Cricket’s timidness might stem from living with College of Veterinary Medicine assistant professor Patricia Schenck, who has been charged with felony neglect of 10 or more animals, Capital Area Humane Society President and CEO Julia Palmer said.
Four Tibetan Spaniels out of the 17 dogs taken from Schenck’s Clinton County residence, including Cricket, are up for adoption at the Capital Area Humane Society, 7095 W. Grand River Ave., in Lansing.
Clinton County Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Hayes previously said Schenck is scheduled for a pretrial conference and a trial in March.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Scanlon, a Humane Society volunteer, said. “Most dogs run to the side of the cage when you walk in — they’re all barking…These ones are more like ‘I don’t know how I feel about you.’”
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| Tibetan Spaniels Benny, 13, left, and Cricket,11, rest in their kennel Feb. 6, 2013, at the Capital Area Humane Society. |
Cricket, Benny, Pepsi and Striker as well as two Afghan Hounds from Eaton County — Honey and Shakti — are victims of reported local neglect cases involving veterinary experts.
Eaton County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Neil O’Brien said Honey and Shakti are two of seven dogs taken from Benson Elmwood Animal Hospital in Lansing, where one of their owners, Kathleen Williams, sometimes stayed. Williams pled guilty to a charge of animal neglect in late January.
Palmer said the society houses as many animals as possible, and the other animals involved in the cases are being housed elsewhere. One sick and elderly dog taken from Schenck’s residence was euthanized with her consent, and one Afghan Hound already has been adopted.
She said Williams’ and Schenck’s cases are similar in more than the professions of the dogs’ owners.
She said when the dogs were collected from their respective living conditions, both sets of dogs appeared to be slightly underfed, though this was more pronounced in the Afghan Hounds, and both had coats matted with feces. She said both cases appeared to be incidents where breeding was involved.
“In terms of demeanor — it’s what we see and expect from dogs like this,” Palmer said. “Typically they’re not wagging their tails. They’re not acting like happy dogs.”
Palmer said dogs that experience the level of neglect suspected in this case can be depressed, withdrawn, fearful and even aggressive.
However, Palmer said the timid dogs with sad eyes still are adoptable, and she hopes and expects they will be adopted in the next week or so.
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| Lansing resident Tammy Lobert pets Honey, an Afghan Hound on Feb. 6, 2013, at the Capital Area Humane Society. Honey was neglected by her previous owner, along with six other Afghan Hounds, by Kathleen Williams, a veterinarian at Benson Elmwood Animal Hospital. |
Grand Ledge, Mich., resident John Bethell, who likes to stop by the society frequently to look at the dogs, said if he didn’t have so many pets already, he would consider adopting the dogs himself. He previously adopted a special needs dog that was abused. He said although they never forget their abuse, they can still make good pets.
“They have a great ability to forgive,” Bethell said.
(State News - Feb 6, 2013)