South Bend woman charged with animal cruelty after allegedly throwing dog in trash

INDIANA -- A South Bend woman is charged with two counts of animal cruelty and two counts of animal neglect after allegedly abandoning a dying dog in a garbage bin Sunday.

Keontah Tacoy White, 28, was arrested Sunday. She posted $400 bond and was released from the St. Joseph County jail Wednesday.

Court documents credit neighbors for calling police and showing them surveillance video that led to White's arrest.

 

WSBT 22's Annie Chang spoke with them.

Cheri Johnson says she just happened to look up at her surveillance camera when she saw White taking a dog to the back alley.

"I saw the lady walking down the alley with the first dog," Johnson explains. "When she came back, she didn't have the dog with her so I figured something was wrong."

And then the same thing happened with another dog, Johnson says.

The surveillance video shows White apparently dragging the second dog by its collar.

Prosecutors asked WSBT 22 not to show the unedited version of the video for legal reasons. We are honoring that request.

 

Johnson and her husband went in search of the pets. What they found sickened them.

"I just felt sick to my stomach," Johnson says. "I was shocked. I was just shocked."

Police officers found one of the dogs in a trash bin along the back alley. The dog was barely breathing and near death.

Its condition was so far gone, animal control eventually had to put the dog down.

"One of the individuals was so far neglected that it had to be euthanized," explains Matt Harmon, director of South Bend Animal Care and Control. "The other individual is actually still recovering."

The other dog had been hiding in the bushes nearby. Harmon says this dog will eventually be available for adoption, but not for several weeks, pending this investigation.

Both dogs appeared to have been without food for quite some time, Harmon says, leading to the two neglect charges.

Authorities say there would not have been any charges against White if not for Johnson and her husband.

"We would not have been able to take the action we're going to," Harmon says. "There would not be a prosecution in this case."

Johnson says she knows she did the right thing by calling police, and encourages others to do the same in similar situations.

"I love animals. No animal deserves this," Johnson says. "I feel bad because of the dog. I feel bad for the dog."

White's four charges are all Class A Misdemeanors, each one punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Her first court hearing is scheduled for June 25.

(WSBT - June 12, 2015)