CRUELTY TO ANIMALS TM

A BOULDER CREEK MAN WAS ARRESTED WEDNESDAY ON CHARGES OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. 47-YEAR-OLD JOHN CHARLES STAPLES WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY BY SANTA CRUZ COUNTY SHERIFF?S DEPUTIES INVESTIGATING CLAIMS HE HAD SHOT A NEIGHBOR?S ROTTWEILER . WHEN THEY SERVED A SEARCH WARRANT ON STAPLE?S PROPERTY THEY DISCOVERED TWO DOGS AND 15 CATS BEING KEPT IN HIGHLY UNSANITARY CONDITIONS. THE AILING ANIMALS WERE REMOVED BY COUNTY ANIMAL SERVICES. IN ADDITION, THE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT IS INVESTIGATING THE PROPERTY FOR STRUCTURAL CODE VIOLATIONS, WHILE THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS INVESTIGATING THE OVERALL SANITATION OF THE PROPERTY. THE NEIGHBOR?S DOG, WHICH HAD BEEN SHOT IN THE LEG SEVERAL WEEKS AGO, IS RECOVERING AFTER SURGERY.