Latest news with #animalneglect
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
‘It was startling': Buckhead couple detail finding starving dog that led to R&B singer's arrest
It was earlier this month that a Buckhead couple said they came across a red dog that looked malnourished outside an RV in the parking lot of the Hyatt Centric Hotel. 'You could see his ribs and hip bones. It was startling,' the woman said. Noticing the neglect, the couple said they tried to help by offering the dog food and water. 'That poor dog, when we brought food and water down to it. It looked like he hadn't eaten in six weeks,' the man explained. The couple, who asked not to be identified, spoke exclusively with Channel 2's Brittany Kleinpeter on Friday. They said they called authorities after trying to contact the owner. 'I went by very calmly, and said, 'Do you need any help?' and said we got dog food upstairs, and he instantly said, 'Why would you ask me a question like that?'' the man said. According to an arrest warrant, the dog's owner, R&B singer Jaheim Hoagland, who just goes by Jaheim, was given three warnings by animal control before they took the dog. TRENDING STORIES: Delta flight with nearly 200 on board forced to turn back to Atlanta over pressurization issue 'The Wire' actor says his son was 'thrown 300 feet' from their home in Henry County tornado Alleged squatter turns himself in after Channel 2 investigation Authorities said they found several other dogs suffering from neglect. 'They found them in the RV that was apparently filled with feces and urine,' the woman said. According to the warrant, Jaheim Hoagland was arrested on May 1. Jail records show he was released the next day. He is charged with animal cruelty related to six dogs found on his property, including four pit bulls, a French bulldog, and a mixed-breed hound. The warrant states Hoagland has a 2021 third-degree animal cruelty case in Hillsborough, NJ. In that case, he is alleged to have 15 dogs living in a home with deplorable conditions and failed to provide necessary care to the animals. The Buckhead couple who spoke out for the animals is asking for something to change. 'I wish there were stricter laws to prevent situations like this,' the woman said. One of the dogs from the incident, Taka, is listed for adoption on the Fulton County Lifeline website under 'Dogs at risk' for euthanasia.
BreakingNews.ie
4 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Dentist given lifetime ban on owning animals in 'appalling case of animal neglect'
A dentist has been given a suspended prison sentence of four and a half years and a lifetime ban on owning animals after what a judge described as 'one of the most appalling cases of animal neglect' he had ever come across. Karen Saunderson (68), who comes originally from Liverpool with an address in England, pleaded guilty to 10 offences contrary to the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, over the condition in which a large number of animals were discovered at the rental property where she lived at Templelusk, Avoca, Co Wicklow, on November 19th, 2016. Advertisement The charges related to causing unnecessary suffering, feeding, neglect and a failure to safeguard the health and welfare of animals. Photo: Collins Lawyers for Ms Saunderson – who is also known as Sanderson – claimed her property was used 'as a drop-off point for certain unwanted animals.' A sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday heard an animal welfare inspector and gardaí who visited the living area of the property complained that their eyes were burning from the smell of ammonia from the urine of the animals. A total of 43 dogs, five horses, a pig and a wild boar were found on the property when it was visited by the chief inspector of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Conor Dowling. Advertisement The inspector gave evidence that an overweight pig, which was found squealing and lying on its side in a filthy stable, had to be put down later that day to prevent it from further suffering. Mr Dowling said the animal was unable to get to its feet, had overgrown hooves and no water. He described a terrible stench from other stables where he found 12 dogs living in muck and faeces with no water with some of the animals obviously 'stressed.' Photo: Collins One Mastiff who had a withered leg had to be euthanised a week later. Advertisement Mr Dowling said a German Shepherd, who was discovered to be pregnant, gave birth to a litter of nine pups the following week. Some were deformed, and none survived. However, most of the other dogs and all the horses were successfully rehomed. Mr Dowling told counsel for the DPP, James Kelly BL, that he sought assistance from gardaí because of the scale of what he encountered. He outlined how dogs spilled out of the living area of a loft building when the door was opened. Advertisement The court heard a total of 31 dogs, ranging from small puppies to giant breeds, were found in the loft with dog faeces everywhere. 'It was a stressful and chaotic environment,' said Mr Dowling, who believed that a large pool of liquid on the floor was urine from the dogs. 'I could not breathe and it made my eyes burn,' he recalled. A video recording of the scene showed the accused trying to claim the dogs had only urinated when inspectors had knocked on the door. Advertisement Mr Dowling said the accused claimed she walked 30 dogs every day, but he said the evidence indicated otherwise, as many of the animals had overgrown claws. He said one Mastiff had chronic arthritis and could not even make its own way downstairs, while a spaniel could not walk as it had not properly recovered from an old injury. Another dog had to have a toe amputated as it had been gnawing at an exposed bone. Mr Dowling said he did not believe Ms Saunderson was keeping animals commercially, but he found it hard to explain the situation. The inspector said all the horses were underweight and suffering from rain scald and mud fever. He told Judge Patrick Quinn that a decision was taken to remove most of the animals, although the accused was allowed to keep some dogs, to whom she was particularly attached. The judge questioned how the situation was allowed to develop, that both the defendant and her animals were living in such appalling conditions and squalor, without it being reported to the authorities. 