Apalach Man charged with animal cruelty

An Apalachicola man has been charged with animal cruelty after the county confiscated a pair of pit bull in his care.

On December 30, Richard Duncan, of 1122 Bluff Road in Apalachicola, was charged with one count of animal cruelty as a result of a raid on his property in September prompted by an anonymous report that dog fights were being held there.

According to the police report, Duncan was arrested at 1:30 a.m. and released on bond 40 minutes later.

The September raid that led to the arrest was spearheaded by Norred and Associates, an Atlanta-based private investigative and security firm that maintains a toll free dog fighting hot line.

Phil Gallacher, a retired Atlanta police officer, said, “We were notified that the property located at 1122 Bluff Road in Apalachicola was possibly a dog fighting location,” said Gallacher. In addition to uncovering what may have been a pit bull training and fighting site, Gallacher also found two severely wounded pit bulls being kept on short chains.

Because of the severity of the dogs’ injuries, Gallacher went to the home of Sheriff Skip Shiver, who promptly dispatched investigators and animal control officers. On hand with Gallacher were Lee Adams, an investigator with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Panama City office; Lt. Ronald Crum, from the sheriff’s office; and Albert Floyd and Fonda Davis, both with animal control.

“We have been investigating dog fighting cases for years,” said Gallacher. “Of the over 250 dogs our team has rescued, these dogs here were in the worst condition of any we’ve seen to date.”

Duncan, owner of the dogs, told animal control he had left home on Tuesday morning and, when he came back, the dogs had broken loose and appeared to have been injured while fighting each other.

“I doctored them the best I could and staked them back out,” he said.

After examining the animals, Dr. Hobson Fulmer of Apalachicola Bay Animal Clinic wrote that both dogs were eight to 10 pounds underweight with dozens of old scars. He counted 32 puncture wounds on the face, head and front limbs of one of the dogs and over 70 on the other dog. He wrote that the injuries were consistent with fighting activity.

In a telephone interview, Sheriff Skip Shiver said, “Some people were disappointed that the arrest took so long but we wanted to do things right.  We wanted to make sure we had all our ducks in a row before we brought him in.  We want the charges to stick.”

Animal cruelty is a first degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

In a telephone interview, Gallacher said the two confiscated dogs, now in the care of Norred and Associates, are doing well.

The animals have received medical care, including facial surgery and are enrolled in a rehabilitation program.

One of the dogs, Phil, may have suffered brain damage as a result of abuse but is reported to be cooperative and friendly.

Gallacher said, “Everybody who comes in contact with Phil falls in love with him.”

The other dog Simmons is friendly to human beings but remains fearful of dogs.

If you are aware of dog fighting you can file a report by calling 877-215-2250. You may remain anonymous. A reward of up to $5,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest or conviction of a dogfighter. Read more…