Man alleges Callaway County deputies abandoned dog three times

FULTON, Mo. (KMIZ)

A South Carolina man is working to file a lawsuit against three members of the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office for allegedly abandoning his dog three times.

Jack Walker says he and his wiener dog Dodger were traveling through Missouri to Kansas where Walker’s mother had just passed away on July 17, 2025. Walker said he had a medical emergency while pulled over at a truck stop off I-70 in Callaway County.

Walker called an ambulance, which led to a jail stay for an unpaid traffic ticket from 2015, he said.

“They took me to the county jail for a day or two,” Walker said. “And when I got out to get my dog, I went to the animal shelter, and they said, ‘We don't have your dog, Mr. Walker. The sheriff's department does.’ So I went to the sheriff's department, and they said, ‘Well, we took your dog back to the truck stop and let him loose.’”

Walker has not seen his dog since the day he was arrested. And for the past 14 months, he has allegedly found that Dodger was abandoned on three separate occasions — once by a Callaway County deputy, and twice by the Callaway County sheriff.

The day the sheriff’s office took possession of Dodger, a deputy allegedly dropped him off in the vestibule area of the Fulton Police Department. Through an open records request, Walker’s attorneys obtained video of the deputy leaving the dog without speaking to anyone inside.

“He took it to the local police station, and to their lobby, and left without telling them,” Walker said.

ABC 17 News went to the Fulton Police Department Tuesday to confirm if a wiener dog was left there in July 2025. An officer said only the chief, who was out, could answer that question. ABC 17 News followed up with an email.

According to Walker, after Dodger was left at FPD, the Callaway County sheriff was called to pick him up. He then allegedly admitted to Walker that he took the dog to the truck stop he was picked up from and let him loose.

Walker said he called the Missouri State Highway Patrol to report this. A trooper allegedly called him back after about three hours and said, “You need to get an attorney.”

Walker said Sheriff Darryl Maylee admitted to him that he let Dodger go twice. The second time, Walker said, was after the dog was dropped off at the Sam and Daisy Grabb Animal Shelter in Fulton. He was taken there not long after being left at the truck stop the first time.

“We found out that a good Samaritan found my dog like 30 minutes later in the middle of the interstate,” Walker said.

When Walker got out of jail and went looking for his dog at the shelter, he said he didn’t realize how deep the situation was — that his dog had been handed off to multiple places and left three different times.

Walker alleged that the animal shelter wasn't accepting animals from the county because of the county's unpaid bills, totaling about $4,000.

ABC 17 News stopped by the shelter Tuesday. A manager said she would not comment on this specific situation, but said that the shelter only accepts animals for the City of Fulton, not the county.

According to the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office, the county does not have its own animal shelter. The website of the Callaway County Health Department says the county has no animal control authority. The health department investigates animal bites, but the authority ends there.

Now back in South Carolina, Walker said he has not seen Dodger since the sheriff allegedly let him loose a second time.

“I don't believe that,” Walker said. “I believe he took him out and shot him. I stayed up there and looked for my dog for three days, and I couldn't afford to stay anymore.”

Walker said he still can’t bring himself to watch the surveillance video of Dodger allegedly being left at the Fulton Police Department.

Sheriff Darryl Maylee told ABC 17 News that he was “somewhat familiar” with the situation and confirmed a dog was picked up by the office, but said he did not know “offhand” what happened to it.

A reporter asked Maylee about the alleged money owed to the shelter. He did not answer the question. He said a shelter would turn animals away if they were full, but the sheriff’s office has two emergency kennels if that were to happen. He did not mention the shelter's claim that animals aren't accepted from the county.

Walker said his suit should be filed in a couple of months.