Decaying animals found in Bay home

AUSTRALIA -- An awful scene confronted RSPCA inspectors when they entered a Batemans Bay house and were hit by a toxic stench that included decaying dead animals “embedded in mounds” of contaminated rubbish.

The case against Batemans Bay cleaner Helen Shepheard, convicted of eight counts of animal cruelty involving dozens of animals living in filth at her Crown St home, has been described as among the worst cases of animal neglect uncovered on the South Coast.

However NSW RSPCA chief inspector David OShannessy said yesterday it was a matter of severe neglect rather than intentional cruelty.

The RSPCA seized 89 animals from Ms Shepheard’s home, including dogs, cats, rabbits and birds.

Sadly, Mr OShannessy said most of the animals had been so damaged by their living conditions they had to be euthanased.

Two cats were found in a cage above another
cage with dogs among compressed faecal
material and bags of foul rubbish.

Some of the puppies, however, did go to new homes.

“It is one of the more significant investigations in recent years on the South Coast,” Mr OShannessy said.

“Quite significant because of the number of animals and the conditions they were forced to endure.
“Regretfully, as a consequence of a number of factors including behavioral and veterinary issues they (most) were not suitable for adoption.”

Ms Shepheard, 68, was ordered last week by local court magistrate David Degnan to pay $50,000 toward the veterinary and boarding costs of her seized animals, and $6000 towards the RSPCA’s legal costs after pleading guilty to eight charges of committing acts of animal cruelty upon multiple animals.

Charges were laid under the NSW Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Regulations after an RSPC investigation of complaints about the welfare of cats at her home last December.

Four RSPCA Inspectors and a veterinarian obtained a search warrant to enter and assess the condition of animals inside her home.

They seized animals including 49 cats and kittens, seven dogs, 12 puppies, 11 rabbits, five roosters and five birds.

Treated by veterinarians, all animals were reported to have suffered “severe neglect and deprivation”.
The RSPCA described the stench of the house as “toxic with years of accumulated animal urine, faeces, and contaminated rubbish”.

Many of the animals were living in small filthy cages, some stacked upon others. Their food and water was contaminated with urine, faeces, dirt and fur.

Dead animals were embedded in mounds of contaminated rubbish on the floor, in cages and in the outside cattery.

Officers reported there was no evidence of any attempt to clean or maintain a reasonable standard of hygiene in the animal cages, cattery or aviaries.

In most cases newspaper was layered over the top of soiled paper to depths of up to 30cm.

Ms Shepheard was convicted and placed on a three year good behavior bond.

A Fox Terrier dog and five puppies found in a cage.

Magistrate Degnan prohibited her from owning animals for 10 years with the exception of a desexed dog and a cat.

The bond includes a condition to allow RSPCA officers to inspect her property to ensure Ms Shepheard is complying with the prohibition order.

(Batemans Bay Post - May 23, 2012)

Woman who left pets to die speaks out

NEW YORK -- “That dog went everywhere with me,” says Cynthia Scheithauer.  “He was like a baby to me.”

Last week that terrier named Yukon was found emaciated and dead in a trailer home in the Wayne County town of Lyons.  Police say he had been abandoned there for a month.

Cynthia Scheithauer has been charged with abusing the animal and one other, a cat who was also found dead in her mobile home. She spoke exclusively with 13WHAM News.

Scheithauer says she is shaken by the death of her dog but maintains it is not her fault.  She showed us photos of Yukon and talked about how she always dressed him up in made-for-doggie clothing.

“I loved that dog,” she says.  “He needed a lot of care and love and that’s what I thought I was giving him.”

Evidence photos obtained by 13WHAM News show the small dog wearing a sweater when he was found dead inside the trailer home last week.  Scheithauer says she moved out of the trailer because there was no heat or water.

But before she did she says she left the dog at a neighbor’s house. Then when the weeks stretched on she asked her neighbor to find Yukon a good home.

“I talked to her on the phone and she said that they found a good home for it and that it was all taken care of,” she says. Prosecutors disagree.

“We interviewed the neighbors and they dispute that,” says Wayne County District Attorney Rick Healy. “Even if she did ask someone else and they didn’t do it she’d still be responsible however in this case that’s disputed.”

He also points to evidence inside the trailer that shows the dog and a yellow cat were trapped inside.

