Gerald Police Department, Chief Gary Peanick
MAIL: PO Box 59 • 430 West Fitzgerald • Gerald, MO 63037
PH/FAX: 573-764-3340; fax: 573-764-2987

Mayor Otis Schulte and Members of the Board of Aldermen
MAIL: Gerald City Hall • 430 West Fitzgerald • Gerald, MO 63037
EMAIL: Gerald Chamber Of Commerce, geraldcc@fidnet.com
PH/FAX: 573-764-3340; fax: 573-764-2987
Gerald Mayor Otis Schulte: 573-764-2459
Alderman Ward 1: Brad Landwehr, 573-764-4212
Alderman Ward 1: Rich Johnson, 573-764-4212
Alderman Ward 2: David Luechtefeld, 573-764-3154
Alderman Ward 2: Dan Maxwell, 573-764-4705

Robert Parks, Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney
MAIL: 414 E. Main Street, Suite B • Union, MO 63084
EMAIL: unioncse@yhti.net
PH/FAX: 636-583-6370; fax: 636-583-7343
website: www.franklinmo.org/Prosecutor/PMain.htm

COPY:
Humane Society of Missouri Headquarters
MAIL: 1201 Macklind Ave. • St. Louis, MO 63110
PH: HSOM Rescues And Investigations Department, 314-647-4400
FAX: 314-647-4317
EMAIL: info@hsmo.org
WEB EMAIL: http://hsmo.convio.net/ site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&
SURVEY_ID=1403&JServSes sionIda012=pqwxgz88w1.app11d

SAMPLE LETTER:

The Honorable Mayor Schulte, Members of the Board of Aldermen, Chief Gary Peanick, and Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Parks:

I bring to your attention Missouri Revised Statues, Chapter 578, Miscellaneous Offenses, 578.012. Animal abuse—penalties: 2. Animal abuse is a class A misdemeanor, unless...the suffering involved...is the result of torture or mutilation, or both, consciously inflicted while the animal was alive, in which case it is a class D felony.

When Dean Tadaro, the City of Gerald's dogcatcher, systematically slaughtered companion cats and dogs, he "consciously inflicted torture, mutilation, or both" while these animals were alive.

Most of Gerald's missing animals were found in a makeshift grave by a lagoon on city property. Tadaro, armed with a .22 caliber gun, allegedly shot at least 10 cats in the head at point blank range. A boy's basset hound turned up in a ditch, dead by Tadaro's bullet.

I implore Gerald law enforcers to investigate these killings and file charges under Missouri animal cruelty statutes. If Tadaro is convicted, I ask the prosecuting attorney to advocate maximum incarceration and fines for class D felony animal abuse. Please ensure Tadaro undergoes psychological counseling and is barred from possessing or working with animals.

Mayor Schulte ought to ensure the city never employs someone who baits, kills and tosses beloved animals into a dirt-covered hole in the ground.

Criminologists view the intensity of a vicious act, regardless of the victim's identity, as a forerunner to more violence. Consider these facts:
• Men prosecuted for animal cruelty are five times as likely to be arrested for other violent crimes, according to Utah State University professor Frank Ascione's extensive research.

• ASPCA's Randall Lockwood, Ph.D. — who aids cruelty investigators, law enforcers and court officials — identifies abusers who project blame onto others (Wandering pets cause problems; if I kill them, I solve the problem) as "repeat offenders...resistant to intervention."

• When the FBI profiles homicidal criminals, animal abuse is among three primary factors used to measure probability of a repeat offense. Animal cruelty is a key trait in the American Psychiatric Association's criterion for conduct disorders.

People who abuse animals rarely stop there. Please keep me informed about this disturbing case.

Sincerely,