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Case ID: 11526

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull), dog (pit-bull)

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Case #11526 Rating: 1.0

Dogs severely neglected, decomposing while alive
Roanoke Rapids, NC (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Mar 31, 2007
County: Halifax

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 12 files available

Defendant/Suspect: Morante Tremayne Brown

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Daphna Nachminovitch has seen some sights that have made her shudder as director for animal and wildlife rescue for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

But in April she saw the worst she's ever seen and it was right here in Halifax County, just outside Roanoke Rapids.

The photos she e-mailed the local newspapers were too graphic for them to publish - a pit bull named Big Girl, between six months to a year old, gasping for breath as various generations of maggots ate her flesh away, tied to a chain that weighed just as much as she did.

�I'm surprised she made it to our building,� said Nachminovitch, a 15-year PETA veteran, whose headquarters are some two hours away in Norfolk, Va., where Big Girl was euthanized. �In 15 years I've seen some terrible things. This is the worst I've ever seen; an animal decomposing while still alive.�

The dog, she said, was essentially a pile of bones, its eyes sunken in.

There was no explanation given as to the treatment of this animal, Nachminovitch said Friday. The man who owned that dog and two others - one which also died - has been charged with two counts of cruelty to animals, which is a misdemeanor.

To make the counts felonies would require proof that violence was done to the animal and that would be hard to do, Nachminovitch said. If anything, she said, Montae Brown, the owner, was callous and indifferent to plight of the dogs. �It was very upsetting. The dog was laying there trying to get air into her.�

Brown, 25, was put on the Halifax County Crimestoppers most wanted list following PETA's investigation, which began in April. Warrants were filed and he eluded law enforcement until he was found by the Roanoke Rapids Police Department on May 28 and charged on the PETA complaint as well as counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana, possession with intent to sell and deliver marijuana and resist, delay and obstruct. His court date is June 26.

Lt. Bruce Temple of the Halifax County Sheriff's Office praised the animal rights organization on the matter. �I would say they did a good job, a very good job. We put him on Crimestoppers when he stopped answering the door.�

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