DOG SLAUGHTER - A DIARY
Following is a diary of my contact with concerned citizens in Waianae, and a man slaughtering and selling dogs for their meat:
1. TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2004
At approximately 9:00 a.m. on July 13, 2004, Carroll Cox of EnviroWatch, Inc. met with a citizen (C #1) on Farrington Highway. This concerned citizen (C #1) informed Mr. Cox that she knows a man (C #2) who lives next door to a property in Waianae, on Lualualei Road. According to this man (C #2), the neighbor slaughters dogs and provides dog meat to Korean bars and/or restaurants. The concerned citizen (C #1) indicated that the slaughtering is very upsetting to this man, and he would like to meet with Mr. Cox to discuss the situation. A meeting was arranged for Thursday, July 15, 2004, at the man's house.
2. THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2004
At approximately 2:20 p.m., Carroll Cox met with C #2, accompanied by C #1. C #2 advised that his friend buys and slaughters dogs and sells them to a Korean bar. C #2 will get the name of the bar and other information on the Korean lady to whom the dog meat is delivered. C #2 also advised that his friend purchased dogs from anyone, including drug addicts. C #2 showed Carroll Cox two other residences that he knows kills and eats dogs. The killing and butchering usually occurs on Sundays at the second place. C #2 told Carroll Cox that the killing and slaughtering of dogs at the third location was filmed by a neighbor, and stopped when it was brought to the killer's attention.
3. SATURDAY, JULY 24, 2004
At approximately 3:00 p.m., Carroll Cox spoke on the telephone with the wife of C #2, who told Mr. Cox that there are a number of people in this area who slaughter dogs. She indicated that she would like to inform Cox about these other people as well, in hopes of stopping this activity.
4. WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2004
At approximately 2:30 p.m., Carroll Cox visited the home of the man who allegedly was buying, killing, and butchering dogs at home in Waianae. Cox approached the house and there was a young man about 20 yrs. old and a young female, possibly younger than 20. Cox asked both of them if the man (he stated the man's first name) was in, and they said yes, and the young man summoned the man. The man came out and Cox introduced himself and said he (Cox) has a problem, because he used to buy dog meat from a man named Armando in Waimanalo who moved to Las Vegas. Cox said he was told that the man sells dog, and asked the man if this is the case, because Cox's source has dried up and he needs a new source. Cox told the man that he sells dog meat. He said he will share his secrets with the man, but stated that he has a sensitive job and would appreciate it if he (the man) keeps it to himself, if in fact he (the man) does not sell dogs. The man answered that he does sell dogs. The man also said that he understands where Cox is coming from, because this is illegal here in Hawaii. [NOTE: This is actually not true; according to the Hawaiian Humane Society, it is not illegal to kill and eat dogs in Hawaii as long as the animal's death is "quick and painless".] Cox stated that he has been doing this for a while, and doesn't want to get caught. Cox said that with his former source, he made money and the source made money. The man proceeded to tell Cox that he sells a lot of dog meat to Korean people. Cox said that he still has a few people to whom he sells dog meat. The man said yes, he has plenty of dogs to sell.
The man asked Cox if he has a restaurant that he could supply dog meat for. Cox said no, but his wife is Korean and she sells to some of her friends who have bars and restaurants. The man said he sells to plenty of Korean bars and Korean people. The man said he sells all over, including people living in Mililani, and mentioned the name Nani. The man tried to describe the street where he delivers meat to Nani. He also said he delivers to a Korean bar on Houghtailing, which is near a business called "Uncle something". The man asked Cox if he would want the dog's feet cut off and guts removed, and Cox said he would have to check. Cox asked if removing those parts of the body would cost extra, and the man said no. The man said that normally the Koreans want those removed, but they prefer to have the hair and skin left on. Cox said he'll get back to the man on that, because he doesn't know the people his wife is selling the dog meat to.
