An anonymous tip resulted in the recovery of 67 neglected dogs.

       (Photo's courtesy of 4029 TV)

Animal control deputies with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint of a so-called puppy mill at 10073 Noah Road, a rental property in the Centerton area. When deputies arrived at the location, they found 67 beagles unattended on the premises. Two other dogs were dead.

Deputies watched the house overnight, but the occupant didn’t return, according to Benton County Animal Control Deputy Gary Freeman. After learning that the occupant hadn’t been seen in at least three days, deputies obtained a warrant to seize the animals.

Freeman said the dogs were housed in cages measuring approximately 3 feet by 5 feet, with up to six dogs living in a cage. They were without water and food.

No contact was made with the owner, according to Freeman. He said it appeared that the owner had not been on the premises for days.  A warrant was issued for removal of the dogs, and Freeman — assisted by Benton County Deputy James Belden — took the beagles into custody.

Of the 67 beagles, 26 were taken to the Bella Vista Animal Shelter. The remainder were taken to the Humane Society for Animals in Rogers. "It will be a major financial drain," Clay Morgan, director of the Rogers shelter, said about the one-day flood of beagles.

Bella Vista Animal Shelter director Donna Miles, alerted by BCSO Animal Control of the rescue, quickly readied her facility for the influx of dogs. Off duty shelter volunteers came to the aid of the rescued beagles and the Bella Vista shelter staff.

When puppy-mill refugees arrive at the shelter — often emaciated, ill and covered in excrement — they must be cleaned, wormed and vaccinated. In many cases, they have open wounds that must be sterilized and treated with antibiotics.

One beagle involved in the rescue suffered from a collar that had become imbedded into the dog’s neck. The flesh grew around the restraint.

After the dogs have been cleaned and treated, they will stay at the shelter for seven days. Once the seven-day period has passed, according to Miles, the beagles will be eligible for adoption.

Morgan said the owner will not be allowed to reclaim the animals.

Update 4/8/05:  Prosecutors have filed formal animal cruelty charges in Benton County Circuit Court against the owner of an alleged puppy mill.

Van Banks, 45, of Gravette has been charged with five counts of animal cruelty, a class A misdemeanor. If convicted, Banks could be sentenced up to a year in jail, fined up to $10,000 or both on each count.

Banks, the owner of the beagles, previously pleaded not guilty to one count of animal cruelty in Benton County West District Court in Gentry. A hearing was scheduled in the case, but prosecutors will seek dismissal of the case in district court.  The circuit court case was assigned to Judge Tom Keith.

Deputy Prosecutor Mikelle DeVillier filed the charges in circuit court against Banks.

The information accused Banks of unlawfully subjecting animals in his care to cruel mistreatment and/or neglect and specifically refers to five of the beagles:

• Count 1 involves a beagle identified as No. 17 and claims the animal had significant hair loss, sores and fecal encrusted.

• Count 2 refers to beagle No. 25 and claims the animal wore an imbedded collar.

• Count 3 involves a beagle identified as No. 23 and claims the animal had eye discharge, mange and sores on the neck and chin.

• Count 4 involves a beagle identified as No. 26 that could not stand upright and was dehydrated and was blind in one eye.

• The last count claims beagle No. 19 had sores in its ears, mange, eye mucus and skin ailments.

Banks was arrested April 11 and was released from custody after posting $2,000 bond.

Update 4/12/05:  Van Banks, 45, turned himself in at the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. He is being held in the Benton County Jail pending a bond hearing.

A class A misdemeanor is punishable with up to a year in jail, a fine up to $1,000 or both.

Update 4/13/05:  A Centerton man who faces allegations of animal cruelty was fighting Wednesday to get more than 60 dogs back -- against the wishes of the shelters caring for them.

Officials with both shelters said Banks called them over the weekend and asked to get the animals back. The shelters were told by Benton County officials that they would have to give the dogs back to Banks under the provisions of a county ordinance.

Both shelters said they have a contract with the county stating that the owner of any animal brought to their facilities must be claimed within seven days after its arrival -- otherwise, it becomes the shelter's property. But a prosecutor said that because Banks tried to get his dogs back within the seven-day period, his request should be granted.

According to Rogers Humane Society President Barbara Phillips, the prosecutor said that he decided to ask a judge to grant custody of the animals to the shelters after he saw their condition. Phillips said she thinks the judge will grant that request.

"We are going to fight it as long and as hard as we can, and I think we will have the community behind us," Phillips said.

Update 4/20/05:  The 67 beagles seized from an alleged puppy mill will remain at two local animal shelters as evidence in an animal cruelty case, Benton County West District Judge Jeff Conner ruled Tuesday.

Deputy Prosecutor Blythe Whitehead requested that the animals remain at the Bella Vista Animal Shelter and the Humane Society for Animals in Rogers.

Whitehead wanted the animals to remain at the shelters as evidence, but Eldon Cripps, Banks’ attorney, was critical of that position and claimed photographs of the dogs at the time they were seized would be utilized as evidence.

