If you care about the future of your law enforcement K9 puppies... - Page 1

Officer Charged In Death Of His K9 Partner
MIAMI (CBS4) ―

A 20 year veteran of the Miami police force has been charged with animal cruelty in connection with the death of his K9 partner who starved to death.

Investigators say the four-year-old bloodhound named Dynasty weighed 33 pounds when she died in November, though she had weighed almost twice that ten months earlier.

Rondal Brown, who was relieved of duty last month, was charged with one felony count of Cruelty to Animals and one felony count of an Offense against a Police Dog after he turned himself in to authorities Monday morning.

He will be released on bail, his attorney, Bill Matthewman said.

"It starved to death, every minute, every hour, for almost 30 days," said Sate Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle. "It's a very painful torturous, constant way of dying."

Dynasty was a bloodhound that specialized in finding missing persons. Dynasty was donated to the Miami Police Department in 2004 by the Jimmy Ryce Foundation, which donates bloodhounds to police departments.

Matthewman says it's "utter nonsense" to claim the officer intentionally harmed or killed his police dog. He claims Brown would never knowingly hurt Dynasty. The dog stayed at the home of Brown, who had been on desk-duty because of heart problems.

"Brown is well respected, he has an excellent record at the City of Miami police department and he would never do anything to harm an animal," said Matthewsman. "Especially a police dog, and especially Dynasty a dog who he dearly, dearly loved and has grieved over since Dynasty's passing."

The investigation into Dynasty's death was launched in November of 2007 when she died inside her dog kennel. The dog's body was taken to the Knowles Animal Clinic where the doctor noticed the dog's sunken eyes and protruding rib cage.

According to police, a necropsy performed at the animal clinic revealed an open wound on the dog's front paw where the bone and tendon were visible. The necropsy also revealed the dog had no body fat or muscle tissue and lacked any food or fecal matter in her intestinal track. The doctors estimated that it would have taken at least a month for the dog to reach its physical condition.

Investigators concluded that Officer Brown intentionally failed to provide Dynasty with the daily care it needed to sustain its life resulting in the dog's death from malnutrition.

Brown, a Miami officer since 1987, is a popular officer with a clean personnel history and more than 30 commendations.

This is the second investigation into the death of a police dog in the last year.

In May, 2007, Miami Dade police Sgt. Allen Cockfield was charged in the death of his police dog named Duke. Cockfield allegedly fatally kicked Duke during a training exercise in 2006. Cockfield, who is awaiting trial, has pleaded not guilty to the charge of animal cruelty and a second charge dealing with the death of a police dog; a third degree felony.

  ===Any comments?==

quote from the article posted:

Investigators say the four-year-old bloodhound named Dynasty weighed 33 pounds when she died in November, though she had weighed almost twice that ten months earlier.

So, in 10 months the dog hadn't trained with the department?  With nobody to evaluate her condition or abilities?  And no vet checks in that 10 month period?   Completely unsupervised care left to an officer with a heart condition who was relegated to desk duty?  And despite all of this she would have been expected to do a job if called upon?

What's wrong with this picture? 

Why wasn't the dog transfered to an officer who could properly provide for her needs, indeed perform the tasks of care, training and of a distance search if needed instead of being left with an officer with a known heart condition who was relegated to desk duty?

Dynasty was obvioulsy failed in so many ways.

But it's a bit more scary than that.  Would you have wanted her looking for your lost child not having been trained or worked in 10 months?  Almost a year?  That's a long time.

I think the practices of the Miami PD needs to be on trial here and not just one officer.

Yeah, I have plenty of comments, but I don't feel like getting beat up today, so will keep them to myself.  Very, very sad for the dog.

No one was looking.

No one saw a thing.

Theres a lot wrong with this picture , yes.

I want to know why?      Thats too long to suffer.

Way too long.

This story just made my local news but with little details.

Many of the reasons and excuses for this pathetic and outrageous behavior on the part of the officer and department are exactly the same as the behavior of Ray Jeffers of Bruderhaus Kennel (North Carolina). He is the guy who took money from people to train their dogs and when the owners retrieved their dogs from him found that they were in emaciated condition and ill. Another dog had died in his care, and a fourth dog is missing. People knew him, knew he had these dogs, and try on this database to tell us that he is a fine trainer, handler and decoy for Schutzhund. What is wrong with that picture? Further, several of his buddies have come to his defense suggesting they could "straighten" him out if what came to light was true. BS. (See the photo of one dog under TRAINER and the topic of "This could be your dog when returned from training).

There is NO EXCUSE for this or for the way the dog at the Miami PD was abused. Until and unless people who know about these things speak out and demand that people involved be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, until organizations who are supposedly about the dogs ban people like Ray from participation (whether the person is or is not a current member), these kinds of situations will continue. Want to know why? Because a lot of people who have dogs don't give one tinkers' damn for the dog. It is nothing more than a tool and money maker. Abuses like these happen because too many people are cowards and will not take a stand on anything.

     This officer is a disgrace to law enforcement and gives all k9 officers a bad name.  People never hear about the officers who treat their dog partners as part of the family and their best friend.  These dogs are heros and would do anything they are asked and only want love back.  The officer in question needs to be charged a felony as anyone should.  Unfortunatley in my state any form of animal cruelty is still a misdemeanor.  I hope the poor dog gets justice.,

Agreed the good officers & guys dont get the credit they deserve..A very good friend of mine was  K9 & Military handler. Great guy & Dog lover. Ive met many others..

But we must not portect the guilty, & instead single out that bad weeds & Demand Justice, from the Police officias, administrators, the Military, & Elected Officials,  lest we all wilt in apathy under tyranny.. just as we credit the honorable handlers & police.

k9neiko wrote:

This officer is a disgrace to law enforcement and gives all k9 officers a bad name.  People never hear about the officers who treat their dog partners as part of the family and their best friend.  These dogs are heros and would do anything they are asked and only want love back.  The officer in question needs to be charged a felony as anyone should.  Unfortunatley in my state any form of animal cruelty is still a misdemeanor.  I hope the poor dog gets justice.,

He is, indeed.  The dog, Dynasty, was a K9 partner, a member of the MPD as I read the story.  He should be charged with a felony resulting in the death of a police officer.  As should his direct superiors who failed to supervise and cause a standard to be maintained. I know two K9 officers and several SAR people locally and all of them, without fail, treat their dogs as if their lives and the lives of others depended on them.  They are best friends and partners in the truest sense of the words.

Are you saying that in your state the death of a Police K9 officer at another's hand is not a felony and is only misdemeanor animal cruelty or am I reading your post incorrectly? 

This does NOT give ALL K9 officers a bad name.  No more so then one doctor doing a bad procedure gives ALL doctors a bad name.   This sounds like an internal department failure and I'm sorry the dog paid for that failure.   I am proud that one of our pups is in training for K9 work and you can bet I do care very much about his future.