Cox asked the man about the sizes of the dogs, and the prices. The man said it is $150, and it doesn't matter about the size because the dogs are mostly a standard size. The man said he buys dogs from anybody, for $40 - $50 each. The man said he would show Cox some of them, and led him to a pen that was located near the street. This pen contained 2 medium-sized, reddish-brown Labrador retrievers, about a year old (or less), who were attached to chains. In addition, there was a small yellowish-tan puppy approximately 6 weeks old, and a male pit bull, white and brown in color (like a painted pinto). Neither the puppy nor the pit bull were chained or tied down. The pit bull had a small piece of polyethylene rope wrapped around his neck.
DOGS FOR SALE
The man and Cox stood at the gate of the pen, and the pit bull approached the gate in a friendly manner. A small black and tan adult Chihuahua came over, who the man described as his pet. The Cihuahua was quietly growling, and the pit bull stepped over the Chihuahua. The Chihuahua growled and immediately the pit bull took his front paws off the fence and grabbed the Chihuahua in his mouth and bit down on him. There was a blood-curdling scream from the Chihuahua, and the pit bull attacked him violently for 15-20 minutes. The man tried to stop him, but the pit bull continued to keep the dog in his mouth and bit down harder. Cox could hear the Chihuahua's bones cracking. The man hit the pit bull with a piece of wood, and then with a metal pipe, all over his body but he would not release his hold on the Chihuahua. This went on for about 20 minutes. Then the pit bull picked him up, and the Chihuahua bit the pit bull on his lips.
Initially, the pit bull bit the Chihuahua on the back, near the middle, and violently shook him. Cox could hear the bones in the small dog's back cracking. Cox also attempted to distract the dog, to no avail. The pit bull took the Chihuahua in the back of the pen and killed it. The whole process took about hour. He systematically bit and chewed at the Chihuahua's neck, and then all over. He pushed the Chihuahua hard against the ground to see if it was still alive, and as he pushed he would bite down again. The man removed one of the Labradors from the pen, because he was afraid the pit bull would kill it. Cox cautioned the man that he doesn't know the dog, and to be careful. The man said someone had just sold him the dog. Cox saw that the pit bull was dirty and appeared mangy, with no sheen to his fur. The pit bull was very thin, and his ribs were showing.
After the Chihuahua had died, the pit bull continued to break his bones, including those in the legs, and took the body to the bushes as if he was stashing him for later.
Cox asked the man if he could take pictures, to show the people he would be providing the meat to that it was indeed dog meat. Cox took a picture of the pit bull chewing on the Chihuahua while it was dead. The pit bull continuously had the dog in his mouth and was lifting it up. Cox also took pictures of the Labrador. The man told Cox that for sure he would kill the pit bull tonight, and asked if Cox wanted it. The man said he was going to shoot the pit bull. The man asked if Cox wanted him to kill the dog now, but Cox said he was not really ready and did not bring his ice chest.
Cox said that he wants to show the pictures of the dogs to wife, because people are very finicky and want to be sure it is dog meat and not goat. Cox explained that every time he sells a dog, he shows the buyer a picture to show it was healthy and not sick or diseased. People are concerned about whether the dog was sick and laying around from disease. The pictures will show that the dog was active, and up walking around. Cox took several pictures of the pen, and told the man the pit bull looked a little thin. Cox asked the man if he would still charge him the same amount ($150)? The man said yes, $150 -- then said OK, he would give it to Cox for $135; then he said he would sell it for $125, if Cox would come back tomorrow. The man said that he has 4 dogs for sale now, at $150 each. The man said he had had a great big dog, but somebody ordered that one already.
The man said he had 4 dogs, and if Cox buys 2 dogs he will sell them for $125 each, or if Cox buys 4 dogs he would sell them for $100 each, if they are all purchased at one time. Cox told the man that he wants to take photos of the black lab mix, and also the brindle color mixed breed. Cox took pictures of the lab the man had taken out of the pen to keep safe. The man had placed that dog in a pen by himself, located on the left side of the driveway as you approach the house from the street.
