Incident Sparks Controversy and Calls for Reform
In a rural area of Adamana, Arizona, body-camera footage captures a distressing scene as an Apache County sheriff’s deputy shoots and kills seven starving dogs on an abandoned property. The video, released by Molly Ottman, Executive Editor of the Mountain Daily Star, and shared with The Washington Post, has sparked outrage among local animal advocates.
The disturbing footage
The footage begins with the deputy, identified as Jarrod Toadecheenie, placing food and water inside a chain-link enclosure. The dogs, some barking and wagging their tails, follow him inside. “This is going to suck,” the deputy says before pulling out his handgun and shooting each dog. He then drags their bloodied bodies to his truck and later dumps them near railroad tracks, as detailed in the incident report.
Sheriff’s office defends actions
The Apache County Sheriff’s Office, which serves approximately 65,000 people, maintains that Deputy Toadecheenie acted within his discretion. Chief Deputy Roscoe Herrera stated that the lack of animal control services in the county gives deputies the authority to address animal issues as they deem necessary. Toadecheenie declined to comment on the incident.
Community outrage and advocacy
The shooting has enraged local animal advocates who argue that there were more humane alternatives. Teresa Schumann, founder of the nonprofit Northern Arizona Animal Search and Rescue, condemned the action. “The Apache County Sheriff’s Office won’t do anything to fix the problem,” she said, highlighting the broader issue of animal hoarding and abandonment in the area.
Background of the incident
The dogs belonged to a divorcing couple who had abandoned their property. Deputy Toadecheenie had visited the property multiple times over three weeks after neighbors reported the dogs as a nuisance. Initially, he found the dogs in good health but later received reports of the dogs chasing a neighbor’s donkey.
Schumann was contacted to help find homes for the dogs but struggled to do so. On September 22, she informed Toadecheenie that no homes had been found. After discussing his plan with his supervisor, the deputy proceeded with the shooting.
Two dogs escaped uninjured and were later rescued by Schumann. One died from parvovirus, while the other was adopted. In his report, Toadecheenie recommended charging the couple who abandoned the dogs with animal cruelty, but no charges had been filed as of Friday.
Chief Deputy Herrera acknowledged the community’s distress, stating, “This tragic decision was made under extremely difficult circumstances due to a combination of limited resources, the willful neglect and abandonment of the dogs by their original owners, and the considerable amount of time spent seeking assistance from outside resources.”
This incident underscores the urgent need for improved animal control services and better handling protocols in rural communities to prevent such tragic outcomes in the future.