07-30-2008, 11:56 AM
Dog breeder still at large
BOULDER CREEK RESIDENT FACES CHARGES OF ANIMAL ABUSE OVER EMACIATED CANINES
By Linda Goldston
Mercury News
Article Launched: 07/30/2008 01:33:26 AM PDT
A Boulder Creek dog breeder appeared to be taunting animal control officials Tuesday as investigators found a dog skull and two decomposing dog paws on the same small table where they discovered five dog skulls Saturday.
Investigators also caught two more dogs and hope to round up the other eight still roaming Robert Brunette's property on Hartman Creek Road.
Nowhere to be found was Brunette, 45, who faces animal abuse charges when he is located and arrested. The two dogs taken Tuesday and many of the 28 dogs removed from the property on Saturday are severely emaciated and terrified of humans. Dog skulls and a dog's head found hanging from a tree also were confiscated.
"Another search warrant was executed to try to round up some more animals," said Henry Brzezinski, just five weeks on the job as general manager of Santa Cruz County Animal Services.
Brzezinski said he "couldn't even speculate"' why Brunette would have placed the dog skulls on a table outside his house or hung a dog's head from a tree - or why the man would live in a house that was covered in excrement, urine and debris, with a dog carcass and a lawn chair on the roof.
Authorities said Brunette has been advertising Cano Corsos, also known as Italian mastiffs, for sale in the San Jose Mercury News and other papers, possibly presenting them as pure bred, which can cost as much as $1,200 to $2,000 each. But he was also breeding them with Rottweilers and Labrador
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retrievers.
Animal control has started receiving calls from people who purchased dogs from Brunette.
Many of the dogs taken to the agency's shelter in Scotts Valley were heavily scarred from fighting for food and included puppies from a few days old to a few weeks old. One dog, about 10 years old, apparently had been kept in the cab of a truck for a year or two, and the seat cushions were covered in feces and urine.
"I don't know what his propensity is but we're at the point where we want to make contact and talk to him," Brzezinski said.
All of the dogs that needed veterinary care have received it and "a few are starting to come out of their shell," Tricia Geisreiter, animal services coordinator, said Tuesday. "It's a little sad to see puppies that are this leery of people."
Authorities were prepared to arrest Brunette on Tuesday. Officials decided to release his name because the press was prepared to publicize it.
Authorities went out to see Brunette on Friday after a neighbor reported hearing "animals crying in pain" on his property. Brunette refused to let them on the property, saying his dogs were well cared for. Investigators returned Saturday with a search warrant and Brunette ran out the back when they arrived.
It wasn't the first time complaints had been made against him.
Animal control had received reports of animal abuse in 2002 but were unable to obtain a search warrant. And three years later, in 2005, he was investigated for alleged building violations and improperly operating a kennel.
At that time, there were fewer dogs, said Ken Hart, principal planner with the Santa Cruz County Planning Department.
"The original complaint was from animal control but an administrative hearing officer determined that animal control did not have the legal right to be on the property at the time," Hart said. "He basically threw out our case."
Ever since, neighbors have talked about and worried about the dogs on the property. The tip came from a neighbor who heard the dogs "crying in pain" and called when a dead dog was seen on the property.
If convicted of animal abuse charges, Brunette would face a fine of $20,000 or up to three years in jail.
Anyone who might have bought a dog from Brunette or has information about the dogs is asked to call Santa Cruz County Animal Services at (831) 454-7254.
BOULDER CREEK RESIDENT FACES CHARGES OF ANIMAL ABUSE OVER EMACIATED CANINES
By Linda Goldston
Mercury News
Article Launched: 07/30/2008 01:33:26 AM PDT
A Boulder Creek dog breeder appeared to be taunting animal control officials Tuesday as investigators found a dog skull and two decomposing dog paws on the same small table where they discovered five dog skulls Saturday.
Investigators also caught two more dogs and hope to round up the other eight still roaming Robert Brunette's property on Hartman Creek Road.
Nowhere to be found was Brunette, 45, who faces animal abuse charges when he is located and arrested. The two dogs taken Tuesday and many of the 28 dogs removed from the property on Saturday are severely emaciated and terrified of humans. Dog skulls and a dog's head found hanging from a tree also were confiscated.
"Another search warrant was executed to try to round up some more animals," said Henry Brzezinski, just five weeks on the job as general manager of Santa Cruz County Animal Services.
Brzezinski said he "couldn't even speculate"' why Brunette would have placed the dog skulls on a table outside his house or hung a dog's head from a tree - or why the man would live in a house that was covered in excrement, urine and debris, with a dog carcass and a lawn chair on the roof.
Authorities said Brunette has been advertising Cano Corsos, also known as Italian mastiffs, for sale in the San Jose Mercury News and other papers, possibly presenting them as pure bred, which can cost as much as $1,200 to $2,000 each. But he was also breeding them with Rottweilers and Labrador
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retrievers.
Animal control has started receiving calls from people who purchased dogs from Brunette.
Many of the dogs taken to the agency's shelter in Scotts Valley were heavily scarred from fighting for food and included puppies from a few days old to a few weeks old. One dog, about 10 years old, apparently had been kept in the cab of a truck for a year or two, and the seat cushions were covered in feces and urine.
"I don't know what his propensity is but we're at the point where we want to make contact and talk to him," Brzezinski said.
All of the dogs that needed veterinary care have received it and "a few are starting to come out of their shell," Tricia Geisreiter, animal services coordinator, said Tuesday. "It's a little sad to see puppies that are this leery of people."
Authorities were prepared to arrest Brunette on Tuesday. Officials decided to release his name because the press was prepared to publicize it.
Authorities went out to see Brunette on Friday after a neighbor reported hearing "animals crying in pain" on his property. Brunette refused to let them on the property, saying his dogs were well cared for. Investigators returned Saturday with a search warrant and Brunette ran out the back when they arrived.
It wasn't the first time complaints had been made against him.
Animal control had received reports of animal abuse in 2002 but were unable to obtain a search warrant. And three years later, in 2005, he was investigated for alleged building violations and improperly operating a kennel.
At that time, there were fewer dogs, said Ken Hart, principal planner with the Santa Cruz County Planning Department.
"The original complaint was from animal control but an administrative hearing officer determined that animal control did not have the legal right to be on the property at the time," Hart said. "He basically threw out our case."
Ever since, neighbors have talked about and worried about the dogs on the property. The tip came from a neighbor who heard the dogs "crying in pain" and called when a dead dog was seen on the property.
If convicted of animal abuse charges, Brunette would face a fine of $20,000 or up to three years in jail.
Anyone who might have bought a dog from Brunette or has information about the dogs is asked to call Santa Cruz County Animal Services at (831) 454-7254.
