Just last week a warrant was issued for a 27-year old Lakewood man who was accused of dumping 9 emaciated puppies in the woods near JBLM for failing to show up in court. Yesterday, Feb 5, 2013 he was officially charged with animal cruelty and will be arraigned in court today. Of the nine pups that were dumped in the woods, one did not survive the event and the other eight are doing well and are in foster homes.
Christopher Merrick is the man who has been accused of dumping the emaciated and dehydrated pups in the woods near JBLM, essentially leaving them there to die. The investigators on the case have said that the puppies ribs were sticking out and several had paws that were swollen to twice their normal size. Others had severely swollen eyes and many of them were bleeding from open sores all over their bodies.
In Sept. of 2012 a Lakewood Animal Control officer received an anonymous call about Christopher and went to his home to check on the puppies. Christopher allegedly told the Animal Control officer that he had taken nine 6-month old pups to the Humane Society. The Humane Society's kennel supervisor advised the officer that Christopher had brought the pups in, but did not leave them due to the fee. Although the Humane Society does charge a fee to bring in an animal, they are always willing to work with you if your not able to pay it. Christopher’s mother defended her son's actions last week and said "we didn't abandon our dogs; we took them to go get help, I couldn't afford no $900." The Humane Society confirmed that they were willing to work with Christopher but he left with the puppies anyway.
Once the puppies were found in the woods a veterinarian examined them and found that they had severe parasitic skin infections, conditions relating to purposeful neglect, and were in very poor condition. One of the nine puppies did not survive the ordeal but the other eight are in homes now and doing well.
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