- Oklahoma, USA -
On Thursday, April 15, Fletcher Police Department arrested 54-year-old TIMOTHY JAMES PEEK (pictured below) and charged him with one animal cruelty complaint.
Swok News reports that PEEK, former animal control officer, is accused of leaving his four dogs out in the elements to die during February’ s brutal winter storm.
According to the probable cause affidavit, PEEK had not fed or watered the dogs and had not cleaned the kennel between February 11, and February 15, when temperatures ranged between a high of 24 degrees to -5 degrees Fahrenheit.
As reported by News On 6, a resident who lives near the Fletcher Animal Kennel saw the furbabies locked in their outdoor kennels with a small metal enclosure without food or water and feces and urine was everywhere.
After the resident alerted an animal advocate in Lawton, and the advocate posted videos of the dogs’ condition on social media, police launched an investigation.
News On 6 reports that Fletcher Police Department chief Jason DeLonais said: “It looked like no one had been out there to check on the animals. (It) looked like they hadn’t been fed. There were no tracks, no tire marks.”
One piece of good news that rarely comes out of stories like this one is that all furbabies survived and one of them has already been adopted.
At first, based on the video alone that was posted on social media, there was not enough probable cause to arrest PEEK.
Later, investigators learned the poor furbabies were outside for more than four days exposed to freezing temperatures.
When investigators questioned PEEK, he told them he had no idea a storm was coming.
However, as reported by Swok News, PEEK had been educating the public through his social media account on how to properly prepare animal housing for inclement weather.
On February 10, PEEK even made a post showing the weather forecast for the week!
While PEEK was being taken into custody, Carl Lewis, the Managing Editor for the Comanche County Chronicle, was there and Mr. Lewis told News 9 that PEEK repeatedly yelled: “F_ _ _ those dogs!”
Chief DeLonais said: “It’s disappointing and it’s heartbreaking because you know you want to have faith in your public officials and people out there with public trust and the public got let down clearly because there is a huge outcry about it.”
PEEK is behind bars at the Comanche County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.
Thanks to taxpayers’ money, PEEK is being fed, he has water, his cell is not covered with feces and urine, he does not sleep on concrete, and he is not exposed to extreme weather conditions.
Voice For Us is in favor of the death penalty for animal abusers!
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