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FLORENCE – After an eight month effort by Pinal County Animal Care and Control, a convicted animal abuser will be spending time behind bars.
On Wednesday, Eric Boyd, a San Tan Valley resident, was convicted of animal abandonment, dog at large and leaving a dog at large at a park by the Apache Junction Justice court.
Boyd was sentenced to 30 days in the Pinal County Jail, 100 hours of community service and 24 months’ probation.
“It is satisfying to get this conviction,” stated Animal Care and Control Director Kaye Dickson. “Officer Annje Hultgren’s efforts to help this abused animal and find the person who was responsible was amazing. If it weren’t for her actions and determination, this guy would have gone free. The decision to accept a pet into your family should be well thought out and a lifetime commitment to the animal. Animals should never be thought of as disposable property”
The case began on February 21 when Animal Care and Control received a call from Boyd stating he had an animal that was acting aggressive towards him and would like for an officer to come and pick up the dog. When informed about the owner surrender fee, Boyd hung up.
Boyd contacted Animal Care and Control later and stated that he had tied the dog to “a pole at a park.” Boyd gave the dispatcher a vague description of the area where the dog was located. Officer Hultgren was sent to the area to look for the animal.
Hultgren was flagged down by a citizen who saw the dog chained to a piece of playground equipment. The dog was in distress and in poor health.
“I proceeded to approach the dog,” Officer Hultgren recalled. “I could see that the dog’s two front feet were not touching the ground, due to the short rope attached to his neck. He was unable to reach the bucket of water because he could not move his neck to bend it down towards the bucket. He could only move his head from side to side. There was a white sheet of paper taped to the bar of the playground equipment with black duct tape with writing that stated ‘This dog will bite you. Don’t touch him!'”
Officer Hultgren was able to free the animal and bring it to her vehicle for transport to Animal Care and Control. What ensued over the next week was a game of cat and mouse with Boyd.
“All we wanted to do was to have Mr. Boyd surrender the animal to us so that we could potentially adopt the dog out,” Dickson said. “Officer Hultgren made arrangements several times to meet him to complete the paperwork. He gave false addresses and intentionally missed appointments to sign the dog over.”
Mr. Boyd finally met with Animal Care and Control officers a week later to sign over the dog. Officer Hultgren stated in her investigative notes that Boyd told officers that the Sheriff’s Office told him to tie the dog up and abandon him, then Boyd changed the story to reflect that Animal Care and Control told him to tie the dog up at the park.
“We would never, ever do any such thing,” Dickson said. “This was a man who was trying to play the system to his benefit. In the end, what could have been a fee to sign over the dog to one of our officers becomes 30 days in jail because of his abusive behavior toward the dog.”
After consultation with the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, Boyd was issued three citations by Animal Care and Control. The case made its way to the Apache Junction Justice Court where Mr. Boyd was sentenced.
The dog, a cocker spaniel, was adopted out to a rescue group immediately following Boyd signing the dog over.
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