'Somebody must have known,' he observed. Mr Dowling replied that he had visited the property on the basis of a 'quite vague' report that gave no sense of the scale of what he subsequently discovered. He pointed out that a vet who called to the property had never been beyond the yard. Photo: Collins However, he remarked that someone passing on the quiet road beside the property could have seen the horses in the field and realised there might be an animal welfare issue. Mr Dowling said the costs in the case were calculated at €12,229 but he believed the true figure was a multiple of that figure. Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Eanna Mulloy SC, the inspector said he was unaware of Ms Saunderson's claim that she was not the owner of all the animals or that she had issues with her landlord about sewage problems on the property. Mr Dowling said he was also unfamiliar that she was meant to be minding animals for a member of the Traveller community. The court heard Ms Saunderson had moved to Ireland in financially strained circumstances for a number of years on a 'career break', while she was the subject of a long-running regulatory matter with the General Dental Council in the UK. Mr Kelly noted that her guilty pleas were only entered in January 2025 to offences committed over eight years ago after she had submitted reports over the intervening years that she was unfit to go on trial. Mr Mulloy said Ms Saunderson had a difficult family background and was someone who was 'easily exploited.' He said the kernel of the problem was that his client was a woman who had a soft spot for animals, who could not cope with the number she had accumulated, but there was a low risk of her re-offending. Sentencing Ms Saunderson to four and a half years in prison and ordering her to pay costs of €15,000, Judge Quinn said it was obvious both she and her animals were neglected and living in 'absolute squalor.' The judge observed he had come across a few other similar cases where someone with a love of animals became overwhelmed by the number of animals they acquired over time. He claimed it was irrelevant that she might have been exploited by others. The judge accepted that her neglect was not intentional but due to her own declining mental state. Ms Saunderson sobbed audibly as she heard the sentence would be fully suspended. Addressing the judge, she remarked: 'Thank you very much. I really am so very sorry.'
Washington Post
08-05-2025
- Washington Post
New York man charged after nearly 70 live cats and two dozen dead kittens are found in his home
BOHEMIA, N.Y. — A suburban New York man has been charged with animal cruelty after authorities say they found nearly 100 cats in his home, including about two dozen dead kittens in a freezer. The man, 75, surrendered Wednesday to detectives with the Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at a local police precinct, the nonprofit organization said. He was charged with 18 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals and animal neglect and ordered to appear in court on May 23.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Dogs found in red-tagged Sioux City home; Teenagers may face charges for fake dog rescue
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU)– A group of teenagers could face charges of animal neglect and abandonment after they were found to be running an illegal dog rescue. According to officials with the Sioux City Animal Adoption and Rescue Center (SCAARC), they received a call regarding dogs in a red-tagged home on the 4200 block of West 23rd Street in Sioux City. Officials entered the property and found six dogs. 'There was no dog food at this location. We didn't find any bowls out for water or anything like that,' Cindy Rarrat with SCAARC said. 'Through our investigation, we have impounded eight animals that were taken in by these individuals as a rescue, parading themselves as a rescue.' SCAARC worked with the Sioux City Police Department to locate the teenagers behind the dog shelter. The investigation is ongoing, but Rarrat said she intends to press charges. Story continues below Three of the eight dogs were microchipped and have been returned to their original owners, who came from Moville, Fort Dodge, and Des Moines and surrendered their dogs to what they thought was a trustworthy rescue. 'These people were scammed into believing that this was a reputable rescue that they were getting their dog sent to. And it was not,' Rarrat said. 'You have to have a location. You have to have shelter. You have to have food and water and the vaccinations. You have to have them fixed per state law. When you do adopt them, you have to have the appropriate paperwork per state law.' Rarrat want this situation to serve as a reminder to always verify a shelter before you give up your pet. Iowa DOT's 'Highway Helper' program coming to Sioux City 'If you are going to give up your animal, make sure it's a reputable organization and you have researched,' Rarrat said. 'And basically, if your gut tells you it's not good, it's probably not a good rescue.' Charges are still pending against the teens. KCAU 9 will update this story as more information is available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports.
