Tennessee: Tamera Puckett, 36, charged with animal cruelty after leaving dogs out in the cold

Note: I see a lot of people complaining online - disparaging animal control officers and laws which are meant to protect animals. They insist that officers don't know what they're doing - that dogs like St. Bernards and Huskies were "meant" to live in the bitter cold. 

Well, these are Great Pyrenees mixes - dogs that one would expect could tolerate the cold weather - and now one of them is dead. 

TENNESSEE -- A woman has been charged with animal cruelty after one of her dogs was found dead and frozen, another clinging to life, in the north Nashville area.

Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control officers found the dead dog amid freezing temperatures in the Parkwood-Union Hill neighborhood Tuesday.

Officers were dispatched at 11:27 a.m Tuesday to the 3300 block of Hawkwood Lane, off Doverside Drive, after witnesses reported seeing the dead dog and another in the yard of a home in the residential neighborhood, Brian Todd, Metro Public Heath Department spokesman said.

 

Less than 15 minutes later, Todd said, officers arrived at the home and found two dogs — Great Pyrenees mixes —  in the yard, one of them dead.

The dogs, Todd said, were set loose in the yard, which includes a dog house on the property.

Crews transported the surviving dog to a veterinarian to be checked out, Todd said. A necropsy will be performed on the dead dog to determine its cause of death, Todd added.

Todd said the dogs belong to Tamera Puckett, 36, and that she has been charged with one count of animal cruelty in connection to the incident.

Neighbors said the two dogs were often left outside all year round, despite the weather. The neighbors claimed the dogs’ coats were often matted with dirt, food and feces.

“We always saw them outside year round: summer, winter, fall, rain, wet or frozen,” Aeshia Banks said.

Some said they’ve called the Humane Society and Metro Animal Control frequently but nothing was done about the dogs.

“It just seemed as though they didn't take me seriously,” Sandra Stafford said. “Like I was a nosy neighbor, but I told them, ‘This is a serious situation. These  dogs need care.’”

Both dogs pictured in a photo taken March 2015 by a neighbor.

Todd said this is not the first time animal control responded to the home.

On Jan. 7, animal control officers responded to the house when neighbors called to report the dogs did not have their rabies vaccines up to date.

Arriving officers charged the dogs' owner with failure to vaccinate and one count of animal cruelty for one of the dogs being improperly groomed.

Todd said the owner is due in court for a hearing on the matter Feb. 17.

Anita Selby, a friend of a neighbor, called police Tuesday to report the deceased dog. Selby said the dog deserved better.

Anita is a hero for making that call to Animal Control.

“It’s so cold and your dogs need to be cared for,” said Selby. “If you can’t take care of a dog, don’t get a dog.”

The low temperature Tuesday was 13 degrees with a windchill of 5 degrees.

Temperatures in Davidson County and the surrounding area are supposed to stay below freezing until at least Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Overnight temperatures dropped into the teens.

This photo taken Tuesday morning shows one dog dead
 (blurred due to graphic content) and one alive at the fence.

A winter weather advisory is effect from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Animal control is asking anyone concerned about an animal's welfare during cold weather to call 911.

"This is a tragic reminder of the importance of bringing in your pets during extreme temperatures. If you are the owner of a dog or cat that lives outdoors, please bring them inside a heated area. If you see an animal left outside, be sure to call emergency services as soon as possible so they can respond accordingly.” said Megan Barry, Nashville Mayor.

(Tennesseean - Jan 19, 2016)