21 dogs taken in

April 29, 2007

By Russell Stigall

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - The last year has been rough on Mat-Su pets.

Mat-Su Borough Animal Care officers have had to seize three large groups of abused animals in the last 12 months, said Dave Allison, the borough's chief of animal care.

In the most recent case of abuse, officers removed 22 Alaskan huskies from a property near Point MacKenzie on Wednesday. One dog had died and 21 were emaciated.

Animal care does not yet know how the one Husky died.

&#8220The excuse from the owner is that it was hit by a car, but we're still looking into that,” Allison said. &#8220The dog was sort of tossed out into the yard.”

Allison said the Huskies' owner starved his dogs.

Animal care officers found the huskies chained to posts, they were skinny. One dog's chest was worn raw by

the chain wrapped around

its torso.

&#8220It is my understanding is that the guy was unemployed and could not afford to feed them,” Allison said.

But Allison said that was

no excuse since the animal shelter has so many resources available.

&#8220We've delivered hundreds of pounds of food to people who need help feeding their pets. So there is no excuse to starve you dogs.” Allison said.

&#8220They're still pretty darn thin, but they've been sucking the food down since they came in,” Allison said.

Several dogs had minor skin injuries. The worst injury besides the one death was a Husky with a choke chain that had grown into the flesh of

its chest.

&#8220It had actually imbedded itself into the flesh around the chest cavity, behind the front legs,” Allison said.

Animal Care officers went to the owner's residence to serve the warrant just after noon on Wednesday.

Allison said he doesn't always seize animals in situations like this.

&#8220But in this circumstance the dogs were in danger of starvation, further injury and death,” Allison said.

Alaska State Troopers arrested the huskies' owner George Bergevin on an unrelated warrant.

We're waiting for the vet to complete her exams to have an accurate count of the number of cruelty charges to bring against Bergevin. One charge per abused dog. Not sure yet if all the dogs show signs of abuse.

Allison anticipates a charge count by next week.

Animal cruelty, under Mat-Su borough code is a violation and carries a $300 fine per count, Allison said.

Allison said the state of Alaska considers animals to be personal property. Because of this Allison said he will have to ask the court to remove the dogs permanently from Bergevin's custody.

Rescuing 21 new dogs at once has stressed the shelter's facilities.

&#8220We're having to be really creative on where we put the animals,” Allison said. &#8220We encourage folks to donate blankets, treats, toys, dog food. We pass the dog food on to people who need it.”

Already Valley residents have helped the shelter and have kept stray dogs in their homes until the shelter begins to clear out.

&#8220We have a great community and great rescue organizations who are helping get dogs adopted,” Allison said.

Dr. Lisa Espey, Mat-Su animal shelter veterinarian, evaluated the condition of the abused dogs. The huskies were of all ages, some younger than a year.

Espey said the rehabilitation process is incremental.

&#8220Next we're going to put some weight on them,” Espey said. &#8220We'll use regular dog food, initially in frequent small meals.”

Espey said she doesn't know what will happen to the dogs' abuser.

&#8220Each case is an individual, but I've seen emaciated dogs before.”

The influx of so many new dogs into the tight quarters of the borough shelter may push other dogs at the shelter closer to euthanasia, she said.

As evidence, the huskies will stay at the shelter until a decision comes out of the court process, which could take time.

&#8220It is an ongoing case, so I don't know if the huskies will come up for adoption,” Espey said.

&#8220If the dogs become ours, they will go up for adoption. But I don't know how this is going to go.”

An anonymous call tipped off Animal Care on Monday. After checking out the

complaint, Animal Care got

a search warrant to collect

the animals at 11213 Lewis Loop, off Point MacKenzie Road.

Contact Russell Stigall at

352-2267 or russell.stigall@ frontiersman.com