KCMO animal control has been called out to this house twice in the last two weeks. There are 3 dogs here and they are in a hell hole. There are 2 black dogs in pens in the back and a pit bull chained up on the side. We actually spayed this pit bull over a year ago. Things have been going down hill ever since. This owner got another dog even though she wasn’t taking care of the ones she already had. Their ears were bleeding, their pens were disgusting with trash and feces. The flies were terrible, their water was filthy, the black dogs were thin-it was bad. One of the black dogs was chained in the corner of his pen on a VERY short chain-he could barely move and he was right in the hot sun on a day with a heat index of 105 degrees. We took some pictures and called this into animal control.
Desperate to get out of there.
This is how the case was “resolved”-the officer was unable to capture the animal. What? That wasn’t even the call! We saw the report from 311 and they typed up the report correctly. I have no idea how/why animal control didn’t respond appropriately.
Case Resolution
Date: 07/01/2016
Summary: NOT CAPTURED
Description: The Animal Health and Public Safety Officer patrolled the area but was unable to capture the animal. If the animal is seen again, please contact the 311 Action Center and report the last known location of the animal.
We continued to watch this house and these dogs and of course, things continued to be horrible, especially with the heat wave we were having. We were there on a Sunday and it was very bad. We called it in again, this time through the police department since it was a Sunday. They said they would get animal control over there. That was a week ago. We didn’t get a case number because we called it in through KCPD, but these are the pictures from just this past Sunday. I’d say nothing has changed, except the black dog was not tangled on his chain inside the pen the other day. All 3 of the dogs were hungry (the food on the ground is from the volunteer), they had nasty water, their ears were bleeding, the black dogs are thin, there was feces-it was disgusting. WHY??? Where is the compassion? the care? the concern?
Bloody ears.
Flies.
The black dogs are thin!
The slop they were eating:
The water they had to drink:
Yes, folks-these dogs are still there after Chain of Hope calling this in TWICE. Why in the world should we have to make our 3rd call to animal control to get them the help that they need? It does no good. There is apparently no help for them. Unbelievable.
You might remember the following dog from the news story several weeks ago. Chain of Hope spotted this black and white pit bull, chained to a fence in an empty field. The only thing there was an abandoned car, but no one was living in it. The first day we saw him, he had a water bucket standing up near him, although we could not see if there was anything in it or not. He definitely was not in a good situation. We wondered who had chained him up here. He was on a very short chain. The heat index that day was over 90 degrees. We called this into animal control. The next morning, we checked the case and it said that the animal control officer had “talked with the owner” and left the dog. We had to wonder if they really talked with the owner or not. It was hard to believe that they spent enough time over there in the neighborhood, found the owner and had spoken with them. With no paper trail, no citations to follow, etc. it made me wonder if they even went over there. Call me cynical, but I’ve see this happen multiple times.
We headed right back over there to check on this dog and thank goodness we did! His 5 gallon bucket was laying on it’s side. He was still chained on a very short chain to the same fence. He was exactly as he’d been the day before. Thank goodness Chain of Hope cared enough to get back over there the next day and check on this boy. It was 87 degrees that day. No way animal control had been here. If they had been and left this dog like this, they should be ashamed of themselves. Either way-they failed this dog. We called this in again. They came a 2nd time and finally impounded the dog. Why does it take Chain of Hope to recheck these animals? Why, why, why does something like this need even more than one phone call? This should have been taken care of, this dog should have been provided help the FIRST time animal control went there. Instead, we have to go back over there ourselves the next day to make sure this poor dog isn’t still sitting there chained to the fence with no water, which of course he was. If it wasn’t for Chain of Hope, he could’ve died there of a heat stroke.
Another classic case. A neighbor called Chain of Hope and was at the end of her rope regarding the two pit bulls next door to her. They lived in terrible conditions. They had big chains wrapped around their necks-no collars. They had flies all over them, they never had water unless she, the neighbor, gave it to them. She has now called animal control on these dogs 3 times. One of the earlier visits resulted in citations-we are not sure what for because nothing changed. The last time animal control was called in June, the officer said there were no violations.
Enjoying a rawhide from our volunteer-a small amount of joy in his day. Chain wrapped around neck, flies all over him.
His dog house is always in 2 pieces-even when it’s raining. That white thing is his nasty food bowl.
Where the female pit has to sleep.
Yes, folks, these dogs are still here too. The neighbor said they went without fresh water for days again last week until she finally was able to go over and water them. These people don’t care about these dogs at all, neither does animal control and here they sit.
I received a call from a postal carrier regarding a dog closed in a crate on a balcony in mid-town. I went over and saw that someone had put an older puppy in a pet taxi on the balcony of their apartment building. The balcony was only about 5 feet off the ground. There was no door on the pet taxi, so they had pushed the opening up to the fence around the balcony and had tied some kind of rope around there so the puppy couldn’t get out. It was hot outside and I don’t think there was any food or water for it, plus the fact that it was shut in there apparently a lot. I learned when I called this into KCMO animal control, that this was also called in on April 29th. It was now May 8th. When this poor puppy was called in on 4/29/16, the case came back “unable to make contact”. Seriously? No one answered the door, so they just left this puppy in there? Now it was 9 days later and thank God the mail carrier had called Chain of Hope. I don’t know what happened between 4/29 and 5/8, but I do know what didn’t happen-animal control left it there and did not check back. We snapped some pictures and called this in again. This time, the puppy was removed, after the police had to be called. How do you leave an animal in this on a fairly hot day and not even go back and recheck the next day?
KCMO animal control is a dysfunctional department. Animal advocates and KCMO residents have been asking for change for years and it falls on deaf ears at city hall. We receive many, many calls from neighbors who have already contacted animal control and nothing was done. The mayor and the city manager couldn’t care less about the animals in Kansas City. Although a new city shelter is needed and has been talked about for years, that will not change anything regarding the enforcement side of things-which is animal control. That department desperately needs new leadership! It is obvious to EVERYONE except Mayor Sly James and City Manager Troy Schultz. Some in city leadership have been promised change is coming to the KCMO animal control department, but nothing ever happens and these animals continue to sit in unsanitary, inhumane conditions. We continue to show the pictures, state the cases and let you all know what is going on regarding these issues. It’s a battle everyday and it’s exhausting. I know for a fact that many, many dogs would be in deep, deep trouble or dead without Chain of Hope pursuing the “no violations” and the “unable to make contact” “results” from animal control. We have to push and push to get help for an animal and it shouldn’t have to be that way. We’re out here for the long haul, though. Many thanks to our supporters for keeping us out there for these animals.