Carrabelle woman accused of animal neglect

The county’s animal control department is going to court to prohibit Alice Dawn Kerkvliet from owning animals, in this county or anywhere else in Florida.

Van Johnson, director of animal control, appeared before the county commission Sept. 15 to request that Kerkvliet, of Carrabelle, be prohibited from owning animals.

The commission approved the request unanimously. County Attorney Michael Shuler and Johnson must now appear before County Judge Van Russell to request he issue the order and obtain ownership of the dogs.

In the interim, the dogs will be kept by animal control and are available to be fostered. They are in need of a good home and a safe haven. If you can help call 670-8167.

Johnson’s request came after Kerkvliet was cited twice earlier this year for animal neglect.

On Feb. 14, Carrabelle Police Sergeant Craig Kincaid responded to a reported water theft at 1101 Owens Drive, the former residence of Kerkvliet and her husband, Jason. Kincaid found seven dogs tied to fixed posts and trees outside of a deserted house, many without food and water.

Kincaid learned Kerkvliet had moved elsewhere in the county, to 111 Sharroll Court, and had left the dogs behind. She periodically returned to feed and water them, using a neighbor’s hose since the utilities at her former home had been shut off.

Kerkvliet agreed to pay her neighbor’s water bill and he dropped the complaint. The seven dogs were confiscated by animal control

Kincaid wrote in his report there were previous complaints about dogs at the Owens Drive address, including dogs running at large and parvo contamination of puppies purchased from Kerkvliet.

Parvo, or canine parvovirus type 2, is a contagious virus mainly affecting dogs. The disease is highly infectious and is spread from dog-to-dog by contact with feces. It can be especially severe in puppies. The common signs are severe vomiting and bloody diarrhea.

The Kerkvliets were also suspected of operating a kennel without a license, according to Kincaid’s Sept. 3 police report. In Nov. 2008, while investigating a charge of child abuse, Kincaid found 24 dogs chained at the Owens Dr. address, and said the Kerkvliets appeared to be operating a “puppy mill” at that time, with dogs offered for sale. They had no business license or license to operate a kennel.

The child abuse allegation stemmed from one of the Kerkvliet children not “cleaning up after the dogs,” according to Kincaid.

On Sept. 3, Kincaid was waved down by Franklin County Animal Control officers Albert Floyd and William Key, who asked him to accompany them to Alice Kerkvliet’s Sharroll Court residence to investigate a report of animal neglect. They told him both dogs and horses were reportedly being starved at 111 Sharroll Court.

Kincaid’s report stated he had seen horses at the Owens Drive property on an earlier visit but none at the Sharroll Court property when he, Williams and Floyd arrived Sept. 3. What he did find was five dogs and a litter of newborn puppies in extreme distress. All of the puppies died within 24 hours.

A neighbor took two of the dogs, which she said had been given to her by Kerkvliet. The other three adult dogs, a male and two females, are being offered for adoption by animal control. They are in desperate need of a good home.

Kincaid wrote that the male dog appeared sick and emaciated.

That dog had to be taken to Eastpoint veterinarian Dr. Hobson Fulmer for immediate treatment, Johnson said, and a blood transfusion was required to save its life.

Fulmer described the dog as flea-infested, highly anemic and heavily infected with hookworms but said he responded well to treatment and was heartworm negative. The dog was released on Sept. 8 to animal control.

Kerkvliet has told neighbors she plans to join her husband, who she said is living on a horse farm in Gainesville.

Johnson said he will go to court as soon as possible to request Kerkvliet be banned from owning animals. He said he is concerned about the whereabouts of the missing horses.

If you have any information about the horses or any other neglected or abused animal, please call the landfill 670-8167.

The three confiscated dogs are in need of a foster home or a permanent owner. Johnson said they seem to have good temperaments.

“These people are talking about moving, but that ruling will follow them wherever they go,” Johnson said, in a telephone interview.

Johnson said if the court issues the ban on animal ownership, all animal shelters in Florida will be notified of Kerkvliet’s status.