VIRGINIA -- It all started with two rabbits.
Two quickly became six. Six multiplied to nearly 100, all living under one roof in a small house on Wolfsnare Road, according to testimony Monday in General District Court.
That's what police and Animal Control officers found when they responded to the home of Tegwen Davis, 60, for an odor complaint the evening of March 15, Animal Control Officer Meghan Conti testified.
The officers, wearing protective clothing and respirators, that night and during the next nine days coaxed the rabbits from beneath furniture and a network of tunnels dug through several feet of trash and feces, Conti said.
\They found no food or water, only empty jugs and household-chemical containers the rabbits had chewed through seeking something to drink, she said.
Four of the rabbits had to be euthanized, and the rest were emaciated, dehydrated and flea-infested, testified Dr. Melissa McKendry, a veterinarian who examined each. They've since been put up for adoption.
Officers also found five dead rabbits, two lying on a mattress and three lying on the floor, and two possum skeletons in a bathroom, Conti said. They charged Davis with two counts of unlawfully disposing of a dead animal and three counts of animal cruelty.
Four of the rabbits had to be euthanized, and the rest were emaciated, dehydrated and flea-infested, testified Dr. Melissa McKendry, a veterinarian who examined each. They've since been put up for adoption.
Officers also found five dead rabbits, two lying on a mattress and three lying on the floor, and two possum skeletons in a bathroom, Conti said. They charged Davis with two counts of unlawfully disposing of a dead animal and three counts of animal cruelty.
Judge Pamela E. Hutchens convicted Davis on all charges, sentenced her to three years in jail with all the time suspended and fined her $3,400. She also banned Davis from owning or possessing animals in Virginia Beach.
Davis, who pleaded not guilty, said she'd inherited the first two rabbits from her daughter, and they'd reproduced over several years. She said she unsuccessfully tried to find new homes for the creatures, for which she spent $250 to $300 a week to feed.
"I had no idea this would get to this point," Davis said. "I didn't know what to do.... I needed help."
(The Virginian-Pilot - June 19, 2012)
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