Louisiana: Dog bite investigation leads to animal cruelty charges for Ashley Atkins-Rogers

LOUISIANA -- A Gretna woman was booked on animal cruelty charges after authorities discovered her two dogs living in an abandoned house with no shelter, food or water.

A cable used to tether one of the dogs in the backyard had wrapped around the animal's leg five times, cutting through skin to the bone, according to a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrest report.

Ashley Atkins-Rogers, 33, was arrested Friday after a month-long investigation into the conditions of the animals found at the vacant house, located at 2033 Estalote Ave., Harvey, according to Robin Beaulieu, director of the Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter. An animal control officer discovered a total of three dogs at the residence on Sept. 21 while investigating a report of a dog bite.

Ashley Atkins-Rogers

The wounded dog, a large mixed-breed animal with either some Great Dane or Mastiff bloodlines, was found in the backyard along with Rogers' other dog, a pit bull, Beaulieu said. "When he came in, the whole bottom half of his leg was swollen. We feared that he was going to lose the leg," said Beaulieu.

The third dog, a Labrador-Chow mix, was inside of the house, which belonged to a relative. The Labrador-mix jumped through a broken window at the house and, together with the pit bull, escaped the yard on Sept. 21.

They two dogs attacked a female neighbor. "It was a bite that required medical treatment," Beaulieu said.

Both dogs returned to the house after the attack. The Labrador-mix even jumped back through the window to get inside, she said. Witnesses directed the officer to the house where he discovered the wounded dog. None of the animals had food or water; the two outside had no protection from the elements, Beaulieu said.

The animal control officer eventually found the owner of the house, who also owned the Labrador mix. He learned that Rogers owned the two dogs in the backyard. Authorities caught up with Rogers Friday at her Gretna apartment. She told investigators she left the dogs at the house because she had no other place for them at the time, according to the arrest report.

Rogers, of 50 West Bank Expressway, Gretna, was booked at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center with aggravated animal cruelty and simple cruelty to animals, the arrest report said. She was released Saturday on a $5,500 bond.

Beaulieu said the case is still under investigation, and the owner of the Labrador-Chow mix could face charges. That dog and the pit bull were held for 30 days under the parish's bite-case laws. The dogs were euthanized because the owners did not reclaim them, Beaulieu said.

But the wounded dog has made a full recovery, regaining the use of its leg thanks to staffers, Beaulieu said. "There's not an aggressive bone in the dog's body," she said. "He's just a great dog, and he's up for adoption."

(The Times-Picayune - Oct 23, 2012)