FALLSBURG, KY. — On Tuesday, April 2, 2019 Lawrence County Animal Control was dispatched by 911 for a vicious dog call from 3 weeks ago. Upon arriving to the scene at 3D Road in Fallsburg, Jimmy Cantrell, Lawrence County Animal Control Officer shot two dogs killing one and injuring the other.
Blackie the surviving dog was transported to Tri-County Animal Clinic by a good samaritan where the vets were able to save his life, but not his eye or some of his teeth that were damaged by the bullet to the head.
Cantrell who had animal traps with him did not try that or any other course of action which could have prevented this from happening.
This is what Karen Salvaterra of Lawrence County Humane Society posted on her Facebook page:
“Last night animal control in Lawrence County KY went on a so called ”vicious” dog call where he made the decision to shoot both dogs ending one’s life and injuring the other with a shot to the head an then leaving it for dead (this man does NOT work for the Humane Society, he is contracted by the county).”
“Lawrence County Humane Society received a call this AM from a concerned citizen and thanks to Carlie Bowen for kicking into action and taking the injured dog to Tri-County where he will lose an eye as well as teeth that are damaged…Does this dog look ”vicious” to you? Scared maybe but absolutely NOT vicious!!! There are ways to handle capturing these types of animals and a bullet to the head is NOT one of them!!!Treating animals in such inhumane ways has GOT TO STOP. Contact whoever you think you need to in order to address this issue!!
We are needing the public’s help for the dog ”Blackie” he needs his surgery!!If you can donate even $1.00 it all adds up, please call Tri County Animal at 606-673-1144 and apply toward ”Blackie the gunshot dog” or you can PayPal lchshelter@hotmail.com or mail checks to P.O Box 1331 Louisa, KY 41230….As always we appreciate all help given.”
Update on Blackie:
“Blackie is safe he had to be taken from Tri County in order not to be euthanized by animal control who went there to make them put him down, as of right now we will not be releasing his location. Please hold off donating at this point. Will update as soon as I can. THIS DOG HAS BEEN ORDERED TO BE EUTHANIZED BY ANIMAL CONTROL::::: PLEASE PEOPLE HELP SAVE HIM CONTACT EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!!!!!…”
Judge Executive’s office releases statement about the incident:
In regard to LAWRENCE COUNTY DOG WARDEN
“On Tuesday, April 2, 2019, Jimmy Cantrell, in the capacity as the Lawrence County Dog Warden, responded to a 911 call on 3D Road in Fallsburg regarding a complaint of a vicious dog.
Upon arrival, Mr. Cantrell had an encounter with the dog and made several attempts to apprehend the dog to no avail. Mr. Cantrell tranquilized the dog but still felt threatened and subsequently discharged his firearm at the dog. The gunshot wound injured dog but did not result in its death.
A thorough investigation was completed by the Lawrence County Judge Executive’s Office. And as a result of this incident, Mr. Cantrell has resigned as the Lawrence County Dog Warden effective immediately. County Judge Executive Phillip Carter has accepted Mr. Cantrell’s resignation and as a result, the county will be replacing Mr. Cantrell’s as dog warden sometime in the near future.
Further, the county would like to take this opportunity to tell the citizens of Lawrence County that we take all matters, such as this and many others, very seriously and have a policy of investigating all matters and concerns on behalf of all Lawrence Countians.”
Ordinance dealing with animal control
Lawrence County Ordinance Relating to Animals; All animals shall be properly tagged, untagged animals or animals at large may be taken by the Sheriff, the county dog warden, or the humane society and impounded in an animal shelter. Animals not claimed by their owners within 7 days shall be eligible for adoption or may be destroyed. The Lawrence County Humane Society, as agent for Lawrence County, Kentucky; shall sell the tags at their facility and retain all revenue to operate the center. If an animal is found at large and its owner can be identified and located, such animal need not be impounded but may, instead, be taken to the owner. In such case, the Sheriff, dog warden or other officer may proceed against the owner for violation of this ordinance. Whenever a dog or cat bites a person, the owner of said animal shall immediately notify the Sheriff or county dog warren who shall order the animal held on the owner’s premises or shall have it impounded for a period of two weeks.
