inside is parked near the pharmacy entrance at Walmart. An animal control officer is responding. It's about 82 degrees outside.

UPDATE 1:26 p.m.: "Can I get someone to get me into this car please?" an officer asks a dispatcher. A deputy is responding.

UPDATE 1:41 p.m.: The deputy gained access to the vehicle and the animal control officer is taking the pooch to the Genesee County Animal Shelter. She asked what the initial time of call was -- 1:08 p.m. -- and noted that no one had come out to vehicle while they were there.

UPDATE 1:45 p.m.: The animal control officer asks what the Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center is showing for the local temperature and the reply is 84 degrees.

UPDATE 2:55 p.m.: A deputy is out with the registered owner of the vehicle at the Genesee County Animal Shelter.

An animal control officer is responding to BJ's Wholesale Club parking lot for a report of a dogged locked inside a gray Chevy Silverado. The engine is running; the window is cracked; the dog is barking. It's about 80 degrees outside today.

UPDATE 12:04 p.m.: The caller reports the driver of the Silverado is leaving and a license plate was provided. The officer says she will call the complainant.

A caller reported seeing -- from the roadway -- two dogs inside a kennel with "no shade or water" in the 1800 block of Main Road in Corfu. A Genesee County Sheriff's deputy is responding.

A caller to dispatch reports hearing a dog barking from the inside of tool box in the back of a black pickup truck that just left the Crosby's convenience store in Pembroke westbound on Route 5. Law enforcement is dispatched and the caller provided a license plate number.

A black dog at a residence on Prestige Crossing in Batavia has reportedly been left outside all week in the sun without shelter or food. An animal control officer is responding.

A heat advisory was posted on The Batavian Monday, warning that little children, pets, the elderly and the sick are especially vulnerable to heat-related illness. Here's the link.

The local temperature today is in the 90s and more of the same is expected tomorrow.

UPDATE 1:24 p.m.: The complaint appears to be unfounded. The officer went to the residence and could see the dog "moving around, happy and healthy" and it did have water. The officer, however, was unable to put hands on the dog and take a closer look because "the homeowner was extremely hostile." She has cleared the scene.

A caller reports a dog is locked inside a black GMC pickup truck at Dave's Ice Cream on West Main Street Road, Batavia. An officer is responding.

It is about 82 degrees outside.

Weather Outlook (By Billie) 1:29 p.m.:

According to the National Weather Service in Buffalo, starting tomorrow through Friday there is a Hazardous Weather Outlook in place due to an expected prolonged period of heat and humidity that will build across portions of Western New York. It is expected to get between 95 and 100 degrees during those afternoons.

The temperature inside a vehicle can soar quickly on a hot day. For example, if it's 95 degrees outside, say this coming Wednesday, the air termperature inside a vehicle can reach 114 degrees Fahrenheit in 10 minutes flat; if it's 100 degrees outside, the inside temp goes up to 119.

A dog locked inside a red pickup truck with Florida license plates at Walmart is reported to dispatch by a caller concerned about its welfare. The truck is parked in the reserved section in front of the grocery entrance. An animal control officer is responding.

The temperature outside is currently 77 degrees.

A caller to the Genesee County Emergency Dispatch Center, who is roadside in a black Buick sedan, reports someone abandoned a pregnant dog in the area of 7921 Hopkins Road, Corfu.

The caller is near the Akron Road intersection, waiting for law enforcement to respond, and they have been dispatched.

A dog was reported to be locked in a vehicle in the Walmart parking lot and an animal control officer responded. The owner returned to the vehicle and is now said to be arguing with the officer.

It's 84 and sunny out today.

Press release:

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced, following his years-long support and advocacy, his legislation, the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, has unanimously passed the Senate and will now head to the president’s desk for signature.

The bipartisan PACT Act, introduced in the Senate by senators Pat Toomey [R-PA], Richard Blumenthal [D-CT], Dianne Feinstein [D-CA] and Dick Durbin [D-IL], and cosponsored by Schumer, closes a loophole created by the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act.

The law criminalized the creation and distribution of videos depicting the torture of animals, but prevented federal law enforcement from prosecuting abusers.

Once the PACT Ace is signed into law, Schumer explained, criminals that are caught torturing or otherwise harming animals can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and even sentenced to up to seven years in prison.

“For far too long, animal abusers have used a loophole to avoid penalties or repercussions for their heinous acts," Schumer said. "The maiming and torturing of innocent animals is abhorrent and will now finally be a federal felony, punishable to the fullest extent of the law.