Evidence photos show the home was littered with feces inside.  Food and water bowls left out were long empty.  A vet who examined the animals says they were emaciated and dehydrated.

Scheithauer has been charged with two counts of failing to provide proper food and water to the animals- both misdemeanor charges.

Scheithauer says she does not own the cat.  It somehow got inside the trailer after she left.  When 13WHAM News visited the trailer park it was clear a colony of feral cats had taken up residence under the home.

Yukon weighed only eight pounds at his death, less than half of the 20 pounds he would have weighed if healthy.  “They can’t care for themselves,” says Healy adding “I think there should be consequences for that.”

“I never meant to leave that dog alone and abandoned,” says Scheithauer.  “I loved that dog like he was one of my own.”

(WHAM - May 10, 2012)

Earlier:

• Woman left dog, cat locked in abandoned trailer to die

Woman left dog, cat locked in abandoned trailer to die

NEW YORK -- Wayne County Sheriff's Deputies have arrested a Fairport woman after they say she left her pets to die in a trailer.

Investigators say 42-year-old Cynthia E. Scheithauer moved out of a trailer in Lyons several months ago.

She allegedly left a dog and cat behind without food or water.

The bodies of the animals were found months later.

Scheithauer faces animal cruelty charges. She will go before a judge within the next few weeks.

This larger blur is probably the little dog

The veterinary report found the white terrier weighed eight pounds, when it should have weighed 20.  The cat weighed four pounds, when it should have weighed 10 pounds.

The veterinarian who examined the animals believes they were probably dead for a few days based on the level of decomposition.

This blur is probably the poor cat

Mother defends daughter
Cynthia Scheithauer’s mother is standing by her daughter while neighbors are upset this happened right under their nose.

Marian Scheithauer said, “There is no way. The puppy was nine months old when she got it. She took that puppy every place. She loved that puppy.

Leslie Mosher, neighbor, said, “If I knew the puppy was in there, I would have let it loose let it run free at least have some kind of freedom to go get something to eat or I could have put food out but they didn't have nothing in there at all.”

Cynthia Scheithauer's mother says her daughter left the animals in someone else's care, but police say it was still her responsibility to make sure they were taken care of.

Scheithauer was issued an appearance ticket and released.

(WHAM - May 9, 2012)

Dog hoarder: 'They completely ruined my life'

‎INDIANA -- Donna Montoya’s life has fallen apart in the months since officers with Porter County Animal Control seized dozens of dogs from her Chesterton-area property.

“I go to the store and people say, ‘There is the dog killer,’  ” Montoya said during a recent phone interview punctuated by occasional tears. “They completely ruined my life.”

Law enforcement officials said the case was the worst incident of animal hoarding they had seen in Porter County.

Officers took most of the animals Jan. 11 and 12, and more were taken in mid-February. The dogs bit three people on the first day of the raid.

The sheer number of dogs — 105 in all, including seven puppies Montoya relinquished to the Porter County Animal Shelter a week before officers arrived at her door — overwhelmed the county’s resources to handle them all at one time.

Many of the dogs have found new homes, been placed with foster families or are awaiting adoption at the Porter County shelter and other area facilities.

Meanwhile Montoya has been charged with 11 counts of neglect of an animal and three counts of harboring a dog that has not been immunized; all are misdemeanors.

The publicity of the case went coast to coast; Montoya said her uncle saw it on television in Alaska. The stress, she said, caused her father to have two strokes; he died last month.

She and her companion, George Mitchell, have decided to leave their Westchester Township home behind and find a new place to live, but no one will rent them a home.

She lost her job and hasn’t been able to find the externship she needs to complete her associate degree in business. She has yet to see the court documents charging her with animal neglect and cannot afford an attorney; She has a meeting this week to try to get a public defender.

She had previously been charged with animal neglect, though those charges were dropped and, at one time, Montoya had been working with the shelter and animal control to reduce the number of animals on her property.

Given the charges against her now, Montoya declined to comment on the number of dogs officers seized from her home. On the first day of the raid, as officers corralled her dogs — each of which she had named — Montoya readily admitted she knew she had too many dogs.

Montoya said she never took the time to count the animals she had. She only began to realize the magnitude of the situation as animal control trucks repeatedly returned to the home for more dogs.