Ordinance was not followed by Cantrell
This was not the case for these two dogs who were reported almost 3 weeks ago. The owners of the dogs were elderly couples who paid Jimmy Cantrell to tranquilize their dogs — not shoot them, Humane Society spokesperson Karen Landis Salvaterra said.
Cantrell after shooting and killing one dog shot at Blackie 4 times striking him once and the dog fled to a neighbor’s home where they hid him from the warden and immediately got help for Blackie who came out from hiding without being “vicious” even after being wounded.
The owners of the dogs are outraged by his actions along with many citizens.
Cantrell could not be reached for comment after repeated tries.
The piece of shit who shot both dogs needs to be charged with TWO FELONIES just like anyone else!!! There was NO reason to shot these dogs!! CANTRELL thinks he is ABOVE THE LAW, and if he isn’t charged then the county is covering up for this piece of shit!!!!
So was it legal for the warden to use county supplies to tranquilize the dogs while being paid by the county and the owners? Was it legal to take pay from the owners? Glad he’s gone. We had good people in several positions this new judge fired and replaced. Wonder who’s next?
They need to make things right for this dog. Needs to be treated and cared for not destroyed. The so called Wardon should be charged with animal abuse and of one and killing the other. Those dogs didn’t deserve what they as dosh d out to them.
if he came on to my property and shot one of my dogs he would be the one in a shallow grave. he should be charged with animal cruelty and reckless discharge of a firearm at the very least. hopefully everyone where in lawerance county will treat him like the piece of shit he is
What a coward. He needs to go to jail. Big gun means nothing between the legs. Lets it out on poor animals.
That is so sad. Why was the change made for animal control officer? Politics always rears it’s ugly head. If he has tranquilizer, why didn’t he use that?
What kind of training does an Animal Control Officer receive when appointed? Any at all??? There should be some such as learning the ordinance and the proper steps to take for completing one’s job. Just because one is given a title does not make that person knowledgeable of their job!!!!
County better be thinking about Training for all positions!!!!
These dog wardens don’t have any training. They are usually relatives of somebody on the Fiscal Court, hired because they can’t find any other employment due to lack of skills and/or basic intelligence.
This is not so unusual in Kentucky. The worst state out of fifty for animal abuse. Obviously this man should not have been chosen to carry a deadly weapon. This should be investigated in depth by Frankfort, including the judge. It doesn’t pass the smell test.
If you read the whole story it clearly says
“ Upon arrival, Mr. Cantrell had an encounter with the dog and made several attempts to apprehend the dog to no avail. Mr. Cantrell tranquilized the dog but still felt threatened and subsequently discharged his firearm at the dog. The gunshot wound injured dog but did not result in its death”.
So unless you were actually, physically at the scene you do NOT know whether he did or did not try what the Judge Executive’s Office said he did. Although the dog looks very nice, and calm does not mean at the time of the incident the dog was not being vicious.
I personally feel like there was surely something else that could’ve been done but I was not there either. I feel terrible for the dog, but we as humans have got to stop acting like animals are human beings. I see more people getting outraged over an animal then they do over the violence that happens in society each and everyday over human life.
Animals can turn on a dime and if I felt threatened by a dog then I would absolutely shoot it also. Again I don’t know that was the case in this situation but I don’t know that it wasn’t either. So until all the facts are known by someone that was physically there then I feel that we should refrain from calling this man such vulgar names. He is a human and this was a dog. And before you start going off on me, no I am NOT related to this man in any way and I have absolutely NO idea who he is, I wouldn’t know him if he rang my doorbell. I am NOT from LC so I’m sure that you all know him and his character but no one deserves to be called such inhumane names for something that no one can say 100% sure of what happened other than this man.
