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Case #11136 Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Dog starved to death, found frozen
Greenwood Lake, NY (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Feb 1, 2007
County: Orange
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Maryann Adams
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
Princess was 80 pounds of St. Bernard-collie mix when Maryann Adams adopted her from the Warwick Valley Humane Society last summer.
Princess was 30 pounds of frozen carcass seven months later, and Adams was under arrest. The 33-year-old from Greenwood Lake was arraigned in Warwick Town Court on a misdemeanor charge of failure to provide sustenance to an animal.
Princess's eyes were matted shut. She had no food in her digestive tract. A veterinarian told Orange County Sheriff's Investigator David Ayers that an infection had invaded Princess' uterus.
"The doctor said it took a two- to three-month period for the dog to be in this condition. He said it was a very agonizing death," said Ayers, who began an investigation after he got a complaint from the Humane Society.
Neighbors told the Humane Society that Adams left water just outside the dog's reach, and that she took the top off the doghouse when it rained.
"It seems to me that this abuse started right when she got the dog, that this was deliberate and intentional and that she was really tormenting this animal," said Suzyn Barron, the director of the Humane Society.
The society finds homes for 150 to 200 dogs a year, usually without a problem. "Most of the time, people get in touch when they're having a problem. We work with them," Barron said. "In some cases, if it's not working out, we take the animals back."
In Adams' case, "There was no reason to think she wouldn't be able to care for this dog."
But on Feb. 1, one of Adams' neighbors called the Humane Society to say that Princess was in distress. Workers from the Humane Society went to Adams' house and rang the bell.
When they got no answer, Barron said, they walked around back. Princess was motionless in her doghouse. The workers took Princess' body back to the shelter, and Ayers took the case.
He interviewed the neighbors, consulted with prosecutors and arrested Adams at her home yesterday. She was arraigned before Warwick Town Justice Peter Barlet and released on her own recognizance.
She's due back in court on April 17. She faces up to a year in jail.
Barron recalls getting a phone call from Adams the day after Princess' body was recovered. Adams told her she was a single mother raising three kids.
"Basically," Barron recalled, "Her question to me was 'Well, what can I do now?' "
Case UpdatesAlthough this defendant has been sentenced, officials may still benefit from receiving community feedback regarding the outcome of the case.
Warwick, NY Town Justice
Mr. Daniel Coleman
Town of Warwick
132 Kings Highway
Warwick, NY 10990
Phone: 845-986-1124 (Ask for Justice Dept.)
Fax: 845-987-1815
Prosecuting Attorney
Mr. Jamie Ferrara
District Attorney Office
18 Seward Avenue
Middleton, NY 10940
Phone: 845-615-3640
Fax: 845-346-1189
Tips for Effective Letter Writing:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/action_alerts/letter_writing.php | Source: Town of Warwick
Update posted on Aug 31, 2007 - 2:18AM |
A Greenwood Lake woman whose dog starved in her backyard avoided jail yesterday because Warwick Town Justice Daniel Coleman was concerned about the welfare of her three children.
"If you didn't have any children, I would put you in jail for a year," Coleman told Maryann Adams. "You're being spared from jail, and you can thank your children."
Prosecutors had asked that Adams serve 60 days spread over 30 weekends. Instead, she must perform 100 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine and $300 in restitution to the Warwick Valley Humane Society.
Adams pleaded guilty in June to a misdemeanor charge of failing to provide sustenance to Princess, a St. Bernard-collie mix. She may not own another animal as long as she resides in New York.
She called the sentence "fair for the sake of my children," ages 4, 6 and 9. "The guilty plea does not reflect my innocence or guilt."
The sentence outraged a group of eight animal-rights activists who gathered outside the courthouse to vent their anger over Princess' death.
They waved signs with the dog's picture and yelled at Adams as she was driven away after the sentencing.
"This is an absolute disgrace," Humane Society member Lee Peterson said. "They should open the jails and let everyone with children out. Compared with Michael Vick, it's nothing, but the judge made a terrible ruling."
Adams adopted Princess, an 80-pound dog, in summer 2006. In February, a neighbor called the Warwick Valley Humane Society to say that Princess was in distress.
Workers from the Humane Society went to Adams' house and found Princess motionless in the backyard. Her eyes were matted shut, and she had no food in her digestive tract. A veterinarian said she had a uterine infection and likely took two or three months to die.
"I believe this was a deliberate act on Adams' part," Humane Society director Suzyn Barron said before the sentencing. "We have seen everything from dogfighting cases to hoarding cases, and this probably ranks as one of the worst because the dog suffered horribly." | Source: Record Online - Aug 29, 2007
Update posted on Aug 29, 2007 - 2:47PM |
Her attorney insisted she would tell her side of the story in court, that this was all a misunderstanding. Instead, Maryann Adams pleaded guilty, erasing any chance to explain how her dog, Princess, starved to death in her backyard. She was found dead in March, her eyes matted shut, weighing 30 pounds less than when Adams adopted her seven months earlier.
Adams will be sentenced Aug. 14 for her guilty plea to animal cruelty, a misdemeanor. | Source: Times Herald-Record - June 13, 2007
Update posted on Jun 13, 2007 - 4:56PM |
Readers were understandably angered by a story in Saturday's Times Herald-Record about a Greenwood Lake woman named Maryann Adams who is accused of starving her St. Bernard-collie mix to death.
Some readers misdirected that anger at a woman of the same name who works at the Warwick Day Care Center, according to its director, Maxine Meyer.
According to Meyer, folks Web-searched the name and came up with the Adams at the day-care center, "who is not the same person in any way, shape or form."
The calls started yesterday morning, Meyer said. She said she called town police because some of the calls were "rabid." | Source: Times Herald-Record - April 3, 2007
Update posted on Apr 4, 2007 - 2:02AM |
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