No Justice, No Peace!

The Joyce Hunstad /Bellevue Case –
Summary:

For many months, KCACC and the Bellevue police department had received calls from concerned citizens pleading with them to save the abandoned animals they could hear crying and see pawing at the window of their neighbor’s condo. Instead of responding, both agencies chose to ignore the plight of the 8 cats and dog who ultimately died of starvation and dehydration during the unusually hot summer of 2004. Hunstad was not charged with the death of one cat who was found under a mattress by an exterminator days after the evidence-gathering phase had ended.

How We Can Do Better:

This case highlights the need for one, accountable agency to take charge of possible animal cruelty cases so that correct action can be taken -- in a timely manner that can save animals from suffering at the hands of their negligent owners. This tragedy could have been avoided if law enforcement was the sole recipient of any and all information regarding Hunstand’s animals. The multiple calls that were placed on their behalf, the reports of starving animals at the condo window and the dead cat found in Hunstad’s car in January of 2004 would have created a complete and compelling case for direct intervention before the animals died during the summer months of 2004. Instead calls were split between Bellevue Police and KCACC, giving each agency the opportunity to work at cross-purposes or look the other way. Each had a diluted view of what was actually happening to the slowly-starving animals.

The animal welfare community works tirelessly to pass strong animal cruelty laws and should work equally hard to see that they are enforced by qualified professionals. Please help us make this happen by joining KCACCExposed.org and supporting our call for the assignment of all animal cruelty cases to the King County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO). They have the skills, training, infrastructure and resources to respond to animal cruelty and neglect cases and to enforce the law when it’s violated.