FRESNO, Calif. (KMPH) -
If the S.P.C.A. is ready to haul away your neighbor's dog do you have a right to intercede? Animal lover Melissa Cabrera found out the hard way that the answer is no.
She tried to convince an animal control officer to let her keep her neighbor's three wandering dogs. But his message to her was, "Back off or I'll call Fresno Police!"
The dogs live two blocks south of Fresno's Manchester Center. But it doesn't appear that the owner still lives there. We found a couple of empty bags of dog food and a water bucket that was bone dry.
The SPCA says the two Chihuahuas and a Pit Bull were making the front yard their home. But they weren't on a leash, and that's why they had to be rounded up.
Melissa Cabrera who lives a couple of doors up the street wanted to help a neighbor. "I offered to take in the dogs to find their owner or to take care of them myself. He said that if I did he would call the cops on me and I would be charged with a misdemeanor."
Cabrera asked the animal control officer to speak to a supervisor but her request was denied. Her most immediate concern was what might happen to all three dogs? "There's a high possibility that they're gonna be put to sleep and for what reason. Just because of some policy that isn't really working."
Late Thursday KMPH News spoke with SPCA spokesperson Beth Caffrey. She said that the dogs were roaming and not leashed which is a violation of Fresno Municipal Code.
She also explained that since the dogs have an owner they are considered personal property and can't be handed over to a concerned neighbor.
Lastly animal control officers are just like cops, and it's a misdemeanor to get in their way when they're doing their job. Melissa Cabrera believes the policy needs to be changed.
Beth Caffrey says the biggest hurdle the SPCA faces is all three dogs weren't tagged or micro–chipped.
