Something is fuzzy about financing of Officer Neron ... oops, Officer Ozzie...

On March 22, 2016 I made a Freedom of Information Request to Delaware County, New York.

The request was for RECORDS - not unsworn testimony of Christa Schafer - and was as follows:

Here is the responses that I got from Christa Schafer about financing of purchase and maintenance of Officer Neron (by pedigree) or Ozzie, as renamed by Delaware County Sheriff's Department - see the previous blog with the invoice for a German Shepherd NERON.  

Good they did not rename him Budweiser. 

Bad that a name is changed for an adult dog, that's psychologically damaging for an animal.

And, again, here are the responses from Christa Schafer that came in two attachments to one e-mail today.

Attachment No. 1:

Attachment No. 2 - uploaded in full here.

Here is a table of what was asked in my FOIL request - and what Delaware County gave me.

No.	What I asked for on FOIL	What I received from Christa Shafer	Notes/Comments
1.	copy of purchase documents (bill of sale) and the title of ownership for the German Shepard Ozzie (records)	Was provided – the dog was purchased under another name (NERON) from a Pennsylvania kennel that imports dogs.	The dog was purchased for $7,000, untrained. That's exactly why I wonder why the purchase was not put up for public bidding, and why Delaware County needed a "dual purpose" imported police dog – and I will verify what "dual purpose" means (attack/drug enforcement?)
2.	approval of the Delaware County Board of Supervisors for purchasing Ozzie (records)	Was provided
3.	budgetary provisions in Delaware County budget for purchasing, upkeep and training of Ozzie, from the date of purchase to the present time (records)	Were provided, but are fuzzy	There are "estimated donations", but there are no names of "estimated donors", even though donations are all "pledged" for the life of the dog
4.	budgetary provisions in Delaware County budget for training of Delaware County employees to handle Ozzie (records)	NONE provided
5.	statistics of how many arrests were effected with Ozzie's help, dates of arrests and names of arrested individuals	Provided by Christa Schafer in a separate letter
6.	public records reflecting days off, other "in-kind" payments or monetary payments provided to John Demeo in return for handling Ozzie	NONE provided	Yet, seethroughny.net reflects a hike in payment of John Demeo at about the time he's got the dog
7.	public records reflecting assignment of John Demeo as Ozzie's handler	NONE provided	Which means, with all the fanfare, there is no official assignment of John Demeo to the K-9 unit
8.	public records reflecting cost of training of John Demeo as Ozzie's handler	A glowing letter of recognition and a certificate of training were provided, not the cost of training Well, I'll just keep digging
9.	any and all contracts or agreements between the Delaware County and John Demeo regarding the ·       use of Ozzie, ·       boarding, ·       handling or ·       caring for Ozzie, or ·       use of Ozzie after Ozzie's retirement	NONE provided
10.	public records reflecting each and every donation from the public for the handling and upkeep of Ozzie since the date of Ozzie's purchase, including, but not limited to:	NONE provided
11.	monetary donations for care, handling, training or upkeep of Ozzie, including the donations obtained from the recent fundraiser handled by a restaurant in Walton, NY that Walton Reporter wrote about, with the identity of each donor and amount of each donation, and copies of financial records from Delaware County Treasurer's office as to when the Delaware County Treasurer received the donation money, what account the money was put in and when, and how and when the money was spent	NONE provided	Since the $7,000+  imported dog officially belongs to Delaware County, there must be records about its upkeep – you know, the elementary stuff, debit/credit: * came in a donation from Mr. Brown – on this date; * paid for food of Officer Neron (Ozzie) – on this date, with entries in the bank account. There is nothing like that, so money, as I understand, changes hands outside of bank accounts and outside of accounting. And when a police officer receives money that is not entered into the County's accounting and are not accounted for through the Treasurer's office (which are all public records that I asked for through FOIL and that were not provided) – that means that those donations from unknown (to us) but already PLEDGED individuals, and PLEDGED for the life of Ozzie – those donations are called BRIBES, because they may lead to leniency towards the donors that we do not know of by our taxpayer-paid police force
12.	Records of all donations in kind, including, but not limited to veterinary care, boarding, training, food and gear donations, identities of donors, dates of donations, as to donated food, amounts of food donated, with specifics as to the brand of foods and the cost of food, and records providing an accounting as to how food donations were registered and used;  for each donation, I request public records reflecting the estimated value of the donation	NONE provided What was provided is Christa Schafer's unsworn testimony (that I did not ask for) as to how much in donations was received (without financial records of receipts) and how much was spent (without financial records, copies of purchases). I definitely did not Christa Schafer's statements - which must be based on review of some records that Christa Schafer does not want to give me. An administrative appeal for denial of my FOIL request is due, then.	This one is REALLY, REALLY strange. It has been reported, with fanfare, that food and vet care was provided for free. Now, why are there no documents about such pledges? It is really important to know the names of "private donors" of the police – we have public police officers, right, not private security guards for those who pay, in money or in kind. Right?
13.	all veterinary records of officer Ozzie since the date of Ozzie's birth, including veterinary records after the date of purchase by the Delaware County; Ozzie's vaccination and treatment documents for his entire life	The only quasi-vet document provided was a "warranty" that came with purchase, it mentions that the dog was "evaluated" by vets in Europe, that's it	No records, in a wooded area infested with ticks, where rabid wild animals surface often, and while the dog has been enforced in at least 71 "law enforcement activities", and, being a "dual purpose" dog, it can be used for apprehension of humans – and thus MUST have all the shots and MUST be vet-checked. Even if vet care is free, the pledge from the vet should be in writing – for purposes of budget approval for the dog, and there must be vet records that the pledge is being honored by the vet
14.	Ozzie's pedigree documents, and documents reflecting his origin (breeder), prior owners and trainers	NONE provided	This is REALLY strange. If an untrained 1-year-old dog is purchased for $7,000, it must be a pup with really good bloodline to justify the price – now where is NERON's pedigree?
15.	records indicating any incidents with Ozzie attacking or biting people or animals;  any records of lawsuits based on Ozzie's behavior, copies of any insurance payouts based on Ozzie's behavior towards people or animals	Christa Schafer claimed in a letter there has been no such incidents
16.	documents reflecting the type of training Ozzie received, as well as the identity of the training facility and the cost of training	Certificate from Syracuse Police Department, not very specific
17.	any public documents providing for publicly bid contracts for training, care and upkeep of Ozzie	NONE provided
18.	any public documents reflecting solicitations of donations for Ozzie or John Demeo as Ozzie's handler	NONE provided
19.	a copy of Delaware County liability policy for actions of its officers and employees	NONE provided	Now that's interesting.  Is it a secret document – what kind of liability policy Delaware County has? Especially given that when Neron  (Ozzie) was purchased, the Board of Supervisors was discussing a "K-9 rider" in that policy as the basis of its decision to approve the purchase I asked Christa Schafer to provide the policy once again – obviously, she overlooked providing it. I will report what she'll answer.

Additionally, this is the salary dynamics of Ozzie's handler John Demeo - obtained outside of the FOIL request from seethroughny.net:

Quite a hike since Demeo got Ozzie, isn't it?

So, Ozzie is not that "free" to Delaware County taxpayers, is he?

I will insist on release of identities of donors that privately pay for expenses of Delaware County Sheriff's Department and publish results of my further investigation.

Stay tuned.