ER - Defense attorney says John and Stacy Malcolm not to blame for abuse of dogs

Defense attorney says John and Stacy Malcolm not to blame for abuse of dogs
by Heather Muller , 8/18/2006

An itinerant fence-builder identified only as “Roger” is the true culprit in the Mad River dog abuse case that has rocked Trinity and Humboldt counties, according to John and Stacy Malcolm’s defense attorney Timothy Noal Gray.

In a news release issued Wednesday, Gray stated that the Malcolms had hired Roger to help with a fence on their property, and the man “became the caretaker on the property and gradually took over the duties of feeding and watering the dogs — which were the only animals left.”

On Aug. 11, 13 dogs were removed from the property, previously occupied by Roberta “Kiki” Bugenig who, according to civil court rulings, obtained the land and three buildings on it with money illegally acquired from a family trust.

Rescuers said the dogs were starving to death in and around kennels that contained the remains of dozens of other dogs that had already died.

Not coincidentally, Gray had previously been retained by Bugenig to, as he put it, “unwind” her civil dispute.

Bugenig and the Malcolms were friends, and when Bugenig lost title to the property and was subsequently arrested by Trinity County Sheriff’s deputies for brandishing a firearm during a forced eviction attempt in March 2005, she transferred ownership of her animals, including an unknown number of horses, sheep and dogs, to the Malcolms for $20.

Stacy, Gray said, “volunteered” to feed the animals.

“This was to be a temporary (arrangement) that developed into a full-time job,” according to the release.

But Gray didn’t say whether the Malcolms legally owned the animals.

In a Wednesday interview, he told The Eureka Reporter, “The purpose (of the transfer) was to allow Stacy to deal with the animals as an owner. I think $20 changed hands and here, you can have all the dogs. It was like a guardianship thing, not a transfer, because the Malcolms originally didn’t know how long Kiki would be incarcerated.”

Bugenig was sentenced to 16 months, and problems with the animals began almost immediately.

Gray said that even before Roger “took over,” Stacy “downsized about 20 dogs.” Three more dogs were “put down” because they had killed the sheep, and Lucky, an older horse, died on the property. Additional dogs “passed away,” Gray said.


Gray said Roger moved onto the Bugenig property in June 2006 and gradually assumed responsibility for the remaining animals.

At first, Stacy continued bringing dog food to the property, but over time, Gray said, Roger began picking it up at the Malcolm residence.

After that, according to Gray, the Malcolms had little to no involvement with the remaining dogs.

They visited the property “not very often,” Gray said.

“And when they did, it’s not like they checked on the animals or went in there. They just went by and said hi. I don’t know how many times Stacy went up there.”

But Shannon Miranda said he doesn’t buy the argument that the Malcoms were uninvolved with the animals.

“Stacy told me she was feeding those dogs herself once a day,” Miranda said.

According to Miranda’s phone records, conversations with Stacy began on June 20, when she first contacted him about surrendering some dogs to Miranda’s Animal Rescue in Fortuna.

But at the time, Miranda said, he believed the problem was one of dog hoarding, not dog abuse.

Miranda said he spoke with Stacy about the condition of the animals and was repeatedly told they were fine.

“She said, ‘Shannon, I go every day and sometimes I go twice a day.’ She said, ‘put your mind at rest,’ or something to that effect. ‘I’m feeding those dogs myself,’” Miranda said.

“She never told me about any guy feeding them. She said she was doing it herself.”

Miranda said he offered repeatedly over the next few weeks to take some of the dogs to his shelter, but he had no idea about the true condition of the animals until he was called onto the property by Steve Frick, a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement agent stationed at the Mad River Ranger District.

Miranda found dozens of dogs both dead and dying in and around the kennels that lined the perimeter of the former Bugenig property. Several of the dogs appeared to have eaten dozens of other dogs locked in kennels with them.

But on Thursday, Gray said that, to date, he had still seen no proof that any of the dogs was starved.

The dogs might have died from a lack of water, he said, rather than a lack of food, which would shorten considerably the time frame of the abuse — and possibly point the finger at Roger instead of the Malcolms.

“You can be starved for a long period of time, but you can’t be without water,” Gray said.

“I don’t know. I’m not a veterinarian. I’m just asking the question.”

Gray said people should refrain from making judgments until all of the facts in the case are known.

“In the beginning it looks real terrible and bad and all that, but then you kind of have to wait until the dust settles,” Gray said.

“Right now, everybody’s upset, everyone’s emotions are high, but several weeks down the road, it takes on a different complexion. People are going to be more deliberate.”

In the news release Gray stated, “There have been threatening phone calls to (the Malcolms) since last week, and the latest incident involves a sign next to their house calling Mrs. Malcolm (a) killer.”

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