Bluff Road man charged with animal cruelty

An Apalachicola man has been charged with animal cruelty after the county confiscated about three months ago a pair of pit bulls in his care.

On Dec. 30, Richard Duncan, of 1122 Bluff Road in Apalachicola, was charged with one count of animal cruelty as a result of a Sept. 19 raid on his property prompted by an anonymous report of dog fights there. According to the police report, Duncan was arrested at 1:30 a.m. and released on bond 40 minutes later.

The September 19 raid that led to the arrest was spearheaded by Norred and Associates, an Atlanta-based private investigative and security firm that maintains a toll-free dog fighting hot line.

Phil Gallacher, a retired Atlanta police officer, said his firm, which has no connection to Undersheriff Joel Norred, was told by a confidential informant the Bluff Road address was a possible pit bull training and fighting site.

Gallacher said after investigators found two severely wounded pit bulls being kept on short chains, he went to the home of Sheriff Skip Shiver, who promptly dispatched investigators and animal control officers. On hand with Gallacher were Lee Adams, an investigator with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Panama City office; Lt. Ronald Crum, from the sheriff’s office; and Albert Floyd and Fonda Davis, both with animal control.

“We have been investigating dog fighting cases for years,” said Gallacher. “Of the over 250 dogs our team has rescued, these dogs here were in the worst condition of any we’ve seen to date.”

Duncan, owner of the dogs, told animal control he had left home a few days earlier and, when he came back, the dogs had broken loose and appeared to have been injured while fighting each other.

“I doctored them the best I could and staked them back out,” he said.

After examining the animals, Dr. Hobson Fulmer of Apalachicola Bay Animal Clinic wrote that both dogs were eight to 10 pounds underweight with dozens of old scars. He counted 32 puncture wounds on the face, head and front limbs of one of the dogs and over 70 on the other dog. He wrote that the injuries were consistent with fighting activity.

The arrest was greeted with enthusiasm by many animal lovers.

“I’m glad that Duncan has been arrested,” said Susan Kearney, president of the Franklin County Humane Society. “Now we will just have to keep phoning the prosecutor to see that he follows through with the case.”

Shiver said that “some people were disappointed that the arrest took so long but we wanted to do things right. We wanted to make sure we had all our ducks in a row before we brought him in. We want the charges to stick.”

Animal cruelty is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

In a telephone interview, Gallacher said the two confiscated dogs, now in the care of Norred and Associates, are doing well. The animals have received medical care, including facial surgery and are enrolled in a rehabilitation program. Both dogs are now up to optimum weight, happy and healthy.

Rescue workers changed the names of the confiscated dogs, “Taz” and “Seiko,” to “Phil,” for Phil Gallacher, and “Simmons.”

“We wanted to give them names with better associations,” said Judy Landry, publicist for Gallacher’s firm.

Phil may have suffered brain damage as a result of abuse but is reported to be cooperative and friendly. “Everybody who comes in contact with Phil falls in love with him,” said Gallacher.

Simmons is friendly to human beings but remains fearful of dogs.

If you are aware of dog fighting you can file a report with Norred and Associates by calling toll-free (877) 215-2250. You may remain anonymous. A reward of up to $5,000 is offered for information leading to the arrest or conviction of a dogfighter.