Friday, December 2, 2016

New York: Elizabeth Grant, 48, indicted on charges of animal cruelty involving 67 animals

NEW YORK -- A Queens grand jury indicted a woman on animal cruelty charges after she allegedly housed 67 animals in “deplorable” conditions, the district attorney said.


Elizabeth Grant, 48, 25-44 82nd St. in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens was arraigned on Thursday on a 138-count indictment charging her with four counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, 66 counts of overdriving, torturing or injuring an animal and 66 counts of failure to provide proper food and drink to an impounded animal.



If convicted, Grant faces up to two years on each of the four felony counts.

A crime prevention officer visited Grant’s mother on Jan. 6, who was an elderly victim of a crime. The door was open and the officer saw “filthy” conditions and a multitude of animals. The officer returned and members of the ASPCA removed 55 cats, 12 dogs and two turtles from Grant’s home.



“The defendant is accused of permitting her numerous pets to live in deplorable conditions,” District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. “The home’s floor and furnishings were allegedly covered in feces, fur and urine.

"Rescue workers stepping inside the dwelling, were overwhelmed by the smell of ammonia and had to wear respirators to breathe, as well as protective clothing. No person or animal should live in such wretched conditions.”

  
 

A licensed veterinarian and supervisor of the ASPCA’s Forensic Sciences unit examined the 67 cats and dogs and found many with dental diseases, ear mites, respiratory infections and other painful ailments, the Queens D.A. said.

 ◉ A dog named Bond was allegedly dehydrated and weak. His fur had a foul stench and was matted with feces and urine. Bond showed signs he was in pain with every movement and his skin was inflamed. His overgrown claws were caked with fecal matter that caused inflammation of his paws and made it painful to walk. He also had an untreated kidney infection, severe dental disease
and many of his teeth had rotted out

 ◉ A cat named Augustus was allegedly emaciated from prolonged lack of food. Augustus also had a severe dental disease, an earmite infection in both ears and suffered with blood-filled earflaps.

 ◉ A dog named Ewok had an unpleasant stench coming from his fur and a swollen eyelid gland. The dog’s urethra protruded from the end of his penis and he experienced discomfort from both an ocular and ear disease.

 ◉ A cat named Gracie allegedly had cerebellar hypoplasia, a problem with balance due to a virus infection as well as scarring from an untreated ear mite infection

 ◉ One of the dogs rescued from the fly-infested home, Dorothy, was euthanized due to her poor condition. Dorothy was vomiting and had diarrhea related to chronic kidney and liver disease, the D.A. said. Her coat was matted with feces, she had severe dental disease and a chronic illness associated with her digestive system.

 
 

According to her lawyer WHO IS PAID TO LIE AND DENY THAT SHE IS CRUEL TO ANIMALS, "The Dog Lawyer" Richard Rosenthal, Grant wasn't mistreating the animals, but rather was taking them in off the street and attempting to nurse them back to health. Rosenthal said that she began doing so around last February, after the death of her father.

"In order to deal with her grief she became more focused on trying to save lives," Rosenthal said. "The DA by this prosecution is sending a horrible message of basically saying if you see an animal on the street in distress, keep walking, because if you stop and feed it or try and take care of it we're gonna arrest you for a felony for whatever happened before you ever met the animal."

Grant is due back in court on Jan. 10, 2017.


(Metro US - Dec 1, 2016)

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