PENNSYLVANIA -- A husband and wife from Roseto are accused of tying up a dog for years outside their home with little food and leaving a collar embedded into its neck that had to be surgically removed.
Lauribel Shipps, 42, and Howard Shipps, no age provided, formerly of the 100 block of Dewey Street in East Bangor, both are charged with three counts of animal cruelty.
Plainfield Township police on Jan. 14, 2015 found a St. Bernard breed running loose at Delabole and Pen Argyl streets. Officers saw the dog had a "very thin" body condition and a chain was embedded into the animal's neck, causing an infection, pain and strong odor, according to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
A veterinarian had to surgically remove the chain from the dog's neck and treat the infection. Dog warden Julie Andrews was familiar with the dog and suspected the owners were Lauribel and Howard Shipps, court records say.
The couple in 2012 were subject to an investigation of dog violations and one of the dogs had been the St. Bernard named "Penny," the SPCA said.
An East Bangor man familiar with the couple reported to East Bangor police Penny had been chained up in front of the Dewey Street home without food and had been eating its own feces. The witness told police the dog had been chained outside for 2 to 3 years.
Roseto police met with the couple on Jan. 18 at the trailer of a family member. Lauribel Shipps told an officer Penny had died in late 2014 and was buried under plywood off of the trailer, police said.
Another dog, named "Coco," ran away in 2013 and never returned, Lauribel Shipps told police. She provided police with two dog collars with rabies and dog license tags attached for "Penny."
Police disproved Lauribel Shipps' account of events after investigators dug up the carcass of the deceased dog. Testing on the remains of the deceased dog proved that dog died one to two years prior to recovery, according to the SPCA.
Further testing showed DNA on the dog collar provided by Lauribel Shipps matched DNA of the St. Bernard found in Plainfield Township, according to Roseto police.
When confronted by investigators of the findings, Lauribel Shipps allegedly became upset and angry, telling police neighbors must have tampered with the deceased dog's carcass.
Both Lauribel and Howard Shipps Thursday were arraigned on the charges before Senior District Judge Sherwood Grigg. The judge set bail at $1,000 unsecured for each. The judge ordered the couple only own one dog per household.
A number listed for the couple was disconnected and they couldn't be reached for comment.
(lehighvalleylive.com - May 12, 2016)
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