If you read theENTIRE story it says:
“This was not the case for these two dogs who were reported almost 3 weeks ago. The owners of the dogs were elderly couples who paid Jimmy Cantrell to tranquilize their dogs — not shoot them, Humane Society spokesperson Karen Landis Salvaterra said.
Cantrell after shooting and killing one dog shot at Blackie 4 times striking him once and the dog fled to a neighbor’s home where they hid him from the warden and immediately got help for Blackie who came out from hiding without being “vicious” even after being wounded.
The owners of the dogs are outraged by his actions along with many citizens.”
Reading is fundamental.
Trust me douche bag, although I have no idea who you are I would be assured in the fact of almost guaranteeing that I have a far superior education than you do. I have 4 year degree at Vanderbilt University which as we all know is a very prestigious University. I read the whole article including what you are referencing. And regardless of what words are being used in the article doesn’t mean when Mr. Cantrell arrived, that the dogs, didn’t have a dog type moment and become aggressive. That’s my basic premise to the whole subjective matter in hand. I’m NOT justifying what he done, if done out of reckless neglect, however if he shot the dog bc he felt threatened, and only he knows what he felt, then in my opinion disregard of human safety for the safety and well being of an animal is asinine.
No one cares about your degree from a PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITY.
Of course people that don’t have a degree from a prestigious university doesn’t care about it. The truth is, it’s not that you don’t care about it, it’s that ur jealous so therefore you try to tell yourself u don’t care about it, bc deep down it makes you mad bc you DON’T have a degree like I do so you feel inferior. So your only recourse is to come back with “NO ONE CARES”. Had you went and worked hard to obtain the same degree I have then you wouldn’t be saying what you did, you would be smart enough to reason the logic in the details of the outlined article to come up with same conclusion I was able to reach. But of course I wouldn’t expect you to understand anything I just said!
Remember, just because one has a “degree” from a “prestigious university” does not make them, by no means, SMART!!!!! Plenty of people have done great things with only a high school education. Educated idiot!!!
I would much rather be an educated idiot, as opposed to being just an idiot. Nice try though. Your welcome.
The only comment on here that has made any sense. Thanks JC native.
There are other options. Most ACOs don’t even carry a weapon.
I’m appalled by this action and the possibility of the one dog that survived being ordered to be euthanized. Shame on you!!!!!! I have 3 rescues and I understand leash laws etc. but sometimes dogs unfortunately get out of fences etc. Persons with this type job should understand what there dealing with and not use killing as a primary option when dealing with these situations.
unbelievable, disgusted at our judicial system shame on you!! This sickens me and I think this story should be reported to local and state news agencies in order to bring this type criminal behavior to the forefront. Animals deserve rights as well.
What is not clear in this story is what was going to be the outcome of the dogs lives IF the dog warden was able to subdue the animals. I doubt he was just tranquilizing the dogs to return to the owners. Most likely was going to catch them and have them put to sleep. Also what lead up to the call 3 weeks ago? Who and why were the dogs reported to be vicious? Too many on here are jumping to conclusions with out all the facts. A dog can turn on a dime sometimes. What if they attacked a child was the initial reason? Or killed someone’s livestock? No doubt things probably could have been done a much better way but I wasn’t there and this story on here don’t give all the facts.
Jeremy I have to say that I completely agree with you. It’s all too often people want to think with their feelings and not use the brain God gave them. All these animal activists automatically want to start jumping the gun that bc an animal got shot, that the shooter acted with reckless abandon and that’s not always the case. There was obviously a reason the owners REQUESTED them be tranquilized. I would be willing to bet there is a history with these dogs. I don’t understand why as a human race we are always so quick to judge people that every time an animal has to handled with excessive force that, someone was just being careless and heartless. Makes no sense.
This is a slanderous story with an obvious bias meant to cause outrage. Bad journalism. This should be retracted and an apology issued.