SGV PHS Animal Officer

By Kyra Kirkwood

Every night, Sgt. Nemesio "Memo" Arteaga of the Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA goes home to his young family knowing he’s spent a day making a difference in the lives of many.

Long before Animal Planet’s "Animal Precinct" television series made humane investigators hip, Arteaga was walking the streets of Pasadena, fighting for the rights of abused and neglected animals while bringing their tormentors to justice.

This December marks the sixth anniversary of Arteaga’s career with the PHSSPCA as one of four humane officer investigators.

"I came here, and it’s home to me," he said before one of his shifts that end at midnight. "When the hardest part of your job is getting there, it’s time to move on. I haven’t gotten to that point, and I don’t think I ever will."

Arteaga arrived at the shelter after spending three years as an officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. His love for animals and his desire to work with people made this career with the PHSSPCA a natural choice.

Just like on the television show featuring New York City’s finest in animal protection, Arteaga and his team spend their days looking into any animal-related crime and answering upwards of 60 complaint calls from around the Pasadena area and beyond. Approximately 20 of those calls need in-depth investigating, said Arteaga, who has filed scores of criminal cases, all resulting in prosecution.

A vast majority of the calls Arteaga responds to deal with pit-bull fighting, especially in the summertime. Many of these felony incidents are held outside in public parks and are frequented by gang members, he said.

Neglect is another top reason for complaints to the officers. Arteaga recalls too many incidents where people have purchased a puppy and a collar, then left the dog outside for months and months, not changing the collar to accommodate the growing pup. As a result, the collar grew into the dog’s neck, causing extreme pain, sores and possible infection or death.

"When you buy a pup, you know the dog will get bigger, but the collar won’t," he said. "That’s just negligence…It’s the owner’s fault, but the animal pays the consequences."

Arteaga remembers one particular incident where this happened, and it’s haunted him to this day. He responded to a call about three dogs that had collars embedded into their skin so bad, raging infections and maggots nested in the animals’ wounds. The smell was overwhelming from just inside the back fence; there was no way anyone living there could say they didn’t know something was wrong, he said.

"That was a clear case of neglect," Arteaga said, noting how that case turned into a criminal investigation. "It was just so hard for me to understand. The dogs were back there for a whole year, chained to a tree, and the owner never bothered to check their collars. I just don’t understand."

Most of the calls flooding the PHSSPCA offices come from passers-by or neighbors who think they see signs of neglect and abuse. Thankfully, after a routine follow-up, the animal investigators discover that approximately 80 percent of those concerns can be cleared up with public education.

Sometimes, for example, people don’t realize the type of shelter they need to have for their outside dog, said Arteaga. One of his duties is to help pet owners realize their mistakes and learn how to fix the problem.

"There may be no malice, just a lack of education," he said, noting how his team will make routine follow-up visits to make sure the recommendations are implemented. If not, then the investigation turns into a criminal case, he said.

Like any other law-enforcement officer, Arteaga carries a gun.

"We have to deal with some of the same individuals the cops deal with," he said. "They see us as not being ‘real police,’ so they challenge us. The owners can be very, very challenging sometimes."

People often "flip out" when their pets are taken away from them due to neglect or abuse, he said. One case Arteaga investigated involved a lady with her child and dozens of cats living together in a filthy apartment.

"She put up a fight when we impounded her cats, but not when child services came [to take her child]," Arteaga said.

Sometimes, pet owners realize they no longer want the responsibility ownership mandates, so they turn their dogs and cats lose on the streets or up in the Rose Bowl area. Arteaga encourages people to sign over the dogs to the PHSSPCA so better, healthier homes can be found for them.

"If an animal is adoptable, we’ll try to find a home for it," he said.

It’s frustrating for him to watch many good animals waste away in the shelter because the owners won’t sign them over for adoption while the criminal investigation of their animal-neglect charges is underway. This often takes months.

"For the most part, people usually [sign them over]," Arteaga said. "They realize it’s the right thing to do and they’re doing the animal a favor."

But not all the cases Arteaga investigates deal with people who intentionally harm animals or neglect them out of poor education. One particular incident involved a lady who took it upon herself to become the patron saint of stray cats.

"She started off doing the right thing, then it got out of control," Arteaga remembered.

By the time the humane officer investigators were called in, the lady housed dozens of cats in her van. Charges were filed, but the lady cooperated and all the cats found good homes–including two back with her.

Often times, Arteaga finds himself putting together pieces of a complicated puzzle as he investigates an animal-related crime. The hardest item to uncover is often animal ownership. One lady investigated for animal cruelty changed her story so many times about who owned the dogs, Arteaga obtained a search warrant so he could uncover proof: pictures, vet records, dog dishes, etc. The lady finally admitted the animals were hers, and she was convicted and sentenced to probation.

Unfortunately, the dogs were too sick to be saved and ultimately had to be put to sleep. Arteaga wouldn’t say more on the subject, preferring to focus on the cases with happier endings.

Such as the Great Fire Escape.

While driving around town, Arteaga noticed smoke billowing out of an apartment window. Immediately, he called the fire department, and then noticed a tiny cat inside the inferno, pressed up against the window.

Without waiting for the fire department, Arteaga charged toward the burning building, cut out the screen and pulled one cat after another to safety. He then kicked down a door to make sure no one else was inside, and more cats poured out.

All in all, 10 cats were rescued before fire crews arrived on scene, with eight more saved soon after. Four didn’t survive the ordeal, but the rest were nursed back to health and adopted to loving homes.

These happy endings are what keep Arteaga going during his tough days and brutal investigations. As a dog owner himself, he knows the value of pets and the responsibility of pet ownership.

"I try not to let [the rough cases] bother me and affect my work," he said. "Someone has to do it, and I want it to be me.

"I have to remind myself I’m doing something good. We’re not trying to change the world. We’re just trying to make a small difference. At the end of the day, I go home feeling good because I know I did my best to make [the world] better. It’s a good feeling."