A dog surrendered to Whiteside County Animal Control last month has become the center of a bitter community dispute that has now triggered a defamation lawsuit investigation and reports of death threats against the agency’s director.
The dispute centers on Starsky, a dog whose owner surrendered him to animal control on Aug. 18 after the dog bit a household member during an incident involving a foster dog and a lawn mower. The owner reported the bite caused a wound requiring stitches.
Animal control held Starsky for a required 10-day rabies observation period, then determined the dog was not suitable for adoption and decided to euthanize him. Rock Falls’ Happy Tails animal shelter and its community supporters have challenged that decision, arguing Starsky should have been transferred to the shelter for evaluation and care.
The dispute has spilled onto social media, where increasingly heated posts about animal control’s decision have continued to circulate. According to James Mertes, an attorney representing animal control director James Garcia, some posts have included death threats against Garcia and false claims about him.
“These individuals have falsely claimed that Mr. Garcia has been convicted of several criminal felonies,” Mertes said in a statement Friday. “They have falsely described him as a domestic abuser and as a man who was convicted of beating a pregnant woman.”
Mertes said Garcia has never been arrested or convicted of any crime and has no criminal record....
STERLING, Ill. (Rockford News First/KWQC) - Following uproar over a decision to euthanize a dog, attorneys for Whiteside County Animal Control Director James Garcia launch an investigation for a p...