Bakersfield, CA — Alberto Castaneda, 51, and Maria Banuelos, 59, were arrested late Wednesday night after animal control officers visited their home on Weedpatch Highway (yee haw!). The officers were called with a report of an animal in distress and they did, indeed, find a 1-year-old black lab mix in bad condition.
The county animal control veterinarian believes the dog was severely injured in a car crash. Both sides of his pelvis are fractured and his hip is dislocated. To make matters worse, though, the Kern County Animal Control Veterinarian believes that Jethro and Ellie May tried to treat the dog on their own by cutting off part of the dog’s left hind leg.
The dog’s injuries are severe.
“This person did not have the proper equipment and drugs to treat this animal,” said Dr. Cynthia Martinez. “Just imagine a 70 pound dog getting hit with the force to be able to break both sides of his pelvis that’s very painful and not getting the care, just horrendous to think about the pain.”
According to a news release, Castaneda and Banuelos were immediately arrested on felony charges of suspicion of severing the leg and failing to provide veterinary care. The dog was rushed to a local animal emergency hospital. It was reported that the dog’s leg will now have to be amputated higher up because of the severity of the injuries.
The dog is in stable but guarded condition.
A news release from the Friends of the Kern County Animal Shelters Foundation, said that “The Lacey Fund” will be used to pay for ongoing medical care. The Lacey Fund is administered through the foundation. Based on news reports, it appears the the Bakersfield area needs this sort of fund rather badly:
In January, two teens were arrested on suspicion of using sticks and a board to beat four kittens to death. The teens captured the crime in both pictures and video, officials said.
In February, Bakersfield resident and parolee Jesus Nuno was sentenced to four years in prison for beating a Chihuahua to death with a metal baseball bat.
And the fund is named after a dog, Lacey, who was sprayed in the eyes with bleach and beaten with a golf club. Lacey’s abuser, Robert Gonzales, was sentenced in May to three years’ probation – the first year to be served in jail.
If you would like to help by donating, you can go to www.FriendsofKernShelters.org. You can also mail donations to: Friends Foundation P.O. Box 11494 Bakersfield, CA 93389.
Tags: Alberto Castaneda, Animal Cruelty, California, Maria Banuelos, Negligence
My poor dog, Snoozer (we didn’t name him) was hit by a car one Thanksgiving when I was a kid. The asshat just hit him and drove away like it was nothing. I’ll never ever forget that moment of impact as long as I live. Snoozer had the exact same injuries this poor guy did. We rushed him to the vet, who was kind enough to leave his Thanksgiving dinner with his family to come treat our dog. We didn’t have a lot of money back then, so we couldn’t afford surgery. The vet said he wasn’t in pain anymore after some manual manipulation. We had to carry this 95 pound dog outside and hold him up so he could go to the bathroom. We fed him chicken broth in a bowl on my parent’s bed. My mom got a second job to pay for the vet bills we had incurred. 
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