Two Men Convicted of Cruelty After Dogs Starved

On
a cold, blustery day in February, volunteers with PETA’s Community Animal
Project were delivering straw bedding to cold outdoor dogs in Portsmouth,
Virginia, when they spotted a plastic dog crate partially concealed by a doghouse.
Since the carrier was old, dirty, and surrounded by trash and there was also no
food or water nearby, they thought at first that it had been junked, but then
they heard movement inside: A dog who was trapped inside began barking, wagging
his tail, and jumping in excitement. With mounting horror, they noticed that
there were actually two dogs in the carrier—and one of them wasn’t moving.

Inside
the crate, they discovered the remains of an emaciated female pit bull named Dynasty. The
surviving dog, a male pit-bull mix named Blue, was also malnourished, and his
white feet were stained yellow from having to stand in his own urine.

The
volunteers called the police, and Dynasty’s remains along with Blue were both relinquished
to PETA. An examination by a veterinarian revealed that Dynasty didn’t have a
single ounce of fat on her body and had been suffering from an untreated broken
leg. The only contents of her stomach were a few pieces of straw. Blue, the
survivor, had been forced to live in the crate with the lifeless body of his
friend for an unknown period of time. (Blue has since been placed in a loving
home.)

On
Tuesday—after a judge heard testimony from PETA volunteers and a veterinary
expert from the Virginia Beach SPCA—the dogs’ owner, Adriane Mason, was found guilty of cruelty to animals for starving Dynasty to death and depriving
her of veterinary care. Mason faces a sentence of up to a year in jail and/or a
$2,500 fine. The horrified judge said that he wished he could impose on Mason a
sentence similar to the one that he had imposed on Dynasty—confined to a crate
without food or water in the middle of winter—but, he said, that would amount
to “cruel and unusual punishment.”

In another horrifying
case of neglect, PETA gained custody of two adult pit bulls and a puppy in
Bertie County, North Carolina, after finding the dogs dangerously emaciated because
of severe parasite infestation and starvation. This morning, the dogs’ owner, Anderson Christopher
Bell, pleaded no-contest to charges of cruelty to animals. The court ordered
that he pay restitution to PETA for the cost of the dogs’ veterinary care and
prohibited him from ever owning or harboring any animals again.

What You Can Do

If
you suspect that animals are being neglected or abused, call your local animal
control or police department immediately. If the agency isn’t responsive, contact PETA.