Patricia Walker, 25, and Demetris Walker, 34, face charges of cruelty to animals and unlawful confinement of animals. A warrant for their arrest was issued Aug. 2, according to police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater. They have not been arrested.
Police say that two of their four dogs were treated so poorly, that an Animal Care and Control veterinarian had to euthanize them.
Animal Cruelty Investigator Liz Roehrich went to the Walkers’ home at 124 Northwest 10th Ave. on Feb. 14 in response to a citizen’s complaint that there were abandoned animals in the home.
Neighbors told Roehrich the Walkers moved out about three weeks ago and left the dogs alone in the home. Two of the dogs were visible to Roehrich and were pushing their muzzles out of a broken window while crying and whining, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Before going inside the home, Roehrich wrote in the affidavit that there was a “putrid stench of feces and urine” coming from the home. Flies swarmed the windows and front and back doors.
Roehrich could see that the floor was “covered” in feces and urine. She didn’t see any water or food and decided to call the property owner Andrew Luchey.
Luchey sent over his employee Kim Buckner who said Patricia Walker and her children were the last known tenants of the home. She opened the door for Roehrich and two of the dogs came running toward the women.
One of the dogs was a 7-month-old black and white pit bull. The second one was a 7-month-old brindle white female pit bull. Roehrich described the dogs’ appearances as “filthy” and “underweight”.
The conditions of the home weren’t any better. The floor was “soiled” with empty pans and dishes.
There was no furniture. Blood covered a large area in the corner of the floor. Blood was smeared on walls. There was a dog collar laying in the blood puddle.
Roehrich heard “frantic, aggressive” barking coming from a bedroom and found two dogs — a 1-year-old black and white female pit bull and a 7-month-old white and black female pit bull — confined in cages sitting in their own feces.
The 7-month-old appeared to be sick or injured and had “multiple puncture wounds on her head and legs,” the affidavit says.
Nearby was a snake confined in a glass tank that appeared to be taken care of and was clean.
Roehrich tried speaking with Patricia Walker and didn’t have much luck. When reached by phone, Walker told Roehrick that her dogs were “fine” and not to remove them. Then she hung up.
Demetris Walker and his sister Marqita Daniel came to the home and said the dogs must have just caused the “mess” because Walker cleaned the other day, the affidavit says.
Walker said he wanted to take the dogs, however Roehrich informed him that the animals were being seized.
Daniel was allowed to take her boa constrictor home as it appeared to be healthy.
Roehrich then had the dogs transported to Animal Care and Control, where Dr. Stephanie Martin examined them.
The dogs “frantically ate and drank” once in the veterinarian’s custody, the affidavit says.
Three of the dogs had “mild dehydration” while all the dogs were so thin that their vertebrae were visible and their pelvic bones were prominent, the affidavit says.
The dog who appeared injured was “quiet and depressed” and had old and fresh wounds. Her leg was discharging fluid.
Patricia Walker decided that while she “loved her dogs” and wanted them back, it was in her best interest to give up her ownership of them.
Two of the dogs were provided medical treatment and rehabilitation and were later adopted.
The two other dogs were too “aggressive” and “wild” and had to be euthanized.
(Palm Beach Post - August 8, 2012)
