Louisiana: Puppy mill run by Rhonda Hall, 58, had nearly 70 dogs and puppies

LOUISIANA -- A Bayou Blue woman has been arrested after deputies said they found about 30 small dogs on her property without sufficient shelter or clean drinking water.

Rhonda Hall, 58, is charged with 14 counts of simple cruelty to animals and 14 counts of failure to vaccinate animals.

 

Hall had agreed to surrender the dogs to the Lafourche Parish Animal Shelter after deputies were dispatched May 10 to her home on Palmisano Drive, Sheriff Craig Webre said in a news release last week. The Sheriff's Office had gotten a complaint that Hall was not properly caring for the dogs.

Webre said deputies moved 14 dogs but returned later that day to find Hall had left with several other dogs.

Shelter Manager Hilary Knight said last week that Hall had agreed to surrender eight dogs a day until all were gone. However, she only surrendered eight dogs.

Animal control picked up six other dogs that were roaming the property after Hall left, Knight said.

(Houma Today - May 19, 2016)

Earlier:

• Louisiana: Bayou Blue woman Rhonda Hall, 58, wanted after 30 dogs found on property

Name: Rhonda Hall

Address: 

DOB: 07/31/1957

Race: White

Sex: Female

Height: 

Weight: 

Hair Color: 

Eye Color: 

Age at arrest: 58

Date of arrest: 05/18/2016

Arresting agency: Lafourche Parish 

Total Bond: $2800

Charges:

• #1 VACCINATION OF DOGS AND CATS AGAINST RABIES REQUIRED - 14 Counts - STATUTE: PO 8.2 - BOND: $1400
• #2 SIMPLE CRUELTY TO ANIMALS - 14 Counts - STATUTE: 14:102.1 - BOND: $1400

Louisiana: Bayou Blue woman Rhonda Hall, 58, wanted after 30 dogs found on property

LOUISIANA -- A Bayou Blue woman is on the run after deputies found about 30 small dogs on her property without sufficient shelter or clean drinking water, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office said.

Rhonda Hall, 58, agreed to surrender the dogs to the Lafourche Parish Animal Shelter after deputies were dispatched to her home on Palmisano Drive on Tuesday, Sheriff Craig Webre said in a news release. The Sheriff's Office had gotten a complaint that Hall was not properly caring for the dogs.

Webre said deputies moved 14 dogs Tuesday but returned later that day to find Hall had left with several other dogs. The Sheriff's Office has been unable to contact her.

Hall is wanted on 14 counts of simple cruelty to animals and 14 counts of failure to vaccinate animals, and additional charges are expected, Webre said.

“Certainly, we want to conclude our investigation and charge this woman accordingly,” the sheriff said in a statement. “Our larger concern right now, however, is for the welfare of these animals. If she could not properly care for them at her residence, then it's reasonable to assume she cannot provide proper care on the run. We simply ask Mrs. Hall to consider the welfare of these animals and turn herself over so that we can get them to the animal shelter and, hopefully, to families which can adopt them.”

Shelter Manager Hilary Knight said Hall had agreed to surrender eight dogs a day until all were gone. However, she only surrendered eight dogs.

Animal control picked up six other dogs that were roaming the property after Hall left, Knight said. The shelter is holding those as part of the cruelty investigation, but the eight Hall surrendered can be placed in homes now.

"Some we'll have to evaluate as far as health goes. But, for the most part, the ones she surrendered were pretty healthy," Knight said. "The first eight she surrendered were all heartworm negative. The other six have some issues. One has a big tumor, two are blind."

The group includes a couple of puppies less than 6 months old, but Knight estimates the other dogs are between 3 and 5 years old. Most are Shih Tzu mixes.

Knight said she wants authorities to find Hall as soon as possible for the sake of the dogs with her.

"This person did not have any money," she said. “She can't be very far."

Anyone with information on Hall's whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers Bayou Region by calling 1-800-743-7433, texting GIVEATIP and a message to 274637, visiting crimestoppersbr.org or using the TipSubmit mobile application. A reward of up to $1,000 is offered for information leading to her arrest, and tipsters may remain anonymous.

(NOLA.com - May 13, 2016)

Cruel couple facing jail for 'appalling' neglect of sheepdog which became trapped in its own matted hair and had to be put down

UNITED KINGDOM -- A cruel couple were facing jail today after admitted the 'appalling' neglect of a sheepdog which became trapped in a two-stone tangled ball of its own hair because they were too embarrassed to go to a vet.

David and Marjorie Massey admitted two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to five-year-old sheepdog Woody after animal cruelty officers said the treatment he suffered was 'incomprehensible'.

Woody's mound of filthy hair (left) made it almost impossible for him to
see, hear or go to the toilet. A sheepdog as it should look (right)

The owners, from Beeston, Bedfordshire, felt too ashamed to take their pet for treatment despite his mangy coat, painful two-inch toenails, chronic eye and ear infections and an untreated tumour in his mouth.

Woody, as he was then known, was dumped at an animal shelter where carers cut his mound of filthy hair, which made it almost impossible for him to see, hear or go to the toilet.

They also gave him the name of Floyd.

Bedford Magistrate’s Court heard it had taken four workers more than an hour to free Floyd from his mangy cocoon and underneath his body was covered in cysts and sores.  Despite their efforts the animal was so distressed vets were forced put him down.

Magistrates today warned David Massey, 62, and Marjorie Massey, 60, they face jail sentences for their cruelty.

Chair of the bench, Dr Disney-Durrant said: 'Because of the length of abuse in this case I have to warn you we will be considering a custodial sentence.'

The Masseys were investigated by the RSPCA after Woody was left tied to a gate at Wood Green animal shelter in Cambridgeshire in August last year.

