Riverside County Animal Services officer Michael Cox waded toward the bird that was struggling to free itself from some fishing line discarded at Lake Evans at Fairmount Park in Riverside. Once he reached the bird, the water was up to his chest and that’s when the officer realized the fishing line was snagged in a tree, essentially trapping the bird from mobility. Officer Cox needed to watch out for the sharp beak of the black crowned night heron. Frightened by his presence, the heron took a few swipes at Officer Cox.

“From my training, I know water fowl go for your eyes,” Cox said. “I was being very cautious.”

He was able to avoid injury, snipped the line and calmly walked the bird to shore to finish removing all of the line.

His colleague, Officer Mary Salazar, assisted him when get got to dry land and he later emptied his rubber boots filled with Lake Evans water.

Officer Salazar noticed the heron had a hook in one of its wings. They transported the heron to the Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley where veterinary staffers carefully removed the hook and examined it for any injuries. It was kept overnight for observation.

“Animal rescue comes in all shapes and sizes,” Animal Services Director Erin Gettis said. “I am so proud of officers Cox and Salazar and all the field officers for the work they do to assist any and all critters in need.”

Officer Cox returned to Fairmount Park Sept. 5 and released the heron.

Not too far from the release site, signs advise anglers to discard their lines. Cox said he and his fellow officers get calls frequently for lines tangled in legs and wings.

“If people aren’t cleaning up their fishing lines, it will happen again,” he said. “We hope people realize that they need to be mindful of the wild birds while fishing. Please know that the lines can be harmful – if not fatal – for our feathered friends.”

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Someone had put cotton balls in the box so postal workers wouldn’t hear the snake’s rattle, the 60-year-old truck driver said.

“That’s attempted murder, if you ask me,” he said.

Bowles picked up the package Thursday and asked a friend to open it as they drove away from the post office that serves the Mojave Desert town near Joshua Tree National Park.

“When she opened the box, she threw it at me almost,” he said. “And she says, ‘There’s a snake in there.’”

Bowles pulled over and put the box by the curb, then used a stick to open it. He estimates the snake was about 2 feet long. He called 911 and Animal Control.

Animal Control picked up the snake, and a San Bernardino County deputy took a report that was forwarded to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which is handling the investigation, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Patricia Mendoza, a postal inspector, said in an emailed statement that an investigation is ongoing.

The package, marked “fragile” in black marker, listed as a return address a home in Palm Coast, Fla., but tracking information indicates that it was mailed May 3 in Hayward, Calif.

“This is a first for me,” said Rick Boyd, the Animal Control supervisor for the city of Twentynine Palms, who responded to the incident. It was a Western rattlesnake, he said. The species, also known as the Northern Pacific rattlesnake, is common in Northern California but isn’t usually found in Southern California.

Boyd said he doesn’t believe it’s possible that the snake slithered into the package while it was in transit and noted that it appears to have been intentionally mailed.

Assassination attempts by rattlesnake have precedent in Southern California.

In 1978, Los Angeles trial attorney Paul Morantz nearly died after he was bitten by a rattlesnake that someone had placed in his mailbox. Police arrested Charles Dederich, who led the Synanon paramilitary cult, against which Morantz had won a judgment, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder; they also arrested two of Dederich’s foot soldiers, known as Imperial Marines, on suspicion of attempted murder.

The preliminary hearing featured the snake, floating in formaldehyde, introduced as Exhibit 1. All three men pleaded no contest, avoiding trial.

While the Twentynine Palms incident may seem improbable, it is possible, according to local wildlife experts.

Rattlesnakes are resilient — they can survive for up to six months without food or water, as long as temperatures aren’t too extreme, said Danielle Wall, a snake wrangler who serves the high desert.

“It is 100% possible for a snake to survive in the mail like that, as long as they don’t overheat or freeze,” she said.

Bowles on Monday learned that a second, virtually identical package was recently mailed to his home in Florida. He has directed family members to take it to the police station rather than open it, he said.

“I’m trying to figure out, do I have any enemies?” he said.

