CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA -- A woman was arrested after leaving her pet squirrel in a hot car that reached temperatures over 100°F, according to Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care and Control.
The owner of the "Sugar Glider" flying squirrel, Amanda Davis, has been charged with ill treatment of animals.
Around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1, Animal Care and Control responded to a call regarding an animal locked inside of a car at 302 Aiken Avenue. The Animal Care and Control officer was alerted to the animal being in the car around 1:15 p.m., and says that his office may have been notified as early as 12:00 p.m. that same day.
Police said Davis' roommate became concerned and called police after she saw Davis put the animal in her blue Honda Accord before leaving the house.
When officers arrived they found the a window cracked slightly and a cage covered in blankets in the backseat.
The temperature inside the car was 114°F at the time, according to Animal Care and Control. No food or water were left with the animal.
Authorities removed the squirrel from the car just after 3:00 p.m. Davis arrived on scene about five minutes after the animal was taken out of the car. She told officers she had put it in the car around 1:00 p.m. and left.
She was arrested and charged, and Animal Care and Control took custody of the animal, telling Davis she could pick it up at a later date.
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO -- Police say she left dogs for dead and trapped inside an SUV for hours Wednesday. Now, authorities have identified the woman caught on video walking away from that vehicle.
It started with a disturbing discovery near Rehm’s Nursery in northeast Albuquerque, when an employee and a customer noticed a black SUV had been parked near the shop all day.
Inside, were a handful of dead dogs.
The mysterious woman caught on camera leaving that vehicle behind has now been identified by Albuquerque Police Department officials as 31-year-old Sara Mauter, and a warrant has been issued for her arrest.
It was originally reported six dogs were found dead inside the SUV Mauter allegedly abandoned, but according to the warrant, there were five. It also shows Mauter faces five counts of extreme cruelty to animals.
It's not clear why she dumped the dogs or the SUV. The dogs' owner, Annette Rosenow, told KOB she hired Mauter – along with her husband, Shaun – to help transport about a dozen dogs to Texas.
Aside from the dogs left in the SUV, Rosenow says Shaun was driving a gray Dodge van with six other dogs inside.
KOB can confirm five of those dogs were turned over to an animal hospital in northwest Albuquerque, with one still unaccounted for.
DOG BREEDER IN TROUBLE WITH AUTHORITIES AS WELL Rosenow, a dog breeder, is facing 60 charges in regards to her dogs in Torrance County. KOB video says she was ordered by a judge not to leave the state. It appears what she was possibly doing was hiding her dogs from authorities and planning on claiming to them that she had sold them - when they were being transported to Texas.
For APD, the focus remains on finding Mauter. Police say she and her husband may still be in the area driving a 2018 gray Dodge van with the temporary tag 18T0914.
If you know where Mauter might be, you're asked to call Crimestoppers at (505)843-STOP.
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO -- Six dead dogs were discovered inside an abandoned SUV Thursday, and now five other dogs connected to them are in the care of Albuquerque Animal Services.
Those five dogs – who reported missing Thursday afternoon – were dropped off alive at an animal hospital in northwest Albuquerque. Animal services say they are being placed in protective custody while they investigate.
The developments come after a breeder Annette Rosenow hired two people to transport 12 dogs to Texas while she faces more than 60 animal violations in Torrance County.
Police on Friday identified and issued a warrant for the woman (Sara Mauter) who they say left six dogs to die in this black SUV parked near a nursery in northeast Albuquerque.
DOG'S OWNER ALSO IN TROUBLE WITH AUTHORITIES
Those six dogs were part of a larger group. Annette Rosenow, a breeder, said she hired two people on Craigslist to help move 12 dogs from estancia to Texas. On Friday Rosenow said one dog is still missing from that group.
“This is a tragedy; these dogs were not even two years old I had them since puppies,” Rosenow said. “I raised them. They were my babies. This is too much."
Rosenow said she kept more than 30 dogs at a home in Torrance County. KOB has reported that during that time she was slapped with more than 60 animal welfare violations. Those charges stem from failing to license her animals and obtain rabies vaccinations.
“They told me that they we're going to drop the charges,” Rosenow said.
According to documents, Rosenow said she was not allowed to leave the state without court permission. She claims she was granted permission, though KOB couldn't find any evidence of that.
She says her priority now is to get those five dogs back.
"I’m a good dog owner,” she said. “I just made the wrong judgement about these people."
Torrance County Animal Services said those charges against Rosenow have not been dismissed. She is scheduled to be in court April 18
Update: The woman in the video has been identified as Sara Mauter.
