Massachusetts: Heather Abbey, 44, charged with animal cruelty - but gets her dog handed back to her

MASSACHUSETTS -- The Yarmouth Police Department reports that on Saturday, February 13, at 2:51 a.m. Yarmouth Police Department Patrol Officer Justin Haire responded to a home on Sullivan Road in West Yarmouth for a report of a barking and howling dog.

Upon arrival in the area, Officer Haire met in the street with the concerned neighbor who reported that he had not been able to sleep due to the constant barking of the dog. The barking started at 11:00 p.m. and had continued without interruption for over three-and-a-half hours straight.

Patrol Officer Haire parked his police cruiser and as he began to walk up the driveway, he observed a dog run over to the fence and jump on it. The dog then ran away to the back of the residence and continued to bark.

Officer Haire repeatedly knocked on the door of the home and did not get a response. He then used his metal flashlight and began striking the wooden door in a knocking manner. Several minutes went by and he still did not get a response.

He then walked to a front window on the west side of the residence. He shined his flashlight in the window and observed it was a bedroom. He could see what appeared to be a subject underneath the covers on the bed. He began knocking on the windowpane in order to raise the subject. The subject did not move. This continued several more times. He further used his flashlight and began banging on the frame on the window. There was no response from the subject in the bed. He walked around the corner to a secondary bedroom window and began striking the window frame. Again there was no response.

Officer Haire radioed in to the Yarmouth Police Department Headquarters Dispatch Center and had the dispatcher repeatedly call the residence on the telephone with no response.

Throughout the entire time, the dog in the backyard did not stop barking. Officer Haire then walked over to the fence on the east side of the house and called out for the dog. The dog came running over to the fence and jumped up on it. Officer Haire determined the dog was friendly and he was able to further observe that there was a light snow covering its entire back area. He began to pat him and his nose and ears were cold to the touch. His fur was covered in snow and his whole body was wet from the falling snow and snow-covered ground.

Officer Haire decided to see if he could get the dog into his cruiser and transport him to the Yarmouth Department of Natural Resources Animal Care and Protection Office. The officer took some beef jerky that he had in his duty bag and offered it to the dog. The dog seemed to be receptive of the treat and Officer Haire was able to open the fence gate and lead the dog from the backyard and place him in the back seat of his cruiser.

Officer Haire transported the dog to the Animal Care and Protection Office and placed him in an indoor kennel and gave him several more treats of jerky. Once inside the kennel after eating his jerky treats he immediately began eating the milk bone treats that were in the kennel. After eating those treats he began drinking a substantial amount of water from a dish in the kennel.

At the time of this incident temperature was 19 degrees with the wind chill was 11 degrees. Snow showers had started prior to 11:00 p.m. and were continuing at the time of this incident. The National Weather Service had also put out multiple severe weather alerts for this weekend. A wind chill advisory was put into place with temperatures reaching as low as -20 degrees.

At approximately 7:30 a.m., Yarmouth Police Department Patrol Officer Mike Wells and Patrol Officer Haire returned to the residence to check on the occupant’s well being and explain to her about her dog. Officer Haire began knocking on the door closest to the driveway.

A female subject walked to the door and stared at the two uniformed Police Officers through the glass and then shut the lights off and walked away. Officers tried several more times to have her come to the door through verbal commands and knocking and she did not answer.

Patrol Officer Haire subsequently identified the woman as Heather C.  Abbey, 44, and has charged her with animal cruelty.

The dog in question was subsequently transported to an Animal Care Center in Sandwich for the remainder of the weekend. Yarmouth Department of Natural Resource officers conducted a follow-up investigation and fortunately the dog is doing very well. The dog was treated and passed a physical exam, became licensed, and was returned to the apologetic owner. Yarmouth Animal Control and Protection Officers will continue to follow-up and monitor the situation. A court date for the cruelty to animal charge in the Barnstable District Court will be set in the near future.

The Yarmouth Police Department commends the concerned neighbor for notifying the Police Department and Patrol Officer Haire for his outstanding service and helping to save the life of an animal in need.

(CapeCod.com - Feb 17, 2016)