Sunday, August 11, 2013

Pennsylvania: Karissa Walters, Shawnee Strawsser, Cody Ritter, and Dustin Fetters, threw puppies repeatedly 25 feet over bridge into water, say police

PENNSYLVANIA -- Two 3 month old German Shepherd puppies are now in foster homes. But WTAJ News found they'd been abused repeatedly, and may never be the same again.

Cagney and Lacy are 12 week old sisters. They're happy, playful puppies. You'd never guess they were victims of unthinkable abuse.

Cindy McClellan's the President of Rescue Our Furry Friends. She was called by Mifflin County Regional Police to the Stone Arch Bridge in Lewistown on Monday.

When she got there, she says Karissa Walters, 23, Shawnee Strawsser, 20, Cody Ritter, 22, and Dustin Fetters, 20, were talking to police.


Then she says she saw the dogs, just recently given to Walters and Strawsser by a family member.

"...The puppies were wet and shivering."

Police say that the four young adults took the puppies to the top of the bridge, and then, threw them off.

Shockingly after they landed, they'd take them back up to the top of the bridge, and they'd do it again.

McClellan says fishermen watched it all happen. She says the four young adults ignored the puppies' cries in distress as they threw them 25 feet to the water below... Over and over again.

Tyna Earnest was walking her dog on the same bridge on Thursday. She says she heard about the abuse earlier at work.

"I don't think people should have animals if they don't care about them... I don't understand why they kept doing it, were they playing a game?"

Actually, McClellan says they were.

"...They thought that they were playing a game, and they thought it was funny..."

McClellan says the puppies were checked out by the vet and given a clean bill of health.

She says while the most important thing is the puppies' safety, the lesson is to not give a pet, to someone who doesn't know how to properly care for it.

"You want to know that they're going to good homes regardless of whether they're free, or selling them."

The four adults will face fines. A judge will determine how much.


Full Name: Shawnee R Strawser
Gender: Female
Birthdate: 11/20/1992
Height: 5'01"
Weight: 180 lbs
Eye Color: BROWN
Arrest Age: 20
Date: 08/10/2013
Arrest Location: Mifflin County, Pennsylvania
Charges
#1 CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: ABUSE ANIMALS


Full Name: Dustin J Fetters J
Gender: Male
Birthdate: 10/20/1992
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 160 lbs
Hair Color: BROWN
Eye Color: HAZEL
Arrest Age:20
Date:10/10/2013
Total Bond: $643
Charges
#1 CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: ABUSE ANIMALS
BOND: $643


Full Name: Karissa R Walters R
Gender: Female
Birthdate: 11/23/1989
Height: 5'03"
Weight: 150 lbs
Hair Color: BROWN
Eye Color: GREEN
Arrest Age:25
Date:05/27/2015
Total Bond: $954
Charges
#1 OPERAT VEH W/O VALID INSPECT
BOND: $477

#2 CRUELTY TO ANIMALS: ABUSE ANIMALS
BOND: $477