"After years of supporting the PACT Act, I’m delighted that it’s finally headed to the president to be signed and become law."

“Time and again, we’ve seen the linkage between animal cruelty and cruelty and crimes against people," said Libby Post, executive director, New York State Animal Protection Federation. "It is essential to take pro-active steps to curtail animal crimes and give law enforcement the tools they need to stop these crimes.

"Shelters across New York are partners with law enforcement and district attorneys that tackle animal cruelty. Many shelters across the state give safe harbor to the animals who survive this abuse. The New York State Animal Protection Federation stands with Senator Schumer in fighting animal crimes and thanks him for standing up for animals. The PACT Act is a crucial step forward and we have Senator Schumer to thank for it."

Though Schumer supported the PACT Act during the last two Congresses as well, it ultimately failed to pass in the House of Representatives. The PACT Act was reintroduced this year by Senators Blumenthal, Toomey, Feinstein and Durbin, and garnered a bipartisan group of 41 cosponsors, including Schumer.

Despite the federal animal crush video law enacted in 2010, banning the creation, sale, and distribution of videos that show live animals being intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or subjected to other heinous abuse, Congress failed to make the act of crushing a federal crime.

Therefore, even when there was overwhelming and substantiated evidence that torture is taking place, current federal law only prohibits and criminalizes animal cruelty if the offenders create and sell videos depicting the abuse, leaving federal law enforcement unable to arrest known abusers or protect the animals. The PACT Act ensures that those found guilty of torturing animals face fines, felony charges, and up to seven years in prison.

The PACT Act is supported by the Humane Society of the United States, Animal Wellness Action, National Sheriffs' Association, Fraternal Order of Police, and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and more than 200 law enforcement agencies across the country.

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the companion bill on Oct. 23 with 301 cosponsors.

City police are responding to the JCPenney parking lot for a report of a dog locked inside a black Chevy sedan with the windows rolled up.

An animal control officer for Batavia Police Departmart is called to the parking lot by the UMMC Emergency Room for a dog showing signs of heat stress.

An EMS technician removed the dog from the vehicle after finding it locked inside. The rescuer is out with the canine awaiting the officer's arrival.

According to the National Weather Service, it's mostly sunny and 79 degrees in Batavia.

Dispatch received a complaint that a female placed a turtle on her front porch and has not been caring for it. It has been on the porch for about a week. The call came from a neighbor. Didn't catch the location. An animal control officer is responding.

An unoccupied SUV in the grocery pickup section of the Walmart parking lot reportedly has a dog locked inside. The caller waited by the vehicle 15 minutes to see if the owner would return before calling dispatch. An animal control officer and a deputy are en route.

UPDATE 11:44 p.m.: The deputy is on site and speaking with the dog owner. The deputy advises the animal control officer can disregard the dispatch.

A caller reports a pet(s) left behind when the occupants moved out of a residence on Valley View Drive in Batavia. An animal control officer is responding.

UPDATE 5:42 p.m.: A reader with knowledge of the situation writes: "The owners were located and the pets are being taken care of by family members while the owners deal with some health issues."

A dog is locked in a vehicle in the Aldi parking lot on East Main Street in Batavia. It's a white car near the end of the lot, says the dispatcher. The window is down one inch. It's 77 degrees outside now. An animal control officer is responding.

UPDATE 12:14 p.m.: The vehicle has Florida license plates.

Photos and information from reader Roberta White:

This dog was in a truck in the Walmart parking lot in Batavia for 20-25 minutes minimum before dispatch was contacted and law enforcment officers arrived at about 2 p.m.

An animal control officer said the dog was definitely uncomfortable. She said if it was an older dog, it would have been in serious trouble.

She also said it was her third call to Walmart today. She's had made four or five trips in Genesee County today for dogs locked inside hot vehicles.

The truck owner was paged in the store while officers tried to unlock the vehicle. Surface temperature inside was 102 degrees. It's 80 degrees outside.

A dog is locked in a vehicle in this sweltering heat in the parking lot of BJ's Warehouse in Batavia. The caller reports it's in a black Ford Expedition parked in a handicapped space without a handicapped placard displayed.

It's 88 degrees and there's heat advisory in effect until 6 p.m.

An animal control officer is responding.

A dog has reportedly been locked inside a brown Ford F-350 pickup truck for 45 minutes outside the restaurant at the Flying J Travel Plaza in Pembroke.

The plaza is located at 8484 Alleghany Road. An animal control officer is responding. It's 85 degrees outside.