Kirkpatrick Foundation introduces manual for veterinarians responding to animal abuse
A contractor heard a dog crying in agony. When he went to investigate, he found an elderly dog in a garage, dragging his back legs. Worried about the animal, the contractor found a woman nearby and asked what had happened. She explained that the dog was old and needed to be euthanized. The man compassionately offered to pay for the euthanasia and asked if he could take the dog to his veterinarian. The woman agreed.
At the clinic, the veterinarian assessed that the dog was in severe pain and that the animal needed to be euthanized. She performed the procedure and a follow-up necropsy, which revealed acute blunt-force trauma on the chest and the spine as well as contusions of the kidney.
This could have been the end of the story.
However, the veterinarian knew something was not right. She suspected the dog had been beaten and contacted local law enforcement. Further investigation revealed she had been right. When law enforcement visited the home, they also found a small child with bruising. It was too late to save the dog, but the child could be protected. Both the man and the woman present in the home were arrested on complaints of child and animal abuse.
“One of the most important reasons for a veterinarian to report suspected animal cruelty is that he or she may not know the full story,” said Ann Olson, executive director of Animal Folks, a Minnesota nonprofit. “A veterinarian may examine an animal and suspect that cruelty occurred but may not know all the details — and reporting may uncover other examples of violence against animals and/or humans.”
Reporting suspected animal abuse can save lives. However, until recently there was no unified system in Oklahoma to do so. A manual recently published by the Kirkpatrick Foundation of Oklahoma City aims to change that. Olsen is the creator of the original manual the Oklahoma version is based on.
Animal cruelty in Oklahoma
As part of its Safe & Humane strategic initiative, Kirkpatrick Foundation is advocating for a system that will provide resources needed to identify, document and report animal cruelty in Oklahoma. They believe their best allies are those who see animal cruelty firsthand: the veterinarians and technicians who are on the frontlines, seeing how animals are treated and responding to abuse cases.
This year, the Kirkpatrick Foundation published “Reporting Animal Cruelty: The Role of the Veterinarian” to help veterinarians identify and report suspected animal cruelty. The manual is a follow-up publication to the foundation’s comprehensive report, The Oklahoma Animal Study.
“Abating animal abuse is a multidisciplinary team effort,” said Louisa McCune, executive director of Kirkpatrick Foundation. “By reporting suspicions to law enforcement, the veterinarian has the ability to stop violence and protect both animals and humans. Oftentimes, though, veterinarians aren’t comfortable reporting their clients to the authorities. This manual teaches them how to document and handle those difficult situations.”
Added Olsen, “These types of crimes are serious, and any evidence must be collected and documented professionally. This is medical forensic information that could determine charges and be presented in a court of law, so how and what data is gathered, recorded and presented is important.”
The manual provides explanations of law and supporting materials so veterinarians can develop protocols for their practice should they, or others, face a suspected or known case of animal neglect, cruelty or abuse. It provides guidelines that will not only offer shared systems but will also lead to more uniform reports and responses. While slanted toward smaller companion animals, many of the manual’s principles are applicable to horses, farm animals, exotics and wildlife.
Protecting animals — and humans
Studies have shown that 71 percent of battered women with pets affirmed that the batterers had threatened, hurt or killed their companion animals, and 32 percent of battered women reported that their children had hurt or killed animals.
These are just a few examples but they outline a picture. Veterinarians are the ones who can help bring this picture into focus and open the door for law enforcement to step in. Once law enforcement receives a complaint, they can conduct an investigation and, with the city or county attorney’s office, determine whether the collected evidence supports criminal prosecution.
Protecting the voiceless
“It is not a pleasant matter to suspect that the patient in front of you was injured cruelly and purposefully, and realize law enforcement needs to investigate,” said Dr. Lesa Staubus, veterinarian with American Humane, the country’s first national humane organization. “This is not something they teach us about in vet school. This manual is important because it helps guide veterinarians through this difficult and important process. By providing step-by-step guidance to veterinarians in dealing with this most serious task, this manual is invaluable in helping keep our animals and our communities safe and humane.”
Veterinarians take an oath to protect animals and are required by their licenses that allow them to practice to report suspected animal cruelty.
“This legal requirement to report exists because it is well understood that where there is animal abuse, there is most often other abuse within the home, and that abuse is rarely an isolated event,” Staubus said. “It is our job not only to help animals but to use our diagnostic and medical knowledge to recognize signs of abuse, and then work with law enforcement officers so that they can determine if a crime has occurred.”
Olsen added the general public can and should report any cruelty they see or suspect. Place a call and also put it in writing.
“The complaint, hopefully, will trigger an investigation. Complaints may also establish a pattern of behavior — for instance, there could be three, five or 10 incidents by that abuser over years. If no one reports the maltreatment, law enforcement would have no idea what’s happening,” she said.
The Kirkpatrick Foundation is committed to mitigating animal abuse in all of its forms in Oklahoma.
In 2012, the nonprofit organization announced its 20-year initiative, Safe & Humane, with the goal to make Oklahoma the safest and most humane place to be an animal by the year 2032.
For a free mailed copy of the manual, email office@ kirkpatrickfoundation. com or view it at kirkpatrickfoundation.com.
This article is sponsored by the Kirkpatrick Foundation.