Dogs will be put to sleep

Time has nearly run out for a majority of the pit bulls confiscated by Caldwell County Animal Control nearly one month ago after a drug raid uncovered a suspected dogfighting operation in Dudley Shoals.

The first round of lethal injections for the dogs will begin today, Caldwell County Health Department Director Denise Michaud said Tuesday morning.

Two of the original 38 dogs confiscated by the county were taken by Fugee's Rescue of Raleigh Saturday. Two to three more of the dogs are expected to be taken by another rescue agency, Michaud said. The county tried to avoid a fate of euthanasia for the abused animals, but there were very few responses to the national calls for help, she added.

“We sent out 300 e-mails,” Michaud said. “In a month we have exhausted all reasonable means for the animals.”

The animals that were saved were selected based on temperament. Michaud and various local dog experts had previously said that the dogs could not have undergone normal adoptions due to their history of abuse and possible fighting.

On April 2, the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office raided the property of Rockey Oran Sigmon, 31, of 3250 Oran Yount Lane in Dudley Shoals. Later that day Sigmon, and his 28-year-old wife Jennifer Leigh German Sigmon were charged with felony trafficking cocaine, felony possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and felony maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for controlled substances. According to reports, deputies found more than 450 grams of powder cocaine and marijuana, $25,486 and several firearms at their home.

Rockey Sigmon also was charged with felony trafficking cocaine or heroine and felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a schedule 1 controlled substance by the Caldwell County Sheriff's Office May 2.

During the raid officials discovered 36 dogs on the property and another 44 in a nearby field. Animal Control seized four of the dogs in need of medical attention that day and the remaining animals were left on the property. When officers went to get the remaining dogs April 8, they discovered that more than half of them had been removed from the property.

Animal Care and Control Executive Director Chad Barr said Tuesday that Animal Control has not launched an investigation into the missing dogs. He said Animal Control officers know where many of the dogs are, but since they are not considered evidence, Barr indicated that officers have no plans to take them.

“There has been no decision to search for these other animals,” Barr said. “Our officers have not formally questioned anyone about the missing dogs or started any kind of investigation because a lot of the dogs, according to the defendant, belonged to others, but were under his care.”

On April 18, Animal Control filed dogfighting charges against Sigmon, who remains at the Caldwell County Detention Center under a $540,000 bond, while his wife has been released. Sigmon is expected to appear in court May 12, and Jennifer Sigmon, who will be tried separately, has no pending court appearances.

Since the dogs were taken into custody, the county has spent an average of $300 to $400 per day caring for them. The cost includes boarding the animals at various locations, but not basic care. That responsibility has fallen under Animal Control and requires several hours of work, which has stretched an already small staff even thinner, Michaud said.

“It's been a tremendous strain,” she said.

The lethal injections will begin with the dogs that are located offsite, Michaud said. They will be brought to the shelter and put down beginning with a sedative, which will be followed by a lethal injection. Michaud said the process is humane.

She offered no specific timeline for the euthanasia process.

The case has been a tough one for Animal Control from the beginning. First, reacting to the discovery of approximately 80 dogs suffering varying degrees of abuse, and then caring for them over the past month. Michaud said that two Animal Control staff members have asked not to be involved in putting the dogs to sleep.

“This is what our folks do day in and day out,” she said. “It takes its toll on an individual's heart.”

The decision on what to do with the dogs, once it became clear that there are few options left, was left to Michaud, based on last week's decision by the Health Department Board of Directors.

Though no one is looking forward to the demise of the abused animals, Michaud is finding some solace in the fact that a few of them have been saved. She's hoping that some positives can arise from the unfortunate situation.

Along with heightening awareness of the horrors of dog fighting and the difficulty of dealing with animal adoptions, Michaud said it showed how much the community cared about these animals. She referenced a car wash hosted by a club at West Lenoir School of Technology raising funds for the shelter as one example.

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