“I didn’t really think there would be that many, though I know I had too many,” she said.

Montoya is not allowed to have pets now. That, she said, was part of her bond agreement after she was arrested on the neglect charges.

Immediately after the dogs began arriving at the animal shelter, officials there said some of the dogs would be euthanized because they were too aggressive to be socialized.

That may be what angers Montoya the most.

“They killed 55 of my dogs because they were too big and too strong, but they took my dogs away because they said they were neglected,” she said, adding the dogs had not had recent vaccinations and may have had fleas, but they were not abused. Shelter director Jon Thomas said about 40 of the dogs were put down because they were too aggressive to be adopted.

On weekends, Montoya baby sits for her daughter and son-in-law, driving by the old red brick church on Indiana 2, across from the shelter, where many of her dogs are staying until they are adopted.

When she drives by, Montoya said she doesn’t see lights on in the building, or her dogs outside.

“You’re telling me it’s better for my dogs to be in cages in a nasty church? You’re telling me that’s better than being with me?” she said. “This whole thing has been heartbreaking to me.”

(WLS  - April 29, 2012)

10 dead dogs found in Savannah home

GEORGIA -- Animal control officers have filed charges against a Savannah man after finding 19 dogs abandoned in his home. 

Gena Sullivan, Savannah-Chatham police spokeswoman, said officers were sent to a house on 6902 Howard Foss Drive after a neighbor called Animal Control. She walked in the neighborhood and had noticed a bad smell and did not think anyone had lived in the house for some time, but could hear dogs barking.

Over a span of a week or two police officers had responded to the home a couple of times. They discovered a dead animal in a wood line near the residence and assumed the smell the neighbor was complaining about was coming from it.

On Tuesday, Animal Control officers responded to the residence and could see the conditions inside of the house because the dogs had ripped the curtains down.

It was obvious to them nobody was living there.

A notice was placed on the door by Animal Control giving the owner 24 hours to respond. When they did not, officers contacted the owner of the property. He in turn gave them the name of the tenant, Kirby Campbell, who was contacted and gave police permission to enter the residence. 

Once inside, officers found 10 dead dogs in different states of decomposition. Some were just skeletal remains, and there was evidence the dogs were forced to eat each other to survive.

Nine of the dogs were removed from the house and taken to the emergency clinic to be evaluated. The dogs that were able to be medically released have been taken to Animal Control and will be evaluated for adoption.

After a request by Animal Control to come to police headquarters, Campbell did so and was arrested on numerous charges.

He has been charged with state charges of 10 counts of felony aggravated cruelty, nine counts of cruelty to animals, 19 counts of abandonment. City ordinance citations include one count of keeping of animals sanitation, one count of distance of animal ( too many animals), and 19 counts of no shots, no tags.

Campbell was transported to the Chatham County jail.

This is an ongoing investigation and more dogs may be found, Sullivan said.

(Savannah Now - April 26, 2012)

Oklahoma: Army serviceman Cody Hahn convicted of dragging dog behind SUV then abandoning it to die

OKLAHOMA -- Cody Wayne Hahn was convicted of animal cruelty on January 26 in Creek County. This is a victory for everyone who cares about halting violence in communities across our state.

Hahn will serve one year in Creek County jail with the remainder of a five year sentence suspended and he was ordered to pay $3,300 in restitution.

 

In October, 2008 Creek County Deputy Charles Redfern responded to a call from a caller who had seen someone intentionally tie a dog to the back of a pickup truck and then drive the truck at high speed down a gravel road.

The dog that Oklahomans have come to know as, ‘Sammy,’ was nearly skinned alive and the gruesome crime shocked northeast Oklahoma.

[Another article states that the dog belonged to Hahn's girlfriend, Rikki Seritt.]

Deputy Redfern immediately called for assistance for the severely injured dog. The dog was transported to Bristow Animal Hospital where he received intensive treatment.   Within three weeks Deputy Redfern had identified Cody Hahn of Creek County as a suspect in the case.

Since then Creek County has witnessed a legal case that pitted a young man with too much financial resource and too little conscience against a determined sheriff’s office and prosecutor.

All studies show that this type of crime often emboldens the perpetrator to escalate their violence to include people; indeed according to the FBI all serial killers started out ‘practicing’ on animals.

