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Animal Cruelty in Great Falls

By Rachel Ousley

Story Created: Aug 8, 2011 at 9:23 PM MDT

Story Updated: Aug 8, 2011 at 9:23 PM MDT

Police informed the Great Falls Tribune that neighbors returned a Jack Russell Terrier after it got out. As they were leaving, the neighbors heard the dog yelp and discovered the owner, 49-year-old David Boyken, in the process of cutting the dog's throat. All the animals you are about to see are happy and healthy. Police say the injured dog suffered serious cuts requiring stitches.

The good news is that the Jack Russell Terrier is expected to make a full recovery. Sgt. John Schaffer says he received an email from the Great Falls Animal shelter stating the dog is in good spirits and being treated with antibiotics.

Boyken is facing up to a $1,000 fine and one year in prison on misdemeanor animal cruelty. Sgt. Schaffer explains the animal cruelty statue is, “any type of mistreatment, torture, mutilation, killing of an animal, other than for humane purposes”. Aggravated animal cruelty is when a person kills or inflicts cruelty to an animal with the intent of terrifying, torturing, or mutilating the animal or if the cruelty is done to a group of animals. A second animal cruelty offense becomes a felony.

Veterinary Michelle Lague with Central West Animal Clinic has not seen many animal cruelty cases in Great Falls since she moved here 11 years ago. However one that has always stayed with her was an owner that admitted to kicking his Pug, breaking its thigh bone. Lague says, “I called the authorities to try and get this guy prosecuted and I actually got nowhere. No one wanted to listen to me. No one wanted to pay attention to me”.

In the last 10 years she believes animal cruelty laws have changed for the better. However, she does feel that the law fails to take into account the severity of abuse. For example, an animal left without food and water is the same animal cruelty offense as someone using a weapon on the animal. Lague says, “I hope we once again look at that law and see if we think we need to tweak it a little bit”.

Animal cruelty cases, while not commonly seen in Great Falls, could be a red flag that further abuse can occur. Lague says, “if somebody is abusing an animal in the home, quite frequently they are abusing people in the home as well”.

Lague says everyone has stress and can lose their tempers, but it's a problem when an owner takes out frustration on an innocent animal. Lague hopes this is an eye opener for the community that “we need to be as kind as we can to all of the innocents around us”.

Lague urges anyone to persistently call the authorities to report acts of animal cruelty or abuse. She also reminds you that sometimes after an investigation, authority’s hands are tied because animal cruelty is a legal definition and the abuse needs to be documented.

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Anonymous said on Tuesday, Aug 9 at 4:45 PM

good story - well done. some people are just 8&*%^&%^&%($!!!

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