Saginaw Police Find Child Playing With Dead Puppy in Home
I don't think I've ever heard a story about a child playing with a dead animal as if it were their toy or something. That was the case until today when I heard about an incident that took place in Saginaw a while back.
Saginaw police officers were responding to what was probably a normal (unfortunately) domestic disturbance call. When they entered the Saginaw home what they saw was anything but normal. They saw a child that was treating/playing with a dead dog as if it were a toy. They knew at that point that they needed to get Saginaw County Animal Care & Control involved in the situation.
Animal Control Director, Bonnie Kanicki:
There was a deceased dog that a young child — approximately 3 to 4 years old — was carrying around by one leg as though it was some kind of stuffed animal toy. It was upsetting for all of the officers to see that. The officers at the scene also engaged the assistance of Child Protective Services.
That is a disturbing image that she painted, right? The child was carrying a dead dog around by one leg as if it was a stuffed animal. That is pretty messed up.
According to MLive, Animal Control officers seized two adult Chihuahuas, one was pregnant and the other had recently delivered a litter of two. They also took one puppy, more than 30 fish, a turtle, and a hamster. The animals were lacking food, water, and sanitary conditions.
A 37-year-old man was arrested on his third domestic violence offense. He's also facing one count of cruelty to four to 10 animals. It's not clear what relation the man is to the child. Strangely enough, he's not facing any child abuse charges. I would have thought there would be some kind of charge since the kid was dragging a dead dog around the house.
All the animals that were rescued are in foster care with a local rescue and will be adopted out.