Pennsylvania: Delco woman Rockiesha Rothwell, 37, accused of letting dog bake to death charged with animal cruelty

PENNSYLVANIA -- A Chester woman who went on vacation and allegedly left her dog to bake to death in the blazing sun and three others to suffer extreme neglect is facing criminal charges.

Rockiesha Rothwell, 37, has been charged with four counts – one misdemeanor and three summary offenses – of animal cruelty, according to public records.

On July 7, Humane Officer Ron Riggle and assistant Sean Rowan, who had previously been to the house to check on dogs' welfare, went to Rothwell's home on the 1300 block of Vauclain Street to see if she had acquired a new puppy.

Megan Farrell, Providence Animal Center admissions
associate, holds Janet, a malnourished and neglected
pit bull, rescued from a Chester home along with
three other dogs. Janet has since been adopted.

The shelter had received a call about two dogs left outside for at least two days in brutally hot conditions without water or food, officials have previously said.

When they arrived at the home, they saw a collapsed male Akita chained to a cinder block in the yard. The dog appeared to be curled up and very lethargic, and did not have access to water or shade, according to public records.

As Riggle called the shelter's lawyer to remove the animal, the dog began "moaning and writhing and eventually became still." Riggle tried to resuscitate the dog but was unsuccessful, according to public records.

The Akita's internal temperature was 111 degrees; a temperature of 109 would cause multi-organ deterioration. The cause of death was listed as heat stroke and cardio-respiratory arrest, according to court records.

"A dog suffering from heat stroke will have severe respiratory distress, arrhythmias, brain damage causing seizures and coma and death, which causes severe and intense suffering," according to the court documents.

Steam escaped from the Akita's body when staff veterinarian Kimberly Boudwin started to perform a necropsy, officials said.

Riggle confiscated another dog that was left outside in a wire crate with no water.

Rothwell was called and signed over the surviving animals.

The next day, armed with a search warrant and accompanied by police, Riggle found two more dogs in crates, a bearded dragon and fish at the home.

The dogs – all underweight and covered with sores – were covered in their own feces and had urine burns on their paws and bellies, official said at the time.

The three dogs were given the names Janet, Jack and Chrissy after the hit 1970s TV comedy Three's Company. Janet and Chrissy have since been adopted.

(Philly.com - Aug 19, 2016)