Moment Arizona sheriff's deputy shoots seven starving, abandoned dogs after giving them water

An Arizona sheriff's deputy shot and killed seven starving and abandoned dogs on a rural property in September after giving them water, shocking footage shows.

While the Apache County Sheriff's Office says the deputy did nothing wrong, the incident has outraged local animal rights groups who argue the area needs to combat animal hoarding .

Body camera footage shows the deputy approaching the group of hungry dogs behind a chain-link fence where some are sleeping and others are barking and wagging their tails. He distributes food and water to the dogs. He then proceeds to shoot and kill seven of them, the video shows. An incident report says he then dumped the remains near the train tracks.

“Oh my God. This is going to suck,” the deputy says as the dogs follow him inside.

He then shoots seven dogs as two of them flee for their lives. The shooting was planned in advance and the deputy had informed a supervisor. The deputy – who works in a county without an animal protection and control department – ​​said the dogs had to be put down due to their condition and lack of kennel capacity.

Apache County Deputy Chief Roscoe Herrera said deputies can handle animal-related issues if they deem it necessary because the county does not have an animal control department, according to The Washington Post.

But animal rights activists say the shooting was the wrong solution and that the problem of animal hoarding and abandonment in the region must be addressed.

Founder of the nonprofit Northern Arizona Animal Search and Rescue, Teresa Schumann, said: The post office“The Apache County Sheriff’s Office will do nothing to resolve the problem.”

“Animals are dying all over the county,” she added.

The images were initially obtained by the Daily Star of the Mountain.

The deputy, Jarrod Toadecheenie, wrote in the incident report that the dogs belonged to a couple who were going through a divorce and had abandoned the property, adding that he had visited the home several times during over the past three weeks following complaints from neighbors about dogs attacking livestock. They were also left without food or water.

During the first visit, he counted 10 dogs, which appeared “in good health”. He was then called to the scene after the dogs chased a neighbor's donkey.

Toadecheenie contacted Schumann, who said she was having trouble finding new owners for the dogs when the deputy called to say he would take care of the situation.

In his report, the deputy states that Schumann told him that if the dogs were aggressive, they might have to be euthanized.

“I told him if the dogs were wild, we needed to try to find someone who would be willing to work with these dogs,” Schumann told KPNX 12 News. “I said it took a lot, but no, I never said we had to shoot them.”

Toadecheenie told his supervisor he planned to shoot the dogs. He bought dog food and a tray and got water from a fire station. He then went to the property, rounded up the dogs using food and water, and put on headphones before starting shooting at the dogs, according to body camera footage.

Two of the dogs escaped unharmed, hiding under a shed, and were then taken to an animal shelter by Schumann. One died from a virus and the other was adopted.

According to the report, the deputy said he attempted to contact the owners, with one telling them it would be OK to put the dogs down. He also said he tried to work with an animal shelter to find a home for the dogs, but there weren't any.

The deputy wrote in the incident report that the couple should be charged with animal cruelty.

Herrera said The post office, “This tragic decision was made under extremely difficult circumstances due to a combination of limited resources, the willful neglect and abandonment of the dogs by their original owners, and the significant amount of time spent seeking treatment. help from outside resources.”

A spokesperson for the sheriff's office told KPNX 12 News earlier this month, “The deputy involved acted in the most professional and humane manner given the circumstances.” He exhausted all other alternatives available to him at that time and acted under the approval of his immediate superior.

“Apache County does not have an animal protection and control department,” the spokesperson added. “In unincorporated areas, responsibility is left to MPs and the actions taken vary and are considered on a case-by-case basis. We have neither the infrastructure nor the budget to support such a department.

The humane society said The post office that “this horrific incident lacked compassion and judgment. And what is most clear is that the creation of an animal protection and control department in Apache County is an absolute necessity to prevent a situation like this from happening again in the future.

The independent has contacted the sheriff's office for comment.