Dogs abused/killed by military member- Need letters/calls.

Recently, 2 soldiers at Ft Bliss have killed 2 dogs and injured another. Ft Bliss has taken NO action. If anyone cares, please email Jean Offutt and express your outrage. The army (Ft Bliss) is saying that the owner of the Little Pit girl has moved to another base, so they can't do anything. That is BS. The base commander here can call the Base Commander at his new base and request that military disciplinary action be taken or that he come back here to face charges on the Open Warrant.
With the Zimmerman case, his wife saw him kill Tinkerbelle and break Wrigley's leg in 3 places. Jean has stated that she knows he killed Tinkerbelle/hurt Wrigley, but says "they are investigating".
I'd really appreciate it if anyone could email Jean or call, and let her know that this is attracting national attention. Pictures are in my link at the bottom in album titled "Dog abuse"

Here are the links-
Tinkerbelle, Wrigley and Zimmerman - Fort Bliss Crime
From: Jessie Miller <[email protected]>
To: Jessie Miller <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2009 2:18 pm



I think we should put a face to these victims and their abusers. When I got this picture of Tinkerbelle the dog that was stomped to death by Franklyn J. Zimmerman Jr., I decided I needed to send out these pictures. I personally am outraged beyond words for the suffering that Tinkerbelle endured at the hands of this man.



This poor defenseless, voiceless dog was beautiful, healthy and HAPPY…. Happy because people came and liked her enough to take her home, she would no longer be an unwanted shelter dog. They signed an agreement that they would take good care of the pet and Tinkerbelle went willingly and so happily. She had a home!



Please picture the pain and suffering this beautiful dog endured.. she was stomped to death, blow by blow … and how long did it actually take for this poor creature to finally die? She took blow after blow to her body, it felt fear and pain and I know in my heart this poor girl was confused and devastated as it was being stomped to death by Zimmerman…the person that came to adopt her was now killing her.



Did Wrigley watch in horror knowing he would be next? What could have being going through this poor creatures mind and heart?



I encourage all of you to write Jean Offutt at Fort Bliss if you have not done so. This Soldier must not get away with this crime! If you would like to contact the Army’s Public Relations Office with a letter and your own questions I will give you Jean Offutt and her email [email protected] she can be reached at (915)568-4505.





They are sending out GENERIC letters to people that contacted them. I am also attaching the Press Release they sent out. IT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THIS SOLDIER? WHEN WILL WE KNOW?



THE SUFFERING THIS DOG ENDURED CALLS FOR THIS SOLDIER TO BE SEVERLY PUNISHIED FOR HIS CRIME.



We cannot allow people to abuse animals and get away with it. ANIMALS ARE PROTECTED BY LAW AND WE MUST NEVER TURN OUR BACKS ON THEM.



Jessie Miller

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Last year Dwayne Sumter a soldier stationed at Fort Bliss was charged with animal cruelty for his crime against Little Pit Girl. I know many of you remember this case it was heartbreaking. She was found dead in a suit case, she had been left in a garage in a crate with no food or water. She chewed herself out of the crate and then later died. She laid herself down in the suit case and that is where she died. Our District Attorney’s office filed animal cruelty charges against Dwayne Sumter and there is a warrant out for his arrest. Shortly after this crime Sumter was moved to Ft. Hood so at this point the warrant remains open and he cannot be put through the court system as he is out of reach.



Now we have Franklyn J. Zimmerman Jr., who adopted two dogs from Pet Guardian Angel and allegedly killed one of them by stomping her to death and broke the other dog’s leg in three places. The names of these victims are Tinkerbelle and Wrigley. Below is the story in case you had not heard about it.



Tonight Monica Balderrama of KFOX Channel 14 is doing a follow up story on both of these cases at 9pm.



I know many of you are angered and disgusted with these crimes. I feel the Army owes this community a FULL OUT STATEMENT on how these soldiers are being prosecuted or disciplined by the Army. To this day we have never had an official statement from the Army on what if any disciplinary action they took against Dwayne Sumter for his alleged crime against the dog in his care. We have a large animal rescue community and your donation dollars support all the work that we do in this community we all have the right to know what will happen to these soldiers. Is there a serious problem with animal abuse at Fort Bliss? How will they address this issue? I have asked them to give me in WRITING what the Army’s disciplinary action was against Dwayne Sumter and also for Zimmerman. What can we expect from the Army? Honesty? Ethical responsibility to our community?



If you would like to contact the Army’s Public Relations Office with a letter and your own questions I will give you Jean Offutt and her email [email protected] she can be reached at 568-4505.



ANIMAL CRUELTY IS A CRIME IN THE STATE OF TEXAS. THERE ARE NO EXCUSES for a crime like this!

NONE!



Jessie Miller

ACHE


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Animal Shelter Staff Say Ft. Bliss Soldier Killed Dog, Hurt Another

Monica Balderrama-KFOX News Reporter

Posted: 6:21 PM MDT March 18, 2009Updated: 9:57 PM MDT March 18, 2009

EL PASO, Texas -- Pet Guardian Angel staff members says a Fort Bliss soldier was arrested for killing one dog and hurting another after just adopting them from the facility two weeks before.

"It's hard to believe people can do that to an animal," said Sheila Smith, an administrative assistant at PGA.

Staff members at the nonprofit animal shelter couldn't believe what they heard when a Fort Bliss official arrived at the facility.

"That's very upsetting. We trust these people. We try to screen them as best we can to see if they can be responsible pet owners," said Smith.

Smith, who helps get animals at PGA adopted, said a young military couple adopted two dogs from PGA two weeks ago. Now, they hear the one named Tinkerbelle is dead. And a puppy named Wrigley has a broken leg and was returned to PGA. PGA staff said Wrigley was taken to Eastwood Animal Clinic for a broken leg at the expense of their organization.

The staff said the Fort Bliss soldier, Frank Zimmerman, beat the dogs.

KFOX spoke to the soldier's wife over the phone and she said Zimmerman didn't mean to hurt the animals. She said when the dogs weren't listening he would take his anger out on them. She said, "Frank beat Tinkerbelle with a leash and he stomped on her until she died."

"Not all military people are like that. Again, it's the way they're raised," said Smith, who was active military for years.

It is unclear what charges, if any, were brought against Zimmerman, but PGA staff says animal cruelty needs to be prosecuted better in El Paso.

"They need to be more strict. If someone is willing to harm an animal he's willing to kill a person. That's our concept," said Smith said.

Copyright 2009 by KFOXTV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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