“I’m not a gangster,” he added. “I’m a truck driver.”

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According to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, Officer Michael Cox went to the 2500 block of Mount Vernon Avenue, on the west side of Box Springs Mountain Reserve Park, shortly after 11 a.m. to investigate complaints that four dogs were on a homeowner’s adjacent but vacant fenced property.

Agency spokesman John Welsh said that when Cox approached the dogs, they initially seemed friendly, but then one of them latched onto his right leg, puncturing it. A second pit bull then joined in the attack, also biting the officer.

Officer Cox retreated while using his retractable baton and pepper spray to protect himself,” Welsh said. Paramedics were requested, as well as additional animal control officers and police, according to Welsh. Three of the four dogs were impounded,” he said. The fourth, one of the two that had attacked the officer, managed to break through a gate and escaped into the nearby hills.”

Cox was taken to Riverside Community Hospital for treatment of the bite injuries and is expected to fully recover. “We go into dangerous situations all the time, but we’re trained to know the warning signs of aggressive dogs,” Department of Animal Services Cmdr. Chris Mayer said. In this incident, Mike didn’t have any time to react. We’re thankful the attacks weren’t worse.”

The impounded dogs were found to be microchipped, and their owner, an apparently homeless woman whose name was withheld, was being sought for questioning and the issuance of citations for allegedly failing to license the canines, according to Welsh.

The whereabouts of the fourth pit bull were unknown.

Anyone with information was asked to contact the Department of Animal Services at 951-358-7387, or the Riverside Police Department, 951-354-2007.

Riverside County Police Department | Contributed

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The crash happened on Highway 111 and Overture Drive at around 2:15 p.m.

Officer Jackie Quintero of the California Highway Patrol confirmed it was a single vehicle rollover. When officers arrived, the driver was nowhere to be found.

A dog was injured in the crash. There was no word on the severity of the dog’s injuries. Animal control was called to take the dog for treatment.

The #2 lane was block for nearly an hour as crews investigated the scene.

All lanes were reopened by 3:15 p.m. The post Dog injured in rollover crash on Highway 111 in Windy Point appeared first on KESQ.

Jesus Reyes | Contributed

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RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Riverside County supervisors signed off today on an Executive Office response to a grand jury report critical of the way the Department of Animal Services handles payments collected by its officers in the field, citing safety and efficiency concerns.

On a 5-0 vote without comment, the Board of Supervisors certified the county’s answer to the civil grand jury, which is near the end of the last fiscal year issued findings that focused on alleged deficiencies regarding how payments are collected and processed by animal control officers.

The county’s three-page answer to the panel stated that the issues which jurors found concerning have either been resolved or are close to resolution.

The 19-member grand jury, which has Superior Court authority to investigate almost any matter of concern in county government, said it could not identify a specific written policy establishing how animal control officers are supposed to manage receipt of payments for various services while in the field, including pet surrender fees, owner redemption fees, and euthanasia fees, all of which can run anywhere between $40 and $150.

The main concern pertained to cash handling and how officers secure cash to ensure it isn’t lost or stolen. According to Executive Office staff, a policy does exist, and it instructs officers to lock money inside a box bolted inside each animal control patrol vehicle. Accepting credit card payments in the field, which would likely eliminate cash transactions, remains a challenge because most of the county’s three-dozen animal control officers are not trained to use Internet-based software that can be loaded onto their tablet devices to process charge card payments.

Officials said the Department of Animal Services is working to have all officers trained in the mobile Converge credit processing system by Dec. 31.

The grand jury concluded that the cash-based system was “cumbersome and unsafe,” with many officers and supervisory personnel unhappy with managing and keeping track of dollar bills. Jurors also found how receipts are recorded in the department’s database to be “time-consuming and inefficient.”

Executive Office staff said that, even with full implementation of the mobile processing system in the field, all types of transactions will still need to be entered into the agency database.

“Without this information, no official record will exist of the transaction,” the staff wrote. “These records are vital to know the status of animals, such as if they are licensed, have bitten anyone in the past, or have violations of law pending against them.”

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