A veterinarian who surgically implanted liquid heroin in puppies on behalf of Colombian drug traffickers was sentenced to six years in prison on Feb. 7.
One of the puppies went on to become a drug-detection dog named Heroina.
The sentence for Andres Lopez Elorez was announced in Brooklyn by U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue and other law enforcement officials.
Elorez, who pleaded guilty in September to conspiring to import heroin into the United States, was part of a scheme that turned puppies and dogs into drug couriers by stitching packets of liquid heroin into their bodies.
The U.S. government said Elorez leased a farm in Medellin, Colombia, where he secretly raised dogs and surgically implanted bags of liquid heroin in nine puppies for importation.
On Jan. 1, 2005, law enforcement searched the farm and seized 17 bags of liquid heroin, including 10 bags that were removed from puppies.
Three of the puppies died after contracting a virus following the surgeries.
The Colombian-born Elorez was a fugitive until he was arrested in Spain in 2015; he was extradited to the United States in May 2018.
At least two of the puppies went on to a better existence.
Donna, a beagle, was adopted by a Colombian police officer and his family. Heroina, a Rottweiler, was trained by Colombian police to be a drug detection dog.
Woman Pulls Apart 'Dog Fight' to Find Herself Holding a Mountain Lion
A woman pried apart what she thought were fighting dogs outside her Idaho home only to discover the animal she was gripping in one hand was a juvenile mountain lion.According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG), a woman was alerted to her dog fighting outside her home in the small town of Mackay on the morning of Jan. 30.
Assuming it was another dog, she intervened.
"Her husband responded and quickly dispatched the mountain lion as she held on to it."
According to the IDFG both the woman and dog are doing fine but picked up some scratches.
Rare Attacks on Humans
According to the IDFG, Idaho has an abundant and sustainable mountain lion population.The incident in Mackay was the third incident that month of a mountain lion attacking a dog.
IDFG advises, "People who live near wintering deer should understand there is likely to be mountain lions nearby, too, and they should be aware of their surroundings, and not leave their pets outside and unattended, especially in early mornings, late evenings and at night when mountain lions are most active. "
Mountain lion attacks on humans are rare.
There have been no recorded incidents of mountain lions killing people in Idaho, according to IDFG, but two human fatalities by mountain lions occurred in Oregon and Washington in 2018.
Later reports stated that he had chocked the animal to death.
The unnamed man got himself to the hospital after the incident in the foothills of Horsetooth Mountain on Feb. 4, with what the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) department describes as serious, but nonlife-threatening injuries.”
The lion was a juvenile.
“The lion lunged at the runner, biting his face and wrist,” said the CPW statement. “He was able to fight and break free from the lion, killing the lion in self-defense.”