Daman J. Gandara
(PCSD file photo)
By Patti Weaver
STILLWATER — A 29-year-old Cushing man accused of failing “to provide necessary food, care and well-being for a dog in his care, causing severe emaciation and atrophy, leading to death” has been charged with cruelty to his German Shepherd, who was found dead on June 26.
Daman J. Gandara was arrested at 1:36 pm on July 31 at his residence in the 1100 block of E. 5th St. in Cushing and jailed on $5,000 bond pending his arraignment this week on the felony charge punishable by up to five years in prison on conviction.
“The deceased dog was taken to Oklahoma State University’s Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for a necropsy,” Cushing Police Officer Sara Reynolds wrote in an affidavit.
On July 30, Cushing Animal Control Officer Amanda Murie notified Officer Reynolds the necropsy had been returned which reported, “The major postmortem finding in this dog is severe emaciation with serious atrophy of fat (end-stage depletion of fat/adipose stores) and skeletal muscle atrophy, which is attributed as the most likely cause of death,” the affidavit alleged.
Officer Reynolds had begun an investigation on June 26 when “Officer Murie advised an individual had contacted her stating Daman Gandara had left a dog inside a residence to die.
“Officer Murie told Daman we had been contacted for a welfare check and asked if we could proceed to the residence to check on the dog. Daman became very hesitant and asked if it would be okay if he went alone to check on him and that he had been in the process to ‘figure out what to do with him.’
“Officer Murie told him we needed to lay eyes on the animal to make sure it was okay. As I began walking up to the front of the residence, Daman said to give him a minute so he could ‘pick up first.’ I told him we just needed to check on his dog.
“Daman once again became hesitant and started stuttering. He said he had checked on the dog last night. I stopped him from talking and asked him what he was worried about. I told him he was trying to stall, and he said because he had been trying to get it figured out.
“Daman said he was worried it had passed away because for the last 2-3 days he had been trying to help and nurture him. I asked why he would need to nurture him, and he said because he had been shuffling from his residence (to a house a block away).
“I asked him what had been wrong with him, and he said he was still in the same condition as he was the last couple of days. Daman said the dog had been shaking and having a hard time walking around.
“I asked why he did not seek medical care for the dog, and he stumbled his words and told me he was scared and that he wanted to try and help the dog himself. I asked if it was okay if I came inside the house, and he asked if it was okay that if something had happened to him, could he just bring him to me in a blanket.
“I told Daman I wanted him to leave the dog where he was, and he shrugged his shoulders and said okay. I once again asked if I could come inside, and he said yeah as he walked into the hallway.
“As I opened up the curtains, I observed a bedroom with trash and miscellaneous objects everywhere, and Daman said ‘yeah, he’s …’ insinuating that the dog had died. I looked down to see the back end of a German Shepherd and immediately noticed that the dog was significantly underweight as I could see the hip bones and his stomach appeared to be sunken in.
“I asked if there was dog food in the house, and he told me, ‘there was,’ and that he had been trying to get dog food from other people and feeding him scraps. I asked him again why he did not seek medical care or call animal control, and he said his mind was just scrambled and that he was scared, trying to figure everything out,” Officer Reynolds alleged in her affidavit.
