Michael Mattox - The Mad Ox

I'm Michael, the Mad Ox. Husband, dad, Virginia. If you're new here, this is the week.

The angry:
Tennessee: the sheriff says former deputy Megan Chloe Swann left K9 Bart 36 hours with no water at 101 degrees. Charged with aggravated cruelty.
North Carolina: K-9 Chilli died in a turned off patrol car. No necropsy. No charges.
Tulsa: 19 animals dead inside a rescue. Marcia Reynolds booked on 29 cruelty counts.
New Jersey: prosecutors say rescue owners Thomas and Brooke Thompson shot foster pit Biggie Smalls, then asked for memorial donations. Both charged.

The heavy:
Spokane County Deputies Mason Acheson and Parker Perry went through a door to save the people inside. Neither came home. Perry went in with his K9 partner, Brego.
Lakewood, CO Agent Nic Graham was killed in the line of duty Thursday.
LAPD Officer Thomas Denton died in dive team training. On the job since 2006.

The good:
Sergeant Snuggles is still alive. His euthanasia order is on hold.
K9 Wiley retired after 8 years, more than 11,000 pounds of drugs and 23 guns.
Three Syracuse officers went through heavy fire and got a child out. Zyaire Green, 4, and Zion Greene, 2, both died. The officers are home healing.
Sedona: no dog harness on the chopper, so the Dales used their own. He and his dog went up together.

I cover animals, justice and police accountability. I back the blue, which is exactly why I call out the bad ones. I believe in ethical hunting: respect the animal, hunt for food, never for sport.

Every post is a case file. The facts, then the verdict.

New here? Stay. You'll know what happened and what it means.

Sabrina was starved so badly you could see every rib and every vertebra.

She’s a pit bull. Someone left her like that.

A staffer at the Weehawken Mayor’s office found her and called police. That staffer, who also volunteers in animal rescue, got her to Pitbulls & Addicts and Near and Far Rescues.

Police say she’s still in serious condition.

Look at those photos. Picture your own dog’s face. Now picture it like that.

Police arrested Emil Bustamante in Union City. He’s charged with third degree animal cruelty and animal abandonment, and he’s headed to the Hudson County Correctional Facility to wait for his first court appearance.

Weehawken PD says “animal cruelty will not be tolerated.”

Good. Now the court has to mean it too.

Is third degree enough for what was done to Sabrina?

H/t NJ 101.5 and Weehawken PD

Westfield K9 Billy is hanging up his vest after seven years and going home with his partner.

The German Shorthaired Pointer came from Hungary, funded by the Indianapolis Colts, and served Westfield PD from 2019 to 2026. He worked explosives detection, building searches, and area searches. Now he retires home with his handler, SRO Davin Nichols, and the Nichols family.

Seven years of keeping people safe. Enjoy the couch, Billy. You earned it.

H/t: City of Westfield / Hamilton County Reporter

Three years ago today, Austin Senior Police Officer Jorge Pastore was shot and killed during a hostage barricade.

It was about 4:10 am on Bernoulli Drive in Austin, Texas.

A hostage barricade. Somebody in danger, somebody armed, and officers who will not leave until the hostage is safe. Then seconds that decide everything.

Senior Police Officer Pastore stayed in that line.

Senior Police Officer Jorge Pastore of the Austin Police Department.

End of watch, November 11, 2023. Officer Pastore, you held that line for someone in danger, and we honor you for it.

H/t: Officer Down Memorial Page

Ares came into a Shawnee, Oklahoma shelter unresponsive, with a dangerously high temperature, cuts on his face, fleas, and a swollen leg.

A shelter staffer gave up a day off for a 7 hour round trip to get him care. He fully recovered. Marine veteran Brandon Quinnelly saw his photo and took him home the same day. Ares looks uncannily like his late dog Achilles, and he's training as a PTSD service dog.

Now he offers his paw to his Marine. Happy Veterans Day.

H/t: Best Friends Animal Society