Facebook post leads to investigation of Dix property

An incident of suspected animal neglect and abuse in the Village of Dix was investigated by the Kimball County Sheriff's Office this past week.

Posts on the Facebook page for the High Plains PAW Inc. that first surfaced on June 23, pointed to neglect faced by two dogs, Merrick described as a "pit mix" and Shiloh described as a "hound mix", both located at 214 Spruce Street in Dix.

According to Sybil Prosser, President of High Plains People for Animal Welfare (PAW), when investigating the property on June 22, she and her vice president found the conditions that the two dogs were living in in a "shack" found out back of the house at 214 Spruce Street to be "deplorable".

"It has boards with nails sticking out all over it. It's a danger. It'd be a danger to humans, certainly a danger to dogs. It's hot. There's no air flow in there. Most of the windows are boarded up. You know, it's obviously...to say that it's not ideal is a huge understatement. I mean the condition is deplorable. All that being said, the dog's condition themselves they're healthy. They're not starved. They seem to be in very good health. They're certainly not dangerous. They're both very, very sweet dogs. They obviously don't deserve to live in a situation that's like this," Prosser said.

Upon making contact with the dog's owner, it became apparent that their presence was not well received, according to Prosser.

"[The owner] answered me with a few curse words. He wasn't happy to see us. And he answered all of our questions. You know, he was irritated that we were there," Prosser said.

Prosser had been alerted to the situation by local residents who had taken pictures of the living conditions and tagged her in the post, but what led her to go out and investigate were the reports that the situation was incredibly dangerous to the dogs and the treatment that the dogs were given in reports to the organization.

"When we were out there, I don't believe that there was water. When asked about water, they pointed to a leaky puddle outside. Okay, well they can't get outside to drink this so that's not helpful. It's kind of a 'he said, she said' thing in that we have other sources that live in that area that have told us that one of the windows is open. There isn't anything in it, no glass or plywood and obviously the dogs jump out of it, which is dangerous in itself. We were told that they've been throwing the dogs back in to this place through the window," Prosser said.

Though Prosser states that she finds the treatment of the animals to be less than desirable, she states that the dogs are in good condition and not emaciated or starving in any way, and she also says that it is obvious that the owner of the dogs cares about them.

"You could tell he loved his dogs. But you know, just like with kids, you can't feed a kid with love. You can't give a dog water with love. He said that there are some days that he works 18 hours. Well, you know, in my mind if you're working 18 hours and he said his wife works a lot, why do you have animals?" Prosser said. "I think that he does genuinely care for the dogs, but I don't know to what extent he's willing to go to provide the dogs an appropriate living environment. He said that he put the dogs in there because people in Dix were complaining about them."

Prosser and her organization also came under fire from local residents for not taking the dogs away from the residents. However, as Prosser points out, they are not an animal control organization and do not have the authority to remove animals from a home unless the owner consents to it. Prosser also made the point that even if the dogs had been removed, there would be no place to take them.

"We got a lot of backlash for going out there and not taking the dogs. I understand it. I wish we could have. My vice president was out there with me, and she said the same thing. We both wish we could've taken them. But one, if we were to take them, we have nowhere for them to go. And I think that's the other main issue that people kind of don't realize. It's like, okay, if people say we need to pass tougher regulations and ordinances for animal welfare, agreed hands down 100 percent, but where are they going to go once we seize them? There's nowhere for them to go," Prosser said.

Upon seeing the Facebook post, Kimball County Sheriff Harry Gillway decided to drive out to the location on July 3 in order to assess the situation himself.

However, when Gillway reached the location, the owner's had already addressed quite a few of the issues that Prosser had stated needed to be fixed by moving the dogs out of building they had been housed in and instead chaining them to dog houses in the yard and providing both dogs with water bowls that had been placed in holes dug into the yard to keep them from spilling.

"They've changed the living environment here for these dogs. The dogs aren't malnourished. They seem to be taken care of. They have water here. I'm not happy with the surroundings and how much debris is here. However, what I see is that there's no dog feces around. They've buried the water bowls so that they don't tip over when it's hot out. The dog has shade over here and this dog has a dog house. It's not how I treat my dog, and I wouldn't treat my dog this way. But I can't say that this is a really bad environment for them," Gillway said.

Though the situation was not ideal in Gillway's opinion, he states that he's simply glad that progress had been made at the location at the time.

"I'm glad that they're not able to get into [the house]. That was a dangerous situation with dogs living in a house that has nails exposed and boards and a lot of hazards to the animals. There are still some hazards out here. However, it's a lot better than what I saw in the pictures on that Facebook post," Gillway said.

Though the situation had seemingly gotten better during Gillway's initial visit on July 3, he was called back to Dix on Tuesday, July 8, by a neighbor stating that the dogs had gotten loose and were in their garage and being aggressive. Upon arriving at the scene, Gillway decided to seize the dogs.

"I did seize the dogs. Before they are released to the owner they have to have a license and have to be up to date on their shots, and they're responsible for the bill," Gillway said.

Gillway was also irritated by the recent incident, especially because progress had started to be made to address the problems that the owners had been made aware of.

"It irritates me, because I know that they tried. They didn't try hard enough. If either one of these dogs would have bit somebody today. I would have either put it down on the spot or I would have declared it a dangerous dog. Under the dangerous dog statute, they have to meet certain criteria. They have to be housed in a locked, gated high fenced kennel and can never be left outside on a leash or chain or anything like that," Gillway said.

Upon seizing the dogs, Gillway drove them to Prairie Animal Hospital in Kimball where they will stay until claimed by their owner.

"Perhaps maybe they won't even claim the dogs. I hope they come and get their dogs. But it'll be real expensive to them, and they could get out again. And if I declare them dangerous, it's going to be extremely expensive for them, because there are certain criteria that they have to meet before they can have their dogs back," Gillway said. "This time, they weren't dangerous. They were barking and barking and threatening, but they didn't bite anybody. But you never know. I always fear that, with the reputation of pit bulls particularly, that they could get loose and bite a child."

The Kimball County Sheriff's Office will continue to monitor the situation, Sheriff Gillway said.