Over 100 dogs, cats seized from pet rescue
Ottawa, WV (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Nov 10, 2010
County: Boone
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Case Images: 3 files available
Alleged: Trish Bragg
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A forearm-sized Pekingese Shih Tzu mix waddles calmly out of the shade of her horse stable and into the warm afternoon sunlight.
She plops down in a soft patch of grass and slowly raises her head.
Her eyes are glazed and milky with cataracts. Her black and gray fur is matted and unwashed. She has scratched away splotches of it, exposing portions of her skin eaten away and infected by mange. Sores and scabs cover her face and ears.
She is one out of more than 100 dogs and cats that were rescued from an animal adoption center in Boone County on Wednesday night. Sheriff's deputies and Humane Society rescue workers took the animals to the county fairgrounds, and are treating them out of the stables.
"I've seen pictures from other cases in other states," said Sommer Wyatt, director of the state division of the U.S. Humane Society as she examined the little dog. "This animal is an example of one of the worst cases I have ever seen."
The animals spent months in small, rusty cages on the cold concrete floors of an old schoolhouse in Ottawa. Feces littered the floor. The smell of ammonia permeated the air, Wyatt said.
A Boone County woman owns the adoption center. Police said she operates it through donations. Police have not yet released the woman's name -- or filed charges.
She finds stray dogs and cats off the streets, a friend of the woman said. She rescues others from the Boone County Animal Shelter before they are euthanized, he said.
"I think that the villain here is not her," the man said. He asked that his name not be published.
When deputies and Humane Society workers found the animals at the school, they had very little food. Water and electricity had been shut off long ago, deputies said.
The animals cringed when rescue workers shined lights onto them.
Boone County Sheriff Rodney Miller said the woman could face more than 100 animal-cruelty charges -- one for each animal rescued.
Besides the Pekingese, many of the dogs and cats were starving and emaciated. Only the larger breeds, like the Rottweilers, boxers and pit bulls, looked well fed.
"It's not just about food and water," Leighann McCullum, director of the Tennessee division of the Humane Society said. "It would be like if you lived in your own bathroom."
Authorities are still trying to pin down the exact number of cats, which are still being kept at the schoolhouse because rescue workers have not yet found a place for them at the fairgrounds.
Humane Society workers and sheriff's deputies expect to keep the animals at the stable for about two weeks. All of them will be adopted out, Wyatt said.
PetSmart Charities donated a truckload of cages, food and other supplies for the animals almost as soon as they heard of the rescue effort, Wyatt said. Humane Society workers and volunteers helped unload and unpack the pallets that came off the semi-truck Thursday afternoon.
The Pekingese sits in the sunlight for a few minutes.
Wyatt bends down and holds a hand over the dog's face. She barely notices Wyatt's gestures.
The small Pekingese is almost completely blind, Wyatt says, as she gently rubs the dog's forehead. It draws its ears back slightly and, after a few minutes, curls up into a ball on the grass. Wyatt watches her and says, "She can still make someone a good pet."
Case UpdatesNearly 80 dogs have found refuge at the Boone County Fairground horse stables after being rescued from what witnesses are calling "atrocious" conditions at a privately run animal shelter.
But the owner of that shelter, 53-year-old Trish Bragg, said the animals were being cared for and that there was no reason for the seizure.
Boone County sheriff's deputies said they rescued 78 dogs, which are now in the care of the Humane Society of the United States and the sheriff's department.
The animals also are being treated to a large donation from national pet supply retailer PetSmart.
The dogs, as well as about 20-30 cats, were discovered earlier this week at Safe Haven Animal Rescue Effort, a private animal shelter that was being operated in a former school building in Ottawa, W.Va.
But contrary to its name, officials said, the shelter was no sanctuary for the animals.
Sheriff Rodney Miller said deputies discovered the animals in squalid conditions. Many were starving and all were living in their own excrement, he said.
"The stench was absolutely foul," he said.
The shelter also lacked water, heat and electricity.
"It had no utilities at all," Miller said.
But when reached for comment by telephone, Bragg said the sheriff's account of the story is totally false.
She said all of the animals were well fed, and that she made the 12-mile trip from her home to the shelter twice each day, taking 40 jugs of water and 100 pounds of food with her.
Operating a no-kill shelter is no easy task, especially in an economically depressed area like Boone County, she said.
"I'm in an area where people just don't care. These people dump their kids just like their animals," she said.
She also disputes the number of animals seized. Although authorities say that 78 dogs were removed, she said there were actually 63.
"And I can tell each one of their names," she said. "None of my animals were deprived of food or water."
So far, only the dogs have been removed from the site. Miller said deputies plan to obtain warrants today to retrieve the cats.
The sheriff said he hoped Bragg will simply sign over ownership of the cats, but will pursue warrants if she is uncooperative.
Bragg, however, was shocked to learn that the cats had not been seized. She said she hadn't gone to the shelter at all on Thursday because she was told that all of the animals had been taken away.
Miller said Bragg could face an animal cruelty charge for each animal that was rescued.
"This is being investigated as a criminal case," Miller said, adding that no charges have been filed yet.
The animals aren't being adopted yet either, said West Virginia Humane Society Director Summer Wyatt.
Right now, the animals are considered evidence in a criminal investigation. Once the investigation is wrapped up, workers will start finding good homes for them, she said.
"They will not go to shelters," Wyatt said.
Bragg said there were many success stories at the shelter. She said hundreds of dogs have been adopted out over the past three years. She also said a number of sick animals were made better under her care.
"Everything has been blown out of proportion," she said.
Bragg admits that there were too many animals at the shelter. But she said she decided six months ago to close it down.
Bragg contacted the Animal Law Coalition recently. She said the group was actively working to place each of the animals in a new home.
She admitted some of the animals were suffering from mange. But she said she couldn't afford the vet bills.
She also said that her repeated pleas for help with the shelter were largely ignored. She believes that area veterinarians also conspired to keep low-cost spay/neuter providers out of the area for fear they would have hurt their business.
She said the seizure amounts to a publicity stunt by the Humane Association and Pet Smart.
"Where the hell was Pet Smart when I was asking for help?" she said. "The Humane Society does nothing to help rural areas."
Some of the dogs were in "decent shape," when they were found, Wyatt said. But most are suffering from a range of illnesses.
A veterinarian brought in by the Humane Society found the animals were dehydrated and malnourished. Some were suffering from severe cataracts, parasites and mange, Wyatt said.
According to its website, Safe Haven was started in order to save animals from being euthanized at county animal shelters.
The organization's profile on PetFinder.com was updated Aug. 1 to announce that the shelter would no longer accept animals for adoption.
"Our Director of Operations has resigned and (Safe Haven) will be trying to move the current animals out to rescues in the next few weeks so we can shut the facility down," the update says. "Due to constant dumping, overcrowding, a lack of resources and volunteers, we are no longer able to continue operations."
The update also made a final plea for donations to help cover veterinary bills.
Local resident Susan Ballard-Shreve said she briefly volunteered at the shelter about a year ago. She called conditions at Safe Haven "atrocious."
Ballard-Shreve was at the fairgrounds Thursday to help Humane Society workers walk dogs and organize supplies.
A self-described animal lover, she said she often volunteers in animal shelters around the area. She said conditions at Safe Haven were some of the worst she had ever seen.
The shelter apparently was suffering from a lack of funding and volunteers.
"They had good intentions," Ballard-Shreve said of Safe Haven. "But they got in over their heads."
Deputy Justin Dalton said that a guard would be on duty to watch over the animals through the night. | Source: dailymail.com - Nov 11, 2010
Update posted on Nov 12, 2010 - 9:21AM |
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