Vermont: Animal cruelty investigation saves 2 dogs 'within 24 hours of death' from unheated camper in Vermont; Randall Sheperd, 52, and Casey Sheperd, 19, charged with animal cruelty

VERMONT -- An animal cruelty investigation has two Vermont residents facing charges, while troopers saved two emaciated dogs from a freezing-cold camper in a small town near the Canadian border.

 

According to Vermont State Police, they were called to a home in the town of approximately 2,300 residents on Dec. 16 and found two dogs which were said to be "within 24 hours of death" locked in an unheated camper on the property.

 

Feeding an emaciated animal is dangerous - it can kill the animal. Also, it
could jeopardize the criminal case - you need to take the animal in the
condition you found it directly to a veterinarian to weigh and examine
the animal and then put it on a strict, monitored feeding schedule.

The dogs, who didn't have access to any food or water, according to troopers, were taken to the Newport Animal Hospital by animal control officers. It was there police say they were found to not only be emaciated but suffering from a severe case of hookworms.

Police say the staff also determined that within 24 hours of the dogs remaining in the freezing-cold camper with temperatures outside in the single digits, the dogs would have died.

 

Police have charged 52-year-old Randall Sheperd and 19-year-old Casey Sheperd with two counts of animal cruelty each. They were taken into custody on Friday, processed at the St. Albans barracks and released to appear in court on Feb. 18.

The two dogs survived and have been placed in the care of the Franklin County Human Society in St. Albans for further treatment.

(MassLive - Dec 27, 2013)