In one instance, the dog was so sick that it had to be euthanized, officials said. The other case has a happier ending with the dog being adopted by a local couple.
Former assistant animal control officer Anna Nelson, 51, and Dennis Murray, 72, both of Wareham, are each charged with animal cruelty, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $2,500 fine, according to Rob A. Halpin, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The MSPCA filed criminal charges against them last month.
Nelson is charged with failing to provide veterinary care or properly feed her 10-year-old terrier mix as his health began to decline over a period of several months, according to Halpin. He said a neighbor tipped off the MSPCA about the neglect.
A veterinarian evaluated the dog and determined the animal was suffering from "an undiagnosed disease" and was severely underweight to the point that his ribs, lumbar vertebrae and pelvic bones were protruding, he said. The dog was so sick he had to be euthanized.
Halpin said the case is especially troubling because Nelson is a former assistant animal control officer. According to Wareham town records, she worked in that capacity from May to August 2004. She was paid $10.03 an hour and left voluntarily.
"She should know that" if she could not provide proper medical care, there are organizations — like shelters, rescue organizations and the MSPCA — which could have offered assistance, Halpin said.
He stressed that her case "in no way reflects on the animal control community. Those officers are incredible ... (Nelson) is an outlier. I don't believe we have ever seen a case like this."
Nelson could not be reached for comment on Friday.
In the second case, Murray is charged with abandoning his severely neglected dog at the Onset Water Department on Jan. 22 on a frigid night, after telling his family he was taking the dog to the veterinarian, according to Halpin.
Murray later admitted to a MSPCA law enforcement officer he abandoned the 13-year-old poodle mix.
The next day, a Water Department employee found the dog, suffering from severe eye and ear infections; the worker wrapped her in a sweater and brought her indoors, Halpin said.
The dog was taken to a local veterinarian who examined her and said she was suffering from extreme gingivitis and gum disease, according to Halpin. Fourteen of the dog's teeth had to be removed because of infection.
Murray also could not be reached for comment Friday.
The dog survived and now has a new home, complete with three other dogs, including two rescue dogs, and a new name, "Chara," after the Bruins' defenseman.
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| Chara, a 13-year-old poodle mix, has a new home after being abandoned in January. |
Rachel Rawlings, an Onset firefighter, and her husband, Jim Rawlings, a Wareham firefighter, adopted the dog, who is blind and deaf. She said the blindness is from cataracts, but the deafness is from the infections and the abuse.
"She's doing much, much better. Since she came here, she's much perkier," Rachel said. "She came to our home and is part of the dog family."
Chara is on antibiotics for the infection and for her comfort, she said.
Rawlings said they adopted the dog because she thought it was important that the dog live where people would attend to her medical needs.
"I didn't want her to end up in the same situation again," she said.
Murray is scheduled to be arraigned April 18 in Wareham District Court and Nelson's arraignment date is April 24, also in Wareham District Court.
(South Coast Today - April 06, 2013)
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