Several of the dogs were brought to the hearing, but the animals were not allowed in the courtroom. About 25 spectators attended the hearing. "I don’t think the prosecutor is going to be traipsing 65 dogs through the courtroom," Cripps said.

Conner ordered that the beagles not be spayed, neutered or adopted until the resolution of the case.

According to Conner’s ruling, Cripps will be allowed to have his experts or a veterinarian inspect the dogs.

According to a Benton County Sheriff’s Office report, Banks told a deputy he had been out of town since April 6 and he had a neighbor feeding the dogs for him. Banks was in the process of making more cages for the dogs, the report states.

Cripps also questioned whether his client should be liable for the cost for caring for the animals because all the dogs were not considered abused. "The dogs are not malnourished or dehydrated," Cripps said.

Cripps also filed a motion seeking the recusal of the Benton County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office from the case and the appointment of a special prosecutor.

The motion states that Prosecuting Attorney Robin Green has previously volunteered her time and services to the Humane Society and is personal friends with Barbara Phillips, president of the Rogers Humane Society.

The judge scheduled an omnibus hearing in the case for 1 p.m. June 7.

Jane Robshaw, head of the Bella Vista shelter’s fundraising committee, said people had donated money to care for the dogs. Robshaw said the beagles are doing better since being brought to the shelter.

Update 5/4/05:  Banks pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge before Judge Jeff Conner in Benton County West District Court with his attorney, Eldon Cripps.

Rogers attorney Doug Norwood was also there and announced he'll participate in Banks' defense.

Blythe Whitehead, chief deputy prosecutor, represented the state. A June 7 omnibus hearing was set.

Benton County Sheriff's deputies seized 65 live beagles April 8 from Banks' home after receiving a tip about possible neglect. Veterinarians employed by area shelters said many of the dogs suffered from mange, mites and related infections.

Banks is free on a $2,000 bond. Cruelty to animals is punishable by up to one year in jail, or a $1,000 fine, or both.

Update 7/26/05:  The case was originally going to be heard at the district court level, but prosecutors filed a motion moving the case to circuit court.

Banks’ attorney had filed a motion requesting that the case remain in district court but no longer objects to the case being heard in circuit court.

Circuit Judge Tom Keith scheduled an omnibus hearing in the case for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 19.

Update 11/16/05:  Problems with court procedure led a judge to throw out charges in the case against a man accused of abusing more than 70 beagles.

Now, Van Banks gets to take most of them home and the shelter employees where the dogs have been living aren't happy about it.

The judge said it doesn't mean there was no crime committed, it just means the state doesn't have any way to prove it.

"We had so thought that when the facts came out in this case that we would certainly be vindicated and we would have all these little precious ones to adopt out," said Sharon Tucker, of the Bella Vista Animal Shelter.  But, the facts in the case of alleged animal abuse never will come out.

"Before these animals were even taken out of the chicken coops, they were doomed to go back because of procedures that were missed in the laws," said Tucker. "It's just beyond heartbreaking."

Judge Tom Keith dismissed the case against Banks, saying county officials didn't follow procedure.  They didn't record in writing, on tape, or using a court reporter, the reasons for a search warrant to take the dogs back in April, he said.

"It has to do with the fundamental right of people to be secure in their home from unlawful or unreasonable searches and seizures, so it's technical, but it protects an important interest that we have as citizens," said Keith.

Banks decided to take back 30 of the more than 70 beagles.

Animal shelter staff said after spending months nursing them back to health, it hurts to send any of them back.  "We will not be able to sleep at night thinking of them out there like this," said Tucker.

Banks, said he will use his dogs for hunting.  And Banks doesn't have to pay the shelters or local veterinarians back for their services.

The remaining beagles, 36 grown and 15 or so puppies, are now up for adoption.

Update 5/4/07:  Bunny, Bongo, North and Chubbs relax on blankets and pet beds behind the counter of the Bella Vista Animal Shelter.

The shelter has been the beagles' home since 2005, when 67 beagles were taken from the home of a Centerton man accused of animal cruelty. Ten or 12 of the beagles were left in the Bella Vista Shelter's care, while the rest were taken to the Humane Society for Animals in Rogers, said Donna Miles, director of the Bella Vista Animal Shelter.

An agreement reached between Van E. Banks' defense attorneys and Prosecuting Attorney Robin Green allowed Banks to get back 30 of the dogs. The case against Banks was dismissed because of a search warrant error, prior reports said.

When the people first heard about the case, they signed up to adopt the dogs. But after the dogs were cleared for adoption, people changed their minds, Miles said.

"Here they sit after waiting two years," she said.

Miles said she tries to euthanize as few animals as possible at the Bella Vista Animal Shelter, even if it means keeping them for years. The beagles are the longest shelter residents, but she still hopes they will find homes.

Some of the beagles are skittish, but "they are absolutely more than ready to become part of a home," Miles said.

Reference:

Northwest Arkansas News

The Weekly Vista

4029 TV

Arkansas Democrate-Gazette