Jerry and Dianne Rineck sold two horses to their neighbor Jim Gargala on June 5, 2006. It was a decision they regretted after watching the events unfold in an alleged animal abuse case at Gargala’s home in Calhan.On Nov. 16, 2006, deputies from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office responded to 34780 Funk Road to investigate a report of numerous neglected pets and farm animals. Gargala and his wife, Amy, lived on the property, along with Jacqueline Gray and James Shughart.According to a news release issued by El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa, deputies found “scores of neglected animals and the remains of approximately two dozen animals.”Speaking before the El Paso County Board of County Commissioners on Dec. 7, Dr. Wes Metzler, executive director of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, said shortly after deputies arrived on the scene, they called his department requesting assistance from animal welfare officers.Metzler told the commissioners that about 40 animals were found on the property, including five llamas, five goats, two geese, several chickens, four horses, more than 20 dogs and several cats.Two of those animals were Rinecks’ horses.At the scene, Jerry Rineck had asked deputies for permission to go onto the property to check on the condition of his two horses.The skeletal remains of one of Rineck’s horses were identified by markings on a piece of hide still clinging to the skull. The Rinecks found their other horse, Maggie Mae, in a small corral made of house trailers. “Its coat was filthy, there was no water in the corral, and Maggie Mae looked thin,” Rineck said.”But Maggie wasn’t nearly as bad off as some of the other animals,” Dianne Rineck said. “The smallest horse on the property was so emaciated that it couldn’t stand up.”Pat Miller, owner of Ruby Ranch Horse Rescue in Rush, received a call from a neighbor asking for her assistance at the Funk Road property. “It was the worst case of animal abuse I have ever seen,” Miller said. She saw a half-eaten llama on the ground near the front door of a trailer, horses and llamas with their ribs sticking out and numerous dogs locked in cages and trailers.”Most of the animals had no access to water, and the property has no electricity, so you can imagine how difficult it would be to provide water to that many animals,” Miller said. A number of area residents started gathering water buckets and food for the animals, she said.Miller took two dogs with broken teeth and ulcerated tumors to a veterinarian in Calhan, who determined that both dogs were in such poor condition they had to be euthanized. The deceased dogs became the subject of controversy between residents and HSPPR. Miller said she informed Metzler about the dogs that were euthanized and was told there was no proof the dogs came from the Funk Road property.Metzler addressed the situation with the commissioners at his November presentation: “This case has stirred many emotions, and sadly, some rumors have arisen,” he said. “But I feel the office handled the case correctly. The veterinarian and the officers determined three horses and one dog had really been neglected, and at that point four cases of animal cruelty were issued to two different people on the property.”Maketa said his office provided an “extensive investigation (that) resulted in the arrest of Jacqueline Gray and James Shughart.” They arrested the couple on “multiple counts of animal cruelty,” he said.Miller said the humane society didn’t protect all of the animals, pointing out that the county only removed seven dogs from the property.”Neighbors did more to improve conditions for the animals than the humane society did,” Miller said. They took responsibility for the care of several dogs and the small malnourished horse, she said. Rep. Marsha Looper also went to the property and asked Jim Shughart to relinquish five llamas to her care.”The llamas had matted coats, were underweight and had worms,” Looper said, noting that the county is the only one in Colorado without comprehensive humane society coverage.Metzler also told the BOCC that animal control issues are a problem in the eastern part of the county. He said the Funk Road case was the fifth one of this magnitude in eastern El Paso County this year. “Those cases cost the humane society $43,607; yet, our office only receives $25,000 per year to serve that area,” Metzler said. “That fee doesn’t include the cost of having animal control officers respond to 223 calls for assistance from the sheriff’s office in the eastern part of the county.”Both Jerry Rineck and Miller questioned the lack of coverage for animal issues.”I don’t understand why animal control isn’t funded the same throughout the county,” Miller said. “If we pay the same taxes as the rest of the county, why don’t we receive the same benefits?” Rineck asked.”No one wants to witness another animal abuse situation like the Funk Road case,” Miller said. In light of the situation, Miller said she and other residents, including the Rinecks, are currently working with Rep. Looper to form a humane agency in the eastern portion of the county.”The most important thing we need out here to protect animals are eyes that see and ears that hear,” Diane Rineck said.Editor’s note: Questions remain unanswered as to the whereabouts and safety of the other animals on the property. Look for a follow-up article in the Jan. 20 NFH.
