A Waukee man faces charges after a neighbor tapes a video of him dragging, kicking and throwing objects at his dog. Waukee police say Zac Brooks has been charged with animal neglect, a simple offense. “The Dallas County Attorney’s Office advised us to bring charges of animal neglect, but there wasn’t enough abuse,” said Waukee Police Sgt. Mackenzie Sposeto. Poseto says officers went to the NE Satinwood townhouse on Saturday to order looking at the dog after worried neighbors called whole dog from head to tail, “Sposeto said.” There are no signs of injury, no trauma to see. He greeted the owner and ran around in circles. So they said, here is what we’re going to ask of you. You need to bring the dog indoors – it’s cold, and then make sure the dog has food and water. “Sposeto says because officers couldn’t see any injuries, they can’t blame Brooks for animal abuse. After consulting with the Dallas County attorney, the police charged Brooks with neglecting animals because there was no food or water in the garage. Neglect of.” Animals is an easy offense, which means Brooks can keep his dog. Waukee police say they continue to stop by to check on the dog. “It’s just not an ethical way to treat a living being. I really just want what’s best for this dog, “said neighbor Ben Lewis. Lewis says he recorded the videos and called the Waukee police after witnessing Brooks’ behavior for weeks.” Because the videos were so distressing are like them, I thought, you know, someone will have their say, “said Lewis animal rights groups like the Iowa Animal Rescue League weigh in after watching the videos online and on social media.” The Iowa Animal Rescue League is deep worried about what we saw in the videos and what neighbors have reported witnesses – and we join them in their immediate concern for this dog’s welfare. What we have seen and heard is completely unacceptable and we believe it deserves a full investigation into the dog’s welfare and possible charges, “said Tom Colvin, CEO of Animal Rescue Anna Bergman, a member of the League of Iowa Waukee City Council, urges police to take the dog to a veterinarian for an internal exam. “Our police department is not a veterinarian,” Bergman said. Bergman also wants lawmakers to re-examine the Pet Protection Act. “If we have cases where animals go through what we saw in these videos and the law still doesn’t protect them. That’s a problem with the law, “Bergman said. In July, a new animal cruelty law went into Iowa to better protect pets. The law clarifies legal definitions of animal crimes, conducts mental health assessments, and increases penalties. KCCI spoke to Zac Brooks on the phone. Brooks says he was frustrated with his dog for chewing expensive blinds, but he never hurt them. Brooks calls the charges against him “ridiculous.”
WAUKEE, Iowa –
A Waukee man faces charges after a neighbor tapes a video of him dragging, kicking and throwing objects at his dog.
Waukee police say Zac Brooks has been charged with animal neglect, a simple offense.
“The Dallas County Attorney’s Office advised us to bring animal neglect charges, but there wasn’t enough abuse,” said Waukee Police Sgt. Mackenzie Sposeto.
According to Sposeto, officials went to the NE Satinwood townhouse on Saturday to examine the dog after neighbors called in concern.
“They let the dog run out of the kennel. The dog wagged its tail, they actually sat down and checked the entire dog from head to tail,” Sposeto said. “There’s no sign of injury, no trauma to see. He greeted the owner and ran around in circles. So they said, here is what we’re going to ask of you. You have to bring the dog inside – it’s cold , and then make sure the dog has food and water. ”
Sposeto says because officers couldn’t see any injuries, they can’t blame Brooks for animal abuse. After consulting with the Dallas County attorney, police charged Brooks with animal neglect because there was no food or water in the garage. Animal neglect is a simple offense, which means Brooks is allowed to keep his dog. Waukee police say they continue to stop by home to check on the dog.
“It’s just not an ethical way to treat a living being. I really only want the best for this dog,” said neighbor Ben Lewis.
Lewis says he recorded the videos and called the Waukee police after weeks of watching Brooks’ behavior.
“Since the videos are as distressing as they are, I thought you know someone is going to have a say,” said Lewis.
Several animal rights groups, including the Iowa Animal Rescue League, weigh in after watching the videos online and on social media.
“The Iowa Animal Rescue League is deeply concerned about what we saw on the videos and what neighbors said they witnessed – and we join them in their immediate concern for this dog’s welfare. What we saw and heard is totally unacceptable and we believe it deserves a full dog welfare investigation and possible prosecution, “said Tom Colvin, CEO of the Animal Rescue League of Iowa.
Waukee City Council member Anna Bergman calls on the police to take the dog to a veterinarian to check for internal injuries.
“Our police department is not a veterinarian,” Bergman said.
Bergman also wants lawmakers to re-examine the Pet Protection Act.
“When we have cases where animals are going through what we saw in these videos and the law still doesn’t protect them. That’s a problem with the law,” Bergman said.
A new animal cruelty law went into effect in Iowa in July to better protect pets. The law clarifies legal definitions of animal crimes, conducts mental health assessments and increases penalties.
KCCI called Zac Brooks. Brooks says he was frustrated with his dog for chewing expensive blinds, but he never hurt them. Brooks calls the charges against him “ridiculous”.