Folks from across the nation applauded the efforts of the Creek County Sheriff’s Office to solve the crime.

Note: Hahn was identified in another article as an Army Ranger who was home on leave at the time of the incident.

Once charged with the crime, Cody Hahn (then 21) used high-priced legal counsel to help him ‘get off.’  

Animal welfare organizations posted a reward to attract additional witnesses and kept a vigil at each courtroom appearance.  Cody Hahn appeared grinning in all photos and never acknowledged the severity of the crime for which he was accused.  

Ultimately in 2010 Hahn texted an intimidating message to a witness.  By that point the family members who had gathered to support him had largely vanished and he was finally represented by a court-appointed attorney.

Hahn’s early legal team tried every angle to challenge Oklahoma’s anti-cruelty statutes.  At one point attorney Creekmore Wallace of Sapulpa postulated that if statutes protected a stray (thereby valueless) dog from being skinned alive, possibly our statutes could be used to criminalize someone who stepped on a bug.

Hahn’s arrogance lost, and his legal counsel’s maneuvering failed.

And today, as he was convicted of animal cruelty, decent people everywhere won big time!

 

The dog, renamed Sammy, has recovered
and is living a great life now.

Per Newson6 article: "Cody Hahn's girlfriend, Rikki Leigh Seritt (aka Rikki Seritt), 18, was also charged. In addition to the felony charge, she faces two misdemeanor counts of obstructing an officer. Seritt's case was on hold until Hahn's wrapped up, but prosecutors will move forward this Spring."

Rikki Leigh Seritt

(Tulsa Pets Magazine - Jan 26, 2012)

Earlier:

• Oklahoma: Army serviceman Cody Hahn appears in court, accused of animal torture
• Oklahoma: Army soldier Cody Hahn denies dragging dog and then abandoning it on the side of the road to die
• Oklahoma: Cody Hahn has hearing on felony animal cruelty case in which he and his girlfriend Rikki Seritt are accused of tying a dog to their pickup and purposely driving off, skinning the dog alive
• Oklahoma: Army serviceman Cody Hahn arrested for intimidating witness in animal torture case
• Oklahoma: Police searching for Cody Hahn's girlfriend Rikki Seritt - both involved in the horrific dog dragging case
• Oklahoma: Cody Hahn, 20, already arrested on animal cruelty charges for skinning a dog by purposely dragging it behind his truck. Now his girlfriend Rikki Seritt, 18, has been arrested 
• Oklahoma: Rikki Seritt, 18, and her boyfriend Cody Hahn, 20, have upcoming court dates, accused of purposely dragging her dog behind their vehicle, skinning the dog alive
• Oklahoma: Already charged with felony animal cruelty, Cody Hahn manages to avoid jail on an unrelated criminal charge

67 animals seized in Jackson County animal neglect case

WISCONSIN -- Authorities in Jackson County have taken custody of 67 animals on a search warrant that was executed on Thursday, November 3, 2011 at N2420 Blackberry Road in Melrose Township, Jackson County after receiving information that there may be animals on the property in need of care due to neglect. 

The animals seized consisted of dogs ranging in age from puppies to adults; horses, mules, sheep, goats, turkeys, chickens, rabbits, ducks and a pig.  Many of the animals found appeared to be in various stages of neglect due to improper care and lack of nourishment. 

Two persons have been arrested in connection with the abuse and are identified as Renee Smithey, age 58; and Tarry Smithey, age 52.

Both parties were booked on a single felony count of animal mistreatment and were later released on a $1,000.00 signature bond. Conditions of bond are to possess no animals and to cooperate with the State Veterinarian, the Jackson County Humane Officer, and the Jackson County Health Department.

Two other adults residing at the residence were not arrested and to date have not been charged.

Assisting in the seizure and assessment of the animals and living conditions was the Jackson County Animal Shelter, State of Wisconsin Veterinarian and the Jackson County Health Department.

The animals seized in this matter have been provided with proper shelter, medical treatment and nourishment.  Some of these animals will be available for adoption.  Many of these animals are in need of special care.  Anyone interested in adopting an animal should contact the Jackson County Animal Shelter.

This matter remains under investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

(WQOW - November 15, 2011)