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Case #16103 Rating: 3.0 out of 5
Dog found chained, saturated in motor oil
Rock Hill, SC (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Jan 21, 2010
County: York
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Karen Erby
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Police charged a Rock Hill woman with animal cruelty after her dog was found living in squalor. An officer found the dog chained outside Karen Erby's home at 305 Marshall St., a police report said. The dog appeared as if it had been sick for a while, though it did have access to a food bowl, water and shelter, an incident report noted.
On January 21, 2010, police arrested Erby and charged her with cruelty to an animal.
Veterinarians found that motor oil had been poured over the dog's coat. Some pet owners falsely believe motor oil is a cure for mange, said veterinary technician Ramie Pratt, who is helping treat the dog at Ebenezer Animal Hospital. The dog was at least 15 pounds underweight and suffered from a skin infection, intestinal parasites and a heart murmur, Pratt said. Staffers decided to nickname the dog “Hope” because they believe she can recover.
Erby was released Thursday afternoon from the Rock Hill city jail on a $500 bond, a jail official said. A court case is scheduled for March 1, 2010.
Erby told police officers her dog had been sick but said she was attempting to nurse the animal back to health, the report stated. She voluntarily turned the dog over to animal control officers, who took the dog to Rock Hill's Ebenezer Animal Hospital.
The dog was resting comfortably and getting plenty of attention from the staff at Ebenezer.
“She's got a chew toy that somebody brought her and a nice fluffy bed,” Pratt said. “A lot better than she was a few days ago. We're just keeping a real close eye on her.”
Case UpdatesArea activists said a Rock Hill woman's animal cruelty conviction Thursday helps them get one step closer to their goal: to stop animal abuse and neglect.
The Committee for Responsible Pet Ownership, made up of area rescuers, urged police to charge Karen Erby with animal cruelty after her pit bull was found malnourished and covered in motor oil in January.
After Erby was convicted of animal cruelty during a bench trial Thursday and ordered to pay a $470 fine or serve 30 days in jail, members of the group called it a “victory for the animals of York County.”
We are sick and tired of seeing animals abused and neglected,” said Janet Richardson of Richardson Rescue in York. “And we’re not going to stand for it.”
A member of the group, Alicia Schwartz, who is one of the people who found Erby’s dog in January, said it’s the group’s goal to bring the county’s animal laws up to date. She said the dog looked dead from a distance, and described her appearance as decaying.
“We’re constantly fighting for a no-tethering ordinance,” she said, “and to have animals be licensed. We’re not picking on people, it’s to make them aware.”
Schwartz was one of many animal advocates who dressed in black and filled a section of the Rock Hill Municipal Courtroom Thursday afternoon to show their support for the dog, now named “Hope,” who in need of medical treatment when she was found Jan. 10.
Officers arrested days Erby after finding the sickly dog. Although the dog had access to a food bowl, water and shelter, a veterinarian said it was 15 pounds under weight and too weak to raise its head or walk, Judge Ray Long said during the bench trial. Motor oil had been poured over the dog’s coat. Some pet owners falsely believe motor oil is a cure for mange, Ebenezer Animal Hospital veterinary technician Ramie Pratt told The Herald after the arrest.
Hope also suffered from a skin infection, intestinal parasites and a heart murmur. Today, Hope is recovering, but has a long way to go, foster owner Lynn Cooler said. Cooler called her “fat and precious,” saying the dog has gained more than 10 pounds in the three weeks she’s had her.
Cooler said she still cries when looking at the pictures of Hope when she was rescued -- her bones were visible and she had patches on her body where there wasn’t any hair.
“Her heart murmur is gone as of her last blood transfusion,” she said. “Her hair is starting to grow back and the sores all over her body are healing.”
Dr. Elizabeth Hill of Ebenezer Animal Hospital told the judge Thursday that Hope was in such poor health that she probably wouldn’t have made it much longer without treatment.
Erby told the court that she knew the dog, a stray that her son took in, was ill, but didn’t take it a veterinarian nor did she call animal control. She was attempting to nurse the animal back to health.
“We didn’t try to mistreat her,” she said. “We took the dog in. She was sick before we got her.”
To Judge Long, that wasn’t an excuse. Before finding Erby guilty of animal cruelty, he said any time someone decides to take on an animal they are duty-bound to care for it.
“The dog was not cared for properly. There’s no other way I can put it.,” Long said. “If you were not financially able to care for the dog, that’s what animal control is for.”
Animal enthusiasts clapped as Long handed down the sentence of a fine or 30 days in jail. Several of them, however, were concerned that Erby could just get another dog.
“I wished the judge would have said no other dogs could be owned by her,” Richardson said.
Hope spent a month in the ICU at Rock Hill's Ebenezer Animal Hospital after Erby turned the dog over to animal control, Cooler said.
“She still occasionally cowers when I raise my hand, and she over-ate a lot in the beginning,” Cooler said. “Now she’s more secure in that she’ll have food regularly, and she gets a lot of love.” | Source: Herald Online - Mar 4, 2010
Update posted on Mar 8, 2010 - 3:50PM |
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