APACHE COUNTY, Ariz. — The deputy sheriff knew things would get bad.

“This is the worst,” he is recorded on body camera saying.

He had collected seven abandoned dogs in a fenced-in area on his owner's property.

They then shot them, loaded their bodies into trucks and left them near the train tracks.

The incident occurred in September 2023 in Adamana, an unincorporated area of ​​Apache County about 26 miles northeast of Holbrook. county The county does not have animal control services, and residents frequently complain about stray and abandoned dogs. One sheriff's candidate even campaigned on a promise to address the county's abandoned dog problem.

Apache County doesn't have an animal control service, so when there are problems with dogs, they're often referred to the sheriff's office, which has policy to try to get them into a foster care agency – and sometimes it can't do that.

Deputies reported that the owners were in the process of divorce and had left the property with no intention of returning. During one visit, deputies counted 10 dogs on the property. The dogs had no food or water.

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Neighbors began calling the sheriff's office on Sept. 9 to report the dogs were malnourished and attacking livestock.

Teresa Schumann got a call from a neighbor. She's the founder of Northern Arizona Animal Search and Rescue, a nonprofit in Flagstaff, 100 miles west of Adamana. Schumann posted to her 20,000 Facebook followers and began looking for a home for the dog. She'd also been in contact with the sheriff.

“[The deputy] “The first time this happened, a guy called me and asked, 'Can I take my dog?' and I said, 'I can't afford it,'” Shuman told 12News.

According to Schumann, the sheriff told her the dogs were wild. She told him she might need more time to find them homes. In the report, the sheriff alleges that Schumann suggested the dogs might need to be “euthanized” if they were aggressive and chasing people, a claim Schumann denies.

“I told him that if the dogs were feral, he would have to find someone to take care of these dogs,” Shuman said, “I know that would be a big challenge, but I never said they had to be shot.”

On September 22nd, the deputy called Schumann to inquire about the situation. She still had not found the dogs. The deputy said he would return to the property to check on the dogs. By this time, the deputy had also contacted Navajo County Animal Control, according to the report. No one from that agency responded.

According to the deputy sheriff's report, one of the dog's owners, when contacted by phone, “supported the decision to shoot the dog if necessary.”

Body camera video, courtesy of Molly Ottman; Editor of the Mountain Daily Star The footage shows officers arriving at the property with dog food and water, pouring it into metal dishes and confining the seven dogs to a fenced-in area.

The deputy called the sergeant and said he would shoot the dog “due to its condition and the lack of available kennel space,” and the sergeant agreed with the decision, according to the report.

The officer walked to his truck, removed earplugs, pulled out a handgun and shot the dogs one by one through a chain-link fence. The dogs, which officers described as “aggressive,” yelped, howled and yelped.

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Schumann saw the video.

“They were puppies. They were standing on their hind legs and wagging their tails,” Shuman said.[The deputy] We went there with food and water and they were not aggressive at all.”

“I was sick,” Schumann added. “It was awful.”

Officers were unable to catch the two dogs, who had taken refuge under a shed on the property. Officers whistled for the dogs to come out, but they remained hidden.

When the deputy began carrying the seven dog bodies into the back of an Apache County Sheriff's Office marked pickup truck, he noticed one was still alive. The deputy shot and killed the dog and drove the dogs to another secluded area where he dumped the body near the railroad tracks.

Ottoman, Reporter and Editor-in-Chief, Mountain Daily Star She said she shared the body camera footage – which took three months of public records request – with 12 News in hopes that the story will get more attention and put pressure on Apache County officials to make changes.

“It is vital that we raise awareness of the ongoing animal crisis in Apache County,” Ottman said. “It is important that we take seriously the dilemma faced by Apache County, which lacks resources for its residents and animals.”

The deputy filed a complaint with the Apache County Prosecutor's Office recommending animal cruelty charges be filed against the couple accused of abandoning the dog. 12News is not releasing the couple's names because no charges have been filed to date. Apache County Sheriff's spokesperson Jesse Robinson said the deputy was “acting within department policy” and is not releasing their names.

Over a three-week period, 12News attempted to interview Apache County Sheriff Joseph Dedman Jr., sending five emails, making three phone calls and visiting the sheriff's office in St. John's. They said the sheriff was not available and could not answer questions. 12News also emailed a list of questions to the sheriff.

Sheriff's spokesman Jesse Robinson sent the following response:

The Deputy Sheriff acted professionally and in the most humane manner given the circumstances. He exhausted all other options available to him at the time and acted with the approval of his immediate superiors.

The incident was investigated by the ACSO command staff, who found the deputy acted in accordance with agency policy.

Apache County is a vast county spanning over 11,000 square miles, and there are only a handful of deputies who provide law enforcement and a variety of other services to the residents of Apache County and the state of Arizona. Deputies are trained to act on their own, make split-second decisions that could mean life or death, and handle every situation they face professionally and within the bounds of the law.

Apache County does not have an Animal Care and Control department. In unincorporated areas, that responsibility falls to deputy sheriffs, and actions taken vary and are considered on a case-by-case basis. We do not have the infrastructure or budget to support such a department.

Approval for such units is made by the Board of Supervisors. In the past, private agencies such as the Arizona Humane Society have offered to assist with cases, but this has not been consistent, mainly due to remoteness and the availability of local resources.

12News also attempted to reach Apache County Administrator Ryan Patterson via phone, email and in person. The Apache County Attorney's Office did not respond to inquiries.

Shuman said the two dogs, who were hiding under the couple's shed, were eventually captured and taken to a shelter in Holbrook.

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