This is an email dated April 23, 2000,  written by a woman who was a professional dog breeter. She’d been a business partner with Spink’s ex-wife Judy, who was also a professional dog breeder.

 The woman alleges she let Doug live in her house in 1994 while he was in graduate school. She alleges that she asked him to leave because of his violent temper and his physical abuse of her dogs.  

…as he lived with us in our Elgin, Illinois home for over a year and married my former partner in Topbrass Retrievers-Judy S(xxxx). I saw a very alarming side of (him) that scared me and I asked him to leave our premises back in Aug of 94.

…his abuse to animals and he has an uncontrollable temper that frightened me. I felt that he was a dangerous person to my dogs. The details that you presented in your conversation with Bill Freeberg are pretty accurate.

… When he went to the Univ. of Chicago Graduate school starting in the summer of 93, I invited him to live with us, in exchange for caring for our dogs when we traveled etc. He lived in a spare bedroom in our home for just over a year. During this time he met my former partner, Judy, and while we were wintering in Florida during the winter of 93-94

… The dogs involved in this partnership were all registered with he and I as co-owners. I started getting complaints every time Douglas would go to a competition and then several other incidence occurred that made me want to dissolve this partnership. I asked him sometime in September of 94 to sign my dogs back to me and to please move from our home. I offered to help him find other accommodations but he was furious and ended up moving in with Judy and her 2 children who still lived at home.

One of the problems that disturbed me most about (him) was his uncontrollable temper toward dogs and people. While caring for our dogs during that winter, I got notice of a possible lawsuit by a local couple (NOTE: name will not be published here) who had delivered a bitch to be bred to one of our males. This bitch… almost died as a result of a punctured lung. Records can be verified at Dundee Animal Hospital, where the dog was treated.

I also found out about several of my own dogs that he had admitted beating up supposedly when they disobeyed him. It was at this time, that I decided to ask (him) to leave our home. Judy gave me a deposit at that time for a pup from a breeding that she liked. I refused to sell them a dog on the premise that I thought Doug was abusive to animals. She was furious about it but I stuck to my decision and did not sell them a pup.