ER - Dogs' condition consistent with starvation, report states

Heather Muller/The Eureka Reporter
A dog rescued from kennels near Mad River gets a little love from the hands of Shannon Miranda.

Dogs' condition consistent with starvation, report states
by Heather Muller , 8/20/2006

A veterinary report issued Saturday left little doubt that at least two of the dogs rescued from kennels on the former property of Roberta Bugenig were suffering from starvation.

“On physical exam I found both dogs to be emaciated and too weak to walk on their own,” stated the report, written by Dr. Sarah Schroer from Ferndale Veterinary Inc.

One dog had open sores on its flanks, and “both were fearful of humans and avoided physical contact and eye contact,” the report stated.

“The condition of these dogs was consistent with a prolonged period of starvation and neglect.”

All 13 of the surviving dogs were examined at Ferndale Veterinary Aug. 11, the day that they were rescued. The two dogs Schroer referred to in her report required additional treatment.The report is likely to be a key piece of evidence should charges anticipated against John and Stacy Malcolm be filed.

The Malcolms’ attorney, Timothy Noal Gray, a former Humboldt County public defender, said as much last week when he suggested dehydration rather than starvation as the possible cause of the dogs’ condition.

Dehydration would shorten considerably the time frame of the neglect and would help Gray make the case that the Malcolms were not responsible for the abuse — because a shadowy itinerant fence-builder, so far identified only as “Roger,” had taken over the care and feeding of the dogs.

Roger moved onto the former Bugenig property in June, according to Gray, and gradually assumed responsibility for the animals. After that time, Gray said, the Malcolms had little to no contact with the animals.

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

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not a veterinarian. I’m just asking the question. And I’m wondering if when the hot weather came, it brought it on a lot quicker.”

But Schroer, who is a veterinarian, didn’t think a dehydration defense would hold water.

“I’m pretty confident in saying that anyone would agree those dogs hadn’t had enough to eat, and that was the problem.”

Dehydration can make a dog depressed, sluggish and slow, she said, and can result in modest weight loss.

“But it doesn’t turn a dog into a rack of bones, which is what I saw when I treated the two dogs here.”

She added, “I’ve been at Ferndale Veterinary for three years, and I would say that these are the worst dogs I’ve seen.

“We see a lot of dogs for Miranda’s (Animal) Rescue, but I certainly don’t think I’ve seen dogs quite that thin, even coming into the rescue.”

One of the 13 Mad River dogs had to be euthanized, and last week one of the two dogs Schroer had treated took a turn for the worse.

“He just went insane,” Miranda said Thursday. “He was ramming his head into the side of the stall, and I couldn’t get him to stop.”

The dog was sedated, but Miranda said that seemed to make the condition worse.

On Saturday the dog was euthanized. “I just couldn’t stand it anymore, and neither could he,” Miranda said.

“I was bawling like a frigging idiot, but I told him. I promised him. I said someone is going to pay for what they did to you.”

Timeline of dog abuse scandal

2004:
Roberta Bugenig moves to property near Mad River. Civil litigation begins almost immediately stemming from Bugenig’s misappropriation of funds from the Wilson Family Trust, of which she was at one time the trustee. Bugenig was accused of having purchased the property with funds from the trust and was found civilly liable of fiduciary elder abuse. Title to the property is restored to Humboldt Public Guardian Ramon Herrera as new trustee.

January 2005: Eviction proceedings against Bugenig begin.

March 2005:
Eureka attorney Allison Jackson phones Trinity County Animal Control to report that animals may be abandoned as a result of the eviction, and the county would need to be prepared to immediately deal with the problem. On March 15, marshals and deputies from Trinity County attempt to forcibly remove Bugenig, and a two-day armed confrontation ensues. Bugenig flees into the woods behind the property and is subsequently apprehended. She is charged with brandishing a firearm at a peace officer but gets out of jail on bond. Around this time, Bugenig transfers ownership of her animals to John and Stacy Malcolm for $20.

April to November 2005:
Bugenig is on and off the property while she awaits trial. The Malcolms assist Bugenig with the animals. Eureka law firm Morrison, Morrison & Cooper continues efforts to remove Bugenig and her animals from the property so that it can be sold and the trust repaid. According to Jackson, she continues to phone animal control about the care and condition of the animals.

November 2005:
Bugenig remains out on bond, and the Malcolms continue to assist with the animals. A series of letters change hands reporting, from the Morrison firm, that the animals are being improperly cared for and, from Trinity County counsel, that the reports are unfounded. A deputy is sent to check on the animals and says that they seem to be fine. This is the last recorded inspection of the animals.

March 2006:
Bugenig is remanded and begins serving a 16-month prison term.

April 2006:
A Mad River resident finds a dog dump site off the side of Highway 36 that reportedly contains 40 to 50 dead dogs. The discovery is not reported to law enforcement officials.

July 2006:
Daniel Cooper, attorney for Herrera, tells Shannon Miranda that the animals are not fine and that he should contact the Malcolms about removing them. John Malcolm is given Miranda’s phone number, and on July 20, Stacy Malcolm calls. Miranda said she told him 25 dogs would be delivered to him on the 25th, but on the 24th she calls back and cancels. According to Miranda, Stacy reported the dogs to be in good condition. A second appointment is made and missed, and then a third. The last week of July, U.S. Forest Service law enforcement agent Steve Frick finds a dog dump off of South Fork Mountain Road near Mad River containing the remains of seven dogs. The dogs had been placed in a blue barrel.

August 2006:
Frick traces the blue barrel back to the Bugenig kennels. He goes onto the property Aug. 10 and finds dogs dead and dying. He calls Miranda and assists with the rescue of 13 surviving dogs on Aug. 11. One dog is euthanized the following day. On Aug. 14, a resident of the Mad River area tells The Eureka Reporter the location of the dog dump first seen in April. Shannon Miranda and The Eureka Reporter find the dump still containing the remains of 10 to 15 dogs. The skulls of most of the animals contain small-caliber bullet holes. Animal Control Officer Christine Edwards is led back to the site, and evidence is recovered that links the dogs to the Bugenig kennels. On Aug. 18, a second dog is euthanized due to severe psychological problems. The dog had been recovered from a kennel containing the remains of five dead dogs.

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