Mr and Mrs Massey had owned the dog since he was a puppy and said that up until a year ago he had always been groomed and well cared for.

During interviews with an RSPCA inspector, Mr Massey claimed that he did not know that Woody had any problems in his mouth and ears, the court heard.

Emma Midgley helps Woody - who was renamed Floyd -
after he arrived at an animal charity following severe neglect

He also said that he recognised that he should have taken the animal to a vet but that he had become too embarrassed by his condition to get him treated.

Mrs Massey told the inspector that they had used a professional groomer in the past but that they reached a point where they could no longer afford it and that any neglect was due to a lack of money.
Mark Bellis, defending, admitted that the couple had previously owned two other old English sheep dogs and were 'aware of what was required in keeping the breed'.

He claimed that the problems began when the groomer they had been using moved away and the Masseys were forced to find another.

Floyd undergoes emergency treatment at the animal charity

They claim that as Woody got older his temperament became more aggressive and it became impossible to find a groomer who could get near him.

Mr Bellis said: 'They got to a stage where the condition of Woody embarrassed them so much they couldn't face taking him to see anyone.'

[Hmm, here's an idea: how about you get a pair of scissors and DO SOMETHING! Anything would have been an improvement to the suffering he felt! Yeah, the best idea is to do NOTHING. Daivd and Marjorie Massey are horrible, odious cretins.]

It was only when the couple’s adult daughter decided to move back into the family home, bringing her young daughter with her, that the Masseys decided they had to get rid of Woody.

Mr Massey told the court it was his decision to take Woody to the animal shelter in the middle of the night and that he called both the police and the RSPCA to tell them where Woody was.

Floyd after he was trimmed of two stone of fur and his two-inch
long nails had been clipped. But he was still too ill and had to be put down

Janita Patel, prosecuting, asked the magistrates to consider a disqualification order which would ban the couple from keeping any animals for life.

RSPCA chief inspector Mark Thompson echoed her disgust. He said: 'This poor dog was left in such a terrible condition. It is just incomprehensible that people could allow his condition to deteriorate in such a way.'

The case was adjourned for sentencing until February 8.

(Daily Mail UK - February 3, 2012)

Utah: Animal activists outraged over ‘slap on the wrist' punishment for Dayra Miller who starved dog and left him with urine burns and being eaten by maggots

UTAH -- Animal activists want people who abuse animals to face stiff fines.

Ann Davis, with The Animal Advocacy Alliance of Utah, says the woman involved in a recent animal cruelty case got a slap on the wrist with a misdemeanor charge and a $200 fine.

"She caused this," says Davis. "This dog was probably outside on the side of her house for six to eight months."

"This is not an animal issue, it's an issue of cruelty. It's an issue of violence and it needs to be treated as such," said Ann Davis.

The dog's name is Gringo, an 8-year-old English sheepdog. A neighbor called Salt Lake County Animal Services to rescue the animal. Veterinarians found a hole in Gringo's hip filled with maggots.

"Underneath his wet, matted coat were burns from his own urine," says Davis.

Gringo eventually died of pneumonia.

Davis says Dayra Miller doesn't feel responsible for the dog's death because it was her boyfriend's dog and it's ultimately his responsibility to pay for vet bills.

Davis says she and others will call on Utah lawmakers in the next legislative session to beef up Henry's Law, the anti-animal cruelty bill passed in 2008. She says it's not doing enough to send a strong message against animal cruelty.

"This is not an animal issue," she explains. "It's an issue of cruelty. It's an issue of violence, and it needs to be treated as such."

But Davis also says in order to make the case to add more to Henry's Law, everyone needs to be on the same page with enforcing the law.

"It does need to be revised, but it needs to be enforced," she explains. "There are cases all over the place that are not being enforced."

Meanwhile, Davis says Henry's Law should include other animals like horses or rabbits because in a down economy dogs and cats are not the only animals vulnerable to cruelty.

(KSL - Aug 24 2010)

Earlier:

• Utah: Dayra Miller charged with animal cruelty after her dog found starving and covered in maggots

Utah: Dayra Miller charged with animal cruelty after her dog found starving and covered in maggots

UTAH -- Salt Lake County Animal Services investigators have cited the owner of a dog that was neglected so badly it had maggots in its hind quarters.

The Old English Sheepdog yelped loudly Friday as veterinarians tried to move him.

"The dog has burns on its side, from its hip to the middle of its back," says Anne Davis, with the Animal Advocacy Alliance of Utah.

Davis says those injuries are from the dog being forced to lie in its own filth.

The dog also has a hole in its hind end that is filled with maggots.

"This dog is in really bad condition," Davis says.

A woman returned to the Holladay neighborhood where she had lived and found the dog. She took it to the veterinarian.

Davis says the woman was also connected to the alliance, and Davis contacted her.

"It's going to require a lot of antibiotics, and it's not a sure cure," Davis says. It's going to take him a long time."

Lt. Chris Klekas, with Salt Lake County Animal Services, says the dog's owner Dayra Miller was issued a criminal citation for animal cruelty, which equates to a class B misdemeanor.

Miller complained that it wasn't her fault that this dog was lying there in her yard, slowly being eaten to death by maggots and starving to death. She says the dog is her boyfriend's and that he should be the one responsible. So if it was your boyfriend's child chained in the backyard, covered in maggots and starving to death, you think you don't have to do anything about it? Moron.

The Animal Advocacy Alliance of Utah is setting up a fund to help pay for the dog's medical expenses. If you'd like to help, you can contact the alliance via e-mail at info@henryslaw.com or visit their website, henryslaw.com.

(KSL - June 4, 2010)