URGENT ACTION NEEDED: County Officials Conduct Cruel 'Experiment' on Homeless Shelter Dog

October 10, 2008

I cannot believe what I just read. These "officials" are criminals. Please, please call or email TODAY!

Please do the alert at http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/florida_dogWhen PETA received complaints accusing Clay County, Florida, officials of intentionally placing a homeless dog from the county animal shelter in a closed vehicle and leaving the animal there for an entire hour in mid-afternoon heat, we almost couldn't believe it.

But internal county documents and news reports confirm that county officials did indeed conduct this outrageously cruel "experiment" on a dog in their custody to "recreate"the conditions believed to be responsible for the September 10 death ofanother dog in their care, a Rottweiler named Diamond. Diamond died ofapparent heat-related shock after Clay County Animal Control (CCAC)Officer Billy Wilson left her in an animal control vehicle—withoutair-conditioning or even access to water or fresh air—on an 85ºF day.Everyone knows that even just a few minutes in a car on a summer day canbe harmful and deadly. Leaving animals in closed vehicles is explicitlyaddressed in the criminal codes protecting animals in several states.However, Wilson's improper conduct pales in comparison to Clay County'spublic officials' willful decision to cause intentional torment to a dogin an utterly unnecessary and crude

experiment.PETA is calling on the state attorney's office to launch a criminalinvestigation into the incident. We are also filing a complaint with theU.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) calling for an investigation of theexperiment and asking the agency to file all appropriate charges at thefederal level. We believe that the experiment was a violation of federallaw because it was not conducted in a USDA-approved facility, nor was itscreened by the required oversight committee.The current whereabouts of the dog who was used in the disgracefulexperiment are unknown. We also do not know if he or she receivedappropriate—and surely needed—professional veterinary medical care.You Can HelpPlease join us in contacting the Board of Commissioners of Clay County,Florida, today. Urge the Board to do the following immediately:Outfit all Clay County Animal Control vehicles with air

conditioningInstitute an enforceable policy prohibiting officers from putting animals'lives at risk during transportJoin PETA in officially requesting a criminal investigation into thisserious matterRelease information regarding the whereabouts of the dog used in theexperiment as well as verification that he or she has received veterinaryattentionPlease also send polite comments to:Clay County Board of CommissionersP.O. Box 1366Green Cove Springs, FL 32043904-284-6376904-278-4731 (fax)Reenactment Performed to See if Heat Kills Dogs? Are You Kidding?!Posted at 02:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)wikimedia / CCHold on to your cruelty-free hats for this one, folks.

We've got a case ofthe hideously cruel and ridiculously obvious to break.In early September, we learned about the death of Diamond, a Rottweilerwho died while in the custody of a Clay County, Florida, animal controlofficer. The poor dog likely died from heat shock, allegedly because theanimal control officer left her in the back of the seething-hot van withno air conditioning, water, or fresh air on an 85° day—after riding aroundwith her for an hour or so and while he attended a meeting.A necropsy came up inconclusive but suggested that the death was relatedto heat stress. This was not good enough for Clay County officials,evidently, and they actually decided a reenactment was necessary so theycould prove that the officer wasn't at fault. Ready for it … WHAT?!!???!!Yeah, you can't make this stuff up. They placed a homeless shelter dog whowas "of similar size and weight" as Diamond into

the exact same box, inwhich the heat reached more than 86 degrees, and waited—presumably to seeif the dog would die. This lasted for more than one hour. I think we needone more resounding WHAT!???!!?? ? I mean, seriously, people, this is justcompletely insane—not to mention horrifically cruel. The fate of that poordog has not been made public.While it's bad enough that a dog died in the county's custody in the firstplace, this whole aftermath reenactment just makes me physically ill.Naturally, PETA Vice President of Cruelty Investigations DaphnaNachminovitch immediately sent off a letter to Clay County blasting themfor their senseless decision to subject a second dog to obviouslypotentially fatal conditions.If you are as outraged by Clay County's actions as we are, please takeaction!