Cibola raid finds 100 emaciated animals

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Helen Davis
Cibola County Bureau

CANDY KITCHEN — In a raid that was the stuff of nightmares, the Cibola County Sheriff’s Department, assisted by other agencies, removed approximately 100 animals from a residence in the Candy Kitchen area.

Arleen Krippene, 73, whose residence appears as both Candy Kitchen and Ramah in court documents, was arrested on 15 counts of extreme animal cruelty, a fourth-degree felony, Wednesday.

Krippene signed over ownership of the all animals on her property and gave consent for the search when law enforcement arrived.

Sheriff Johnny Valdez, reached as he was returning from Krippene’s makeshift animal compound, said law enforcement and animal shelter workers found approximately 90 dogs, plus “seven to 10” cats, some rabbits and chickens in desperate condition at the compound.

Heather Ferguson, coordinator of the Attorney General’s Animal Cruelty Task Force, said she helped Cibola County authorities pull the raid together. The number of animals that had to be evaluated and removed was too high for one agency to handle, she said.

In addition to the CCSD and the animal control department of the Grants Police Department, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department, Doña Ana County Animal Shelter, the Albuquerque Animal Control and other agencies were called in.

The effort also involved a forensic veterinarian, Ferguson said. Their assessment was the reason we could get the arrest.”

The coordinator, who was at the scene until early Thursday morning, said most of the animals were in conditions that required they be euthanized. So many animals had to be put down that technicians from Doña Ana County were brought in to assist.

Animals were emaciated, dehydrated, in ill health, showing behavioral issues and otherwise suffering, she said.

“One dog was having seizures and had to be euthanized on site,” she said.

Others had injuries from the nose all the way to the lower lip from dog fights, apparently for food, she added. Some showed evidence of broken bones that had not been treated and had healed as deformities.

The sheriff’s department statement of probable cause states that one dog had a club foot, his toenails having grown into his foot pads and that another was pregnant and extremely emaciated, as well as listing numerous other animals.

The task force coordinator described finding a fire pit, “we call it a crematorium,” and charred bones. She said that workers were walking on soft ground that turned out to be full of animal bodies in various states of decay.

Sheriff’s Lt. Harry Hall, who was at the scene until 4 a.m. Thursday, said the stench was terrible.

Animals with enough life in them to be adoptable were transferred to the Albuquerque shelter. One dog name Lily, who Ferguson called “walking death,” is among the ones that will be up for adoption. She is emaciated but appears to be otherwise healthy.

Lily will be the billboard dog for public pleas to spay and neuter, Ferguson said.

According to the Statement of Probable Cause submitted to the Cibola County Magistrate Court, the raid began at approximately 10:30 a.m., Wednesday. Law enforcement personnel searched Krippene’s compound under the authority of a warrant obtained by sheriff’s department Sgt. Tony Mace and as a result of efforts by Sgt. William Marion and Cheri Baisden of the Animal Care Center in Grants.

Late Thursday afternoon, crews were still at the scene, removing fencing. Hall said that if they left the chain-link pens up, the suspect would just do it again. The New Mexico Department of Transportation provided trucks to haul the fencing away.

Grants City Manager Robert Horacek, who was aware the raid was planned but had no other information, said, “It’s tragic. All the more reason to spay and neuter.”

Neither Mace nor Marion could be reached for comment.

Baisden said she could not offer a comment now.

“You don’t realize what our animal shelter does unless you are out there and see what they do.” He added that the shelter staff is very appreciated.