Cox said he would check to see if he could buy 4 dogs. The man told Cox that he always has plenty of dogs, and on one occasion he had 32 dogs all at one time. The man confirmed what C#2 had told Cox, that he (the man) will buy dogs from anybody, including drug addicts and total strangers, with no questions asked. Cox gave the man a $20 bill, and said he was giving him the money as good faith, since he was not prepared to haul the dog away right then and because the man had been so nice. The man told Cox no, he trusts him. But Cox gave him the money as partial payment for the dog. As Cox was leaving, he saw that the pit bull was still holding onto and guarding the Chihuahua. Cox told the man that he would call him tomorrow to tell him when he was coming by. The man said he would kill the pit bull tonight, process him, and put the meat in the freezer for Cox. The man said it's no problem that the pit bull is skinny, because it will swell up when it is cooked. The man said the Koreans like to cut up the meat and make soup with it. The man said he sells to lots of people in Ewa Beach and Kalihi, and "plenty people" will buy 2 - 6 dogs at a time. He said the filipinos cook the dog meat with carrots, tomato sauce, red bell pepper, and ginger - "that's how we do it". The man said the filipinos call the dish "caldarita". The man told Cox that he can provide as many dogs as he needs, and gave Cox his telephone number. Cox then left. These events took place between about 2:30 p.m. to about 4:00 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2004
At about 8:15 p.m., on the same day that Carroll Cox met the man, Cox telephoned the man at the number the man had given him to talk about Cox's visit to the man's house earlier that day. The man did not answer the phone, and Cox left a recorded message.
At 8:24 p.m., the man returned the call. The caller ID on Cox's telephone indicated the time to be 8:24, and it showed the caller's name to be different than that of the man Cox was dealing with. Cox spoke with the man at length, and Cox recorded the entire telephone conversation on a tape recorder. Cox will transcribe the conversation into written form soon.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2004
At about 4:00 p.m., Carroll Cox arrived at the man's house with a 12-pack of Corona beer. Cox told the man that a lady he knows wants to buy 5 dogs. The man stated that he is concerned, because about 3 or 4 days after Cox's last visit (i.e., July 28, 2004), a haoli (caucasian) man came by and told the man that he knows he is selling dogs and told him he had better stop killing and selling dogs for food, or he would be in big trouble. The man said the haoli man was tall and was wearing a white T-shirt with the word "Mexico" on the back of it.
The man told Cox that his wife was concerned about this, and told him that he better stop killing and selling dogs for a while. The man said to Cox, "My friend, I hope you understand". The man said he doesn't want to get into trouble, and he will lay low for 3 weeks to a month. The man said that, in the meanwhile, he will sell the dogs to Cox for $100.00 each if Cox can find someplace to slaughter the dogs, or else Cox could slaughter them himself. The man said he has friends in Kunia, in the Kunia Plantation area, who will slaughter dogs. The man said he would call them, and he could take the dogs over to them and either the man can slaughter them there, or the friends will slaughter them. The man said if his friends do the slaughtering, they will charge about $35.00, and the total price for 2 dogs would be $185.00. The man said he will sell Cox live dogs for $100.00 each.
The man told Cox that someone had brought him a white dog today, but the dog escaped. Only the collar and chain were left. Cox said he will need to know about the dog situation by Sunday (August 8, 2004), and the man said he will call him. Cox said, in reference to a conversation he and the man had on July 28, 2004, that he didn't think it was illegal to slaughter dogs for their meat, and told the man that he should call the Humane Society to check. The man said that he thought the haolie man who came by to tell him to stop killing and selling dogs was from the Humane Society.
The man said he will stop killing for a while. However, he is then going to have too many dogs, and said he didn't know how he was going to feed them, because that would cost too much money. The man told Cox he would call and make arrangements by Sunday with the friends in Kunia. He said he would deliver the dogs live, and the friends will slaughter them. He will make the arrangements. Cox told the man that, if possible, he would like him to call to let him know by tomorrow (Thursday). Cox gave the man his phone number again, and then Cox left.
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