The city of Winnfield, LA is home to Uncle Earl’s Hog Dog Trials – an annual event where dogs are turned loose in an enclosure with wild hogs whose tusks have been removed. The length of time it takes the dog to pin down and/or maim the hog determines the winner. Winnfield proudly advertises the blood sport on its website, describing the event as the “Super Bowl” of hog dog rodeos.
Although Winnfield’s city website does not mention an animal control officer, it apparently has one. Or had – as the last one is currently in jail, charged with animal cruelty. Former Winnfield ACO Eva Wise allegedly stopped paying rent in October 2013. At that time, her landlord, who was preparing to evict her, received a phone call from the Heart of Louisiana Humane Society requesting permission to access the property for a cruelty investigation.
Wise had allegedly left 9 dogs on the property she abandoned, chained without food or water along with 8 dogs and a litter of puppies on another property one mile away. Two of the dogs were already dead and the rest were reportedly in such bad shape, all but two were euthanized on site.
The landlord, Jennifer Johnson, says she asked Wise why the dogs had been left to starve to death:
“She just said that she couldn’t hardly afford to feed herself, much less the animals and she had said that she had told some of her husband’s family they needed to come get the dogs because she had apparently up and left and this had been for several weeks,” said Johnson.
Although the dogs were discovered in October 2013, Wise was not arrested until February 28, 2014. Law enforcement declined to explain the reason for the lengthy delay. She has since pleaded not guilty to seven counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Her court date has been set for July 28. One of the two surviving dogs has an adoption application pending and the other is available for adoption.
City of Winnfield, this is your wake-up call. Stop being proud of hurting dogs and start attracting a different element in your animal control department. Every dog has the right to live, to love and to be loved. Advertise that.
(Thank you Clarice for sending me this story.)