During a civil custody hearing at the Hunt County Precinct 1, Place 2 Justice of the Peace Courthouse in Greenville, Texas, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, Judge Sheila Linden made a ruling concerning a case of alleged animal cruelty. The Honorable Judge Linden determined that one deceased dog had been cruelly treated and awarded custody of the deceased dog and $4,447.50 in restitution to the SPCA of Texas.
The investigation stemmed from a complaint received by the SPCA of Texas Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) Unit on March 24, 2024, against John Gunderson, who operated a 501c3 non-profit organization called Caddo K9 Academy. The complaint alleged that Gunderson had punched, strangled, and drowned his dog, Ranger, a one-year-old male Belgian Malinois. The complainant noted they had a video of the alleged act of cruelty being committed. On March 28, 2024, the complainant submitted the video to the SPCA of Texas.
On April 1, 2024, search and seizure warrants were executed at Gunderson's property outside of Caddo Mills, Texas. Nineteen living dogs and one deceased dog were seized and transported to the SPCA of Texas facility for evaluation. Further investigation revealed that Ranger had sustained severe injuries including strangulation, drowning, and blunt force trauma before succumbing to a gunshot wound.
The video contained visual evidence of Gunderson striking a Belgian Malinois type dog (Ranger) with his fist, holding the dog off the ground, suspending it in the air with his hands by the neck, and forcefully taking the dog down to the ground and straddling it, utilizing his body weight to pin it to the ground until the dog stopped moving. Gunderson is then seen resuscitating the dog for about four total minutes, then assisting the dog to its feet, where it appears to be unstable and minimally responsive.
After reviewing the video, an arrest warrant was issued for Gunderson on April 9, 2024. The following day, April 10th, Hunt County Deputies showed up at the property to execute the warrant arrest. Gunderson was at the property and cooperated with investigators. Gunderson explained that he recently had a dog named Ranger that was involved in a fight with two other dogs on the property and that he had to choke the dog out and hold his head underwater to get him to release his bite on another dog; however, the video evidence did not show Ranger biting another dog and there was no other dog in the immediate area when Gunderson performed these acts on Ranger.
The two other dogs that Gunderson identified as being involved in the fights with Ranger that day were examined and found to have minor wounds that were not life-threatening. Gunderson told investigators that he had treated those two dogs at home with antiseptic spray.
Gunderson also explained that he decided to end Ranger’s life after the dog had fought with the other dogs and he took Ranger into his office and shot him in the head with a 9mm handgun. He stated that he opted to not take Ranger to a veterinarian to have him euthanized because he could not afford it.
On that day, Gunderson was taken into custody and booked into the Hunt County Jail. Gunderson was charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals. 19 living dogs and the one deceased dog were seized from the property and were transported to the SPCA of Texas facility in Dallas for forensic evaluation.
Necropsy results show that Ranger was strangled, drowned and sustained blunt force trauma injuries to his side that caused a fractured rib, contusions and a collapsed lung, all of which were caused while Ranger was alive. The results also showed that the trajectory of a gunshot did not immediately kill Ranger, and that he choked on his own blood before succumbing to the gunshot wound.
In ruling by Judge Linden, she awarded custody of the 18 living dogs back to Gunderson, their original owner. This decision followed the determination that these dogs had not been subjected to cruelty. However, the court ordered custody of the one deceased dog to be granted to the SPCA of Texas due to evidence of mistreatment.
Gunderson will still face charges for the death of Ranger as the investigators determined that Gunderson caused a considerable amount of unjustifiable pain and suffering to the dog, which meets the State’s definition of “torture.” This is a violation of Texas Penal Code 42.092(b)(1) – Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals, a felony of the 3rd degree, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and between two to 10 years in jail. If convicted, Gunderson will be prohibited from possessing animals for five years after conviction.
“This is a dramatic case of someone taking advantage of the trust a beautiful animal had in him and destroying that animal in a most horrific way,” said SPCA of Texas Chief Investigator, Animal Cruelty Investigations Unit, Courtney Burns, CAWA. “We are thankful to individuals who take the time to report incidents of suspected animal cruelty so we can do our best to put a stop to it and try to save as many lives as we can.”
To support the SPCA of Texas’ efforts to rescue, heal and find homes for animals from cases of cruelty and neglect, please visit www.spca.org/give.