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO -- Police are doing their best to connect the dots in a mysterious case of six dogs left for dead in an SUV Wednesday morning.
A business near San Mateo and Lomas caught a female suspect on video leaving that SUV behind. Six dogs were alive at 9:30 a.m. when the video was captured. By 4 p.m. when police arrived, it was a different, disturbing story.
"If we had known, you know those windows would have been taken out. We're all dog lovers here,” said Brian McKinsey, an employee at Rehm’s Nursery.
McKinsey said a customer spotted a black SUV parked in the morning and alerted the nursery when it was still there about six hours later when he returned. That customer said something just didn’t feel right. When McKinsey got a closer look, something was indeed very wrong.
"When I looked through the windows I didn't see anything because there were so fogged up, so moisturized," he said.
McKinsey took a closer look and discovered dogs inside the vehicle were dead.
"They were very contorted and livid. Those dogs didn't die well. It was bad," he said. "They were doing anything they could to get out of there from the way they were postured and looking. They didn't just lay down and die."
KOB got a hold of the dogs' owner, Annette Rosenow from Estancia. She said she hired a woman named Sara and a man named Shaun to transport some of her dogs in two vehicles to her new home in Texas.
"I was evicted from my place and I had to be out there by April 2, Monday. So it was in Estancia, New Mexico and I hired several people for the move," Rosenow said.
Note: Breeder Annette Rosenow was in trouble herself with authorities regarding the dogs and has had charges filed against her.
Rosenow gave police a statement for their report. Police say that second vehicle, a gray Dodge van, is still missing as well as five more dogs.
Both people Rosenow said she hired for the move are nowhere to be found. Police want to know if that includes this woman who is facing several counts of animal cruelty.
KOB did get a hold of Shaun earlier over the phone, the man Rosenow said she hired for the transport. He said he and his wife were hired for the job, but says she loves dogs and would never leave them in a hot car.
Shaun claims the dogs in the van were dropped off at a west side shelter. We put a call into local animal welfare to check that out. KOB looked into Rosenow as well. She's facing 60 counts of animal welfare violations in Torrance County.
Again, police are still trying to identify the suspect in that video, so call Crime Stoppers at (505) 842-STOP if you can help.
CALIFORNIA -- A Northern California family is grateful to their community and police department after their Dodge Ram pickup was recovered three days after it was stolen, with their dog still inside.
The truck was taken from outside the Hamiltons' Truckee home Saturday evening while Carolyn Hamilton and her husband were preparing for an outing with their beloved 6-year-old family dog, Albus.
"We just put him in the truck in our driveway, came back in to say goodbye, and literally turned around and the truck was gone," Carolyn explained.
Truckee police and the California Highway Patrol pursued the vehicle eastbound on Interstate 80 that night, but officers called off the chase when they deemed it too dangerous to continue on surface streets in Reno.
For three days, the Hamiltons and many volunteers searched tirelessly for Albus and the vehicle. Truckee Police also kept searching.
Two men were caught on surveillance video stealing items from
an unlocked vehicle before the truck with Albus inside was stolen
"There was some hope in it, and some urgency," Carolyn recalled. "And I think that's a magical equation."
Tuesday night, police found the truck abandoned in a southeast Reno neighborhood with Albus inside. He was weak and dehydrated, but otherwise healthy.
Albus was named after the character Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter stories. And appropriately, there is something almost otherworldly about his survival.
Police said it appeared he had been trapped inside the closed vehicle the whole time he was missing, during very warm afternoons and cold nights.
Carolyn Hamilton said the entire ordeal was very eye-opening for her family, as they thought about people, such as victims of recent wildfires, who have suffered through much worse situations than the stressful one they just experienced.
"We tried to always compare our grief to the larger grief," Carolyn recalled. "And I think what happened is that we were able to just be a little more compassionate for people who experience loss."
After a vet checkup, Albus was able to come home Wednesday, where he got a visit from Truckee police officers.
"They had a tenderness about them that you don't attach to police officers, but we should from now on," Carolyn concluded.
The investigation into the theft is ongoing. Tips may be called into the Truckee Police Department.
VERMONT -- A South Hero woman has pleaded not guilty to 88 counts of animal cruelty after officials found scores of dead rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, birds and reptiles last month in her rented home.
Ashleigh M. Tillson, 30, was released on conditions Thursday from Grand Isle Superior Court in North Hero. The restrictions include that she not possess or take care of any animals while the criminal case is pending and refrain from going on the property. She now lives elsewhere in town.
Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito charged her with depriving animals that she owned or possessed from having adequate food, water and sanitation between Feb. 1 and Sept. 20.
