Maricopa County Sheriff’s Sergeant Clinton Everett along with his team of Durango Jail officers went the extra mile to help a man and his dog, instead of turning a blind eye to an inmate’s plight. In doing so they probably saved the life of a young black Labrador retriever, a service dog given to the inmate in 2006 after he was hit by a bus causing a significant brain injury.
The inmate pleaded with officers at the Durango Jail telling them that because he has no family or friends in the valley, there was no one to care for his black lab, ‘Jetta’ since his arrest by Mesa PD on November 9, 2014.
“We felt for the guy and his dog so we phoned other police and animal welfare agencies asking them to check up on the dog’s well-being,” Sgt. Everett says, “but no one would. That’s when I called our District 1 deputies and without hesitation, they agreed to do a welfare check.”
When deputies pried open the home’s side door late Wednesday night, they found a young black lab with no access to food or water that was clearly suffering from an infection. Deputies say the dog quickly darted from the residence and went immediately for the water bowl inside the patrol vehicle. According to the deputies, the dog is very friendly and willingly jumped into the deputy’s vehicle to be taken to the nearest emergency vet for medical care.
When Sgt. Everett returned to Durango jail this afternoon to talk to the inmate, he wept when told that his dog was still alive and in the care of a local veterinarian.
“We had no idea but apparently Thursday was this inmate’s birthday and he said this act of kindness was the best gift he could ask for. That dog is the only family he has,” Sergeant Everett says.
‘Jetta’’ is doing well, according to the vet staff at the Palm Glen Animal Clinic and is expected to be released from care early next week. ‘Jetta’ will then be cared for by female inmates at Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s jail-turned-animal-shelter. Arpaio says he will allow the dog to briefly visit the inmate at his Durango jail cell once the animal is transferred to jail.