Some follow up information:

Mr. Siracuse tells me he was crying by the time he signed the paperwork that Officer Moore insisted on.  Mr. Siracuse states that he was not given a copy of the document.

Mr. Siracuse went to the City of Dover and spoke with the Mayor.  The Mayor expressed his sympathy over the loss of Zoe, but said he had only ever heard good things about Officer Moore.  He also told Mr. Siracuse that he didn't know about a 24 hour hold time, and he thought the hold time is 72 hours.

Mr. Siracuse called the newspaper, where he was referred to a reporter who "has an open investigation into complaints about the KCSPCA."  He left a message, but has not been called in return.

Yesterday, Mr. Siracuse received a letter from the KCSPCA (which I will post as soon as I can scan it in).  In the letter, Mr. Siracuse is told he gave them permission to euthanize his dog when he signed the paperwork that Officer Moore put in front of him.

So the Mayor pointed to the KCSPCA, the KCSPCA blames Mr. Siracuse and no one is asking questions of Officer Moore?

Complaint of Peter Siracuse

Mr. Siracuse has sent this complaint to the Mayor of Dover and his City councilman, the Police Chief, Senator Blevins and the KCSPCA.  He has spoken to the Mayor, who told him he has only heard good things about the animal control officer, and Senator Blevins office, where he was told the Task Force is not investigating complaints.  The letter was mailed a week ago, and there has been no response.

RE:  COMPLAINT CONCERNING DOVER ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER MARK

            MOORE AND THE KCSPCA

My name is Peter Siracuse and I live on Governor’s Avenue in Dover.  I am on disability and dealing with illness.  My companion for the past 2 years was a 3 1/2-year old lhasa apso named Zoe.  Zoe was AKC registered and up to date on all her shots.  She was not spayed due to a heart murmur, which made her a poor candidate for surgery.

This past Christmas, 2012, Zoe received some stuffed animals as toys.  These toys seem to have triggered a false pregnancy of some sort, and Zoe became very possessive and protective of these toys.  On Friday, December 28, she moved her “babies” from their usual place to a laundry basket in my bedroom.  She then became very agitated, growling and barking and defending her territory.  I could not manage to put a leash on her, in order to take her to a veterinarian.  So I called the City of Dover Animal Control for help.

Officer Mark Moore showed up with an armed police escort.  He appeared to be afraid for his safety, insisting that I turn on the bedroom light myself (which was just inside the door, and not near Zoe’s nest.  He used a claw pole and a catch pole (rabies noose) to drag my 20 pound dog out of the bedroom and down to his truck.  I told him I would remove the toys and bring Zoe back inside, to see if she would calm down.  Officer Moore insisted that I relinquish Zoe and said he would take her to the KCSPCA for 24 hour observation.  He assured me that she would not be euthanized.  He also said he would try to get her to the animal sanctuary in Georgetown.  Officer Moore also said he thought she had a stroke and would never be the same (I didn't know that Officer Moore was a veterinarian).  Then he said if I did not hear from him about that by Wednesday, January 2, I should BURN HER AKC REGISTRATION PAPERS because she would be dead.

I told him I wanted his help, but I did not want to give up my dog.  That is when Officer Moore threatened me.  He told me that if he gave my dog back, and I called him again, he would show up with a warrant and I would be in trouble. 

I felt I had no choice but to let him take Zoe, because I did not wish to be arrested if I had to call again.  Officer Moore also insisted on taking all of Zoe’s medical records with him.  Regardless of his assurances of Zoe’s safety, I immediately called a friend and made arrangements to go to the KCSPCA to retrieve Zoe.  We arrived there within 2 hours of Officer Moore taking her.

I went to the kennels to look for Zoe.  Almost every kennel was full, mostly pitbulls and pit mixes, along with a rottweiler, a chihuahua and a Shih-Tzu/Maltese mix.  But no Zoe.  I went back out front and spoke to Amanda, the office manager.  I was told that Zoe was so agitated when she was brought in (she was, and then they used catch poles on top of her initial distress) that they were going to sedate her.  It was then decided that they did not want to put anyone on the staff at risk, so they euthanized her instead.

They killed my dog.  What happened to the 24 hour observation period?  And what risk?  She had all her shots, she was all of 20 pounds.  Even if she bit tried to bite someone, aren’t the kennel workers at the KCSPCA trained to handle agitated dogs?

Although I was (and still am) upset over Zoe, on Saturday I decided that I was going to rescue the Shih-Tzu/Maltese mix I saw in the kennels.  Due to my health, my friend would adopt the dog in her name, but I would care for it.  We were told that we had to have permission from my friend’s landlord.  We did not want to lose the dog, and were told we could leave a $20 check as deposit.  The check would be held until we came back – on Wednesday, January 2, 2013.

On Wednesday we showed up at the KCSPCA, and we told the staff that we had permission from the landlord to adopt a dog,.  But then we were told that since my friend lived in a trailer park, she needed permission from the park manager, not just her direct landlord.  And even though I had a dog (Zoe) I also needed permission from my landlord.

By now we were too upset to deal with this any longer, and asked for our deposit back.  Only to be told that it would take 2 weeks to refund our money, because the check had been deposited.

There are a lot of problems with this experience – the most important being, my Zoe is dead.   My questions:

1)      Why did Officer Moore insist that I relinquish Zoe, when all I wanted was some help?

2)      Why did he threaten me with arrest when I said I wanted my dog back?

3)      Why did he tell me there was a 24 hour hold period, and that he would try to get Zoe out of the KCSPCA?  Was he lying?  Why?  Is this how the City of Dover routinely handles animal control?

4)      Why did the KCSPCA kill my dog so quickly?  I have looked at the City of Dover Code, and can find no reference to a 24-hour hold period; the State law, however, has a minimum of 3 days.  I understand that Zoe was agitated, but why didn’t they just sedate her and see how she was later?

5)      Why did the KCSPCA lie to me, taking a check as deposit and telling us they would not deposit it, and then doing so?  What kind of business practice is that?

Although I realize that the City of Dover does not have any jurisdiction over the general  KCSPCA operations, I have two other concerns regarding the shelter:

First, I have to ask, what about all those dogs I saw on Friday afternoon (12/21)?  Because when I went in that Saturday morning (12/22) to see the Shih-Tzu/Maltese again, half the kennels were empty.  I have a hard time believing that so many dogs were adopted out in one afternoon.  Were they killed, too?

And finally, on Saturday, January 5 my friend and I went to the KCSPCA adoption center at PetSmart.  While there, we found another dog that we were interested in adopting.  However, we were informed that we were on the “no adoption” list because we had been abusive to KCSPCA staff on Wednesday.  This statement is untrue – we were understandably upset, but not abusive to the staff.  I asked for written documentation of this ban, and was refused.  I asked the name of the manager who had conveyed this information over the phone, and was refused.  The young woman representing the KCSPCA did agree to tell me her name – Makea.  I told her I was going to speak to the PetSmart store manager and Makea announced that “we are not affiliated with them.”  I will be contacting PetSmart Corporate concerning this issue.

Please consider this a formal complaint against Officer Moore.  And I would appreciate hearing from you with regard to the KCSPCA actions in the matter of Zoe, because  I understand the shelter has a contract with the City of Dover to care for animals that Officer Moore impounds.  My experience with both Officer Moore and the KCSPCA indicates that there are problems with this arrangement.

Sincerely,

Peter Siracuse