Judge A. Gregory Rainville questioned whether there was a need for Tillson to undergo an outpatient competency and sanity evaluation. Public defender Rory O. Malone said he thought they were unnecessary at this time. He said his client had been checked leading up to the arraignment and if he sees any need he will alert the court.
Rainville said he was concerned that the more time that passes, the harder it becomes to establish what was the state of mind of a defendant at the point of the alleged offense.
In a court affidavit, Grand Isle County Deputy Sheriff Jason Essinger said one of the defendant’s friends indicated she thought Tillson was going to be admitted to the hospital for two weeks but was surprised when she was discharged after four days.
Sheriff Ray Allen was among the authorities to say the raid was the most disturbing animal cruelty case they have ever witnessed.
“In my 26 years of law enforcement I have never seen this type of animal cruelty and neglect. I was overwhelmed by what I saw and odor from inside the trailer,” Allen wrote. He said that when a member of the Humane Society of Chittenden County came into the trailer, “the look on her face (was) that of total shock.”
The abuse story was first reported by The Islander newspaper on its Facebook page in September. It soon spread to the rest of the media, including The New York Times and other major outlets across the country.
During the arraignment, DiSabito successfully argued to add a condition that Tillson not be allowed to keep any animal cages or crates. Malone questioned the need for the requirement but said Tillson was making plans to donate the cages. DiSabito said he was concerned that any animal enclosures from the residence go to proper authorities.
Rainville gave Tillson one week to dispose of the cages and crates. The judge also said he wanted an update in the court case in one month.
Tillson had lived in Winooski for two years before moving into the $700-a-month trailer in South Hero about nine months ago, court papers show. Eviction proceedings have started, court papers indicated and Malone confirmed in court.
Tillson did not address the court during her seven-minute hearing. She pulled up the hood of her jacket in an effort to block news photographers as Malone escorted her out to a car waiting in the courthouse driveway. Tillson was given a chance to comment, but Malone said she would have nothing to say.
When the sheriff’s department attempted to interview her five days after the search, Tillson declined and said she wanted to speak with her mental health worker, court papers show.
Court records show Tillson has been charged with driving while intoxicated twice. She was convicted of DUI in a February 2010 case and fined $300 after a Colchester police investigation, court records show. A DUI second offense charge was reduced to a negligent operation count for a January 2014 incident investigated by Williston police, records show. They indicate Tillson received a six- to 12-month suspended sentence, was placed on probation and fined $300.
The search
Court records suggest Tillson appeared more concerned about the media coverage than the welfare of the animals in her home. Tillson initially took care of animals, but suddenly in recent months had stopped talking about them, court records show.
Allen said that the day of the search, he reached Tillson by phone and explained why authorities were at the home.
Tillson “never inquired about the health or status of the animals and her only question was will the media know about this. I found that very concerning,” Allen said.
Five days later when she arrived at the sheriff’s office, Tillson was told authorities found only a small number of animals alive.
“She never inquired which animals were found alive or asked how they were doing. She said nothing about the other animals and the situation. She was concerned about the media learning about this and how the public would react,” Allen wrote. She said she wasn’t staying at the house because it was hot and the windows didn’t open.
Besides the 80 animals found dead during the search Sept. 21, an additional eight – four lizards, two rabbits, one hedgehog and one chinchilla — were discovered alive, Allen said. One rabbit died about a week later, Dr. Peggy Larson, a veterinarian, told The Islander.
The dead animals included fish, rats, a mouse, chinchillas, hamsters, gerbils and a lizard. Thirty of the dead animals were in a freezer, but the electrical power had been shut off for three days because of nonpayment, reported Essinger, the deputy sheriff. The unseasonably warm weather helped turn the metal trailer into an oven, said Essinger, who has been specially trained in animal abuse cases.
“During the process, it became evident that the remains of the majority (of animals) were severely decomposed, many reduced to bones and fur,” Essinger wrote. He said the trailer had a morgue-like smell.
Larson, who also has a law degree and was a prosecutor, said she conducted autopsies on most of the dead animals. Most died from lack of nutrition, she said. Larson said not much was left but fur and bones in most cases. She said it was the worst incident among the 15 cruelty cases she has been asked to respond to since she came to Vermont seven years ago.
“Probably the worst thing I have to work on are the hoarding cases. Because you walk into these houses and they are filled with debris,” she said.
Larson said she has seen in hoarding cases that people fill their cages back up with animals. Larson said she had pushed to have the cages taken away from Tillson.
“Thank God the prosecutor was able to accomplish this,” Larson told reporters outside the courthouse. “These hoarding cases are absolutely horrendous.”
Included in the court paperwork was an elaborate 10-column chart listing all 88 animals and indicating various items, including in what room they were found, the species, sex, body condition, weight, level of decomposition and clinical notes.
The complaint was filed by one of the landlords, David Gardner, who went to the property to mow the lawn Sept. 20, Essinger said. Gardner spotted scores of flies on the inside of the trailer’s windows and a notice from the power company on the door that it had shut off electrical service, the deputy said.
Gardner said he entered the trailer and took pictures of dead animals. Gardner described it as “wall to wall cages.”
Marcie Nash, a friend of Tillson’s, said she was not allowed in the trailer and thought the defendant was exaggerating when she claimed she had 30 animals in her home.
Sheriff Allen said he was alerted by South Hero Animal Control Officer Everett Dubuque about 5 p.m. Sept. 20 about the dead animals. A plan was developed to bring in all needed resources in the morning, but no mention was made that any might be alive.
It was only as experts began combing through the cages that a few animals were found alive. A living hedgehog was in the same cage as another that was dead.
One rabbit was described as very thin, hungry and thirsty, with prominent bones and long nails.
Some carcasses were in the refrigerator and the freezer, but with no recent electrical power they had all thawed and begun to rot, said Dubuque, the longtime animal control officer and retired deputy sheriff.
Also at the search was South Hero Health Officer Anne Zolotas.
KENTUCKY -- A woman in Knox County is facing multiple charges after deputies say she left her dog locked in a car for several hours while she was passed out on a couch.
Deputies responded to a call late Sunday night about a dog locked inside a car at a home on Payne Hollow Road.
When deputies arrived at the home, they say they found the dog locked inside a car outside and Lisa M. Branson, 34, of Barbourville, inside the home passed out on the couch.
Two children, ages four and ten, were also at the home.
When the deputies woke Branson up, they say she seemed disoriented and told then she had taken meth and suboxone.
According to the deputies, Branson told them she had been passed out on the couch since 7 p.m., and the dog had been locked in the car for several hours without food, water or a place to use the restroom.
Deputies also learned Branson’s mother had temporary custody of the two children in the home, and Branson did not have permission to have them at her house with her.
Branson was arrested and charged with animal cruelty and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor.
Lisa and Gary need to get clean. If not for their sake, for the sake of these two poor kids.
Knox County Sheriff’s Deputy Claude Hudson recovered what he says is a multitude of stolen items from a home on Payne Hollow Road Friday.
The case began with a report Deputy Hudson took from a Hinkle Branch residence on July 6, 2017, reporting a cast iron cooking stove had been stolen from outside the home, but one leg of the stove was left by the perpetrators. Deputy Hudson retrieved the fourth stove leg as evidence to aide in searching for the stolen stove.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing a green Chevy S-10 pickup with a fiberglass top “loading stuff up,” Deputy Hudson said.
When serving an Emergency Protection Order on Gary Branson of Payne Hollow Road Friday morning, July 21, 2017, Deputy Hudson noticed a cast iron stove outside Branson’s home that matched the description of the stove he was looking for.
After pairing the fourth leg with the stove, Deputy Hudson likened the match to “Cinderella’s slipper” as he determined the stove was indeed the stolen item from Hinkle Branch. Also in Branson’s driveway was a green Chevy S-10 pickup with a fiberglass top. Branson was not home at the time.
Branson’s wife, Lisa M. Branson, who was home, was arrested and charged with Criminal Mischief 1st degree and Burglary 2nd degree. Lisa M. Branson has a history of theft charges including shoplifting and cold check writing dating back to 2011.
The Chevy S-10 pickup was confiscated as evidence because it had been used in the commission of a crime.
After executing a search warrant at the Payne Hollow Road residence, deputies identified and recovered more stolen property items that were taken in the burglary.
The investigation continues by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.
The whereabouts of Gary Branson are unknown. Anyone with information regarding his location should contact the Knox County Sheriff’s Office at 546-3181.
Update:
On Tuesday, July 25, Knox County Deputy Claude Hudson arrested Gary W. Branson, 37, of Bimble, on charges of burglary and criminal mischief.
The charges were the result of an investigation into a burglary at a residence on Hinkle Branch Road in Flat Lick on July 1, 2017. Gary Branson’s wife, Lisa Branson, 33, had been arrested on July 21 after an antique cast iron stove from the burglary was observed in their front yard.
A vehicle driven by Gary Branson was stopped at the intersection of US 25E and KY 1304 in Bimble. He initially gave Deputy Mullins a fictitious name to avoid arrest. He was lodged in the Knox County Detention Center.
