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Case #12193 Rating: 2.3 out of 5
Dogs starved, one dead, eaten by other
Aurora, CO (US)Incident Date: Monday, Aug 20, 2007
County: Arapahoe
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Kristy Knecht
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Neighbors call it a disgusting case of animal cruelty. Two dogs were allegedly left starving for weeks inside a North Aurora home and one ended up eating the other.
The house is in the 1000 block of South Uvalda Street.
The owner of the dogs is currently in the Adams County Jail for failing to appear in court on a driving under the influence charge, according to a spokesperson. 7NEWS is not releasing her name since charges have not been filed in the dog case.
Neighbors said the woman had not been staying in her home this summer and was not adequately feeding the two dogs, a German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois.
"She just totally left them, left them to fend for themselves," said Margaret Freiburger who lives down the street.
Frieburger said the woman refused offers to help look after the dogs, and indicated relatives were feeding them.
A neighbor contacted animal control when she didn't see the dogs barking in the window as they usually do.
A notice was left on the door on Aug. 20 and officers followed up the next day, according to Freiberger.
Responding officers were disturbed when they entered the home, at least one investigator was physically sickened by what he saw, according to a neighbor.
"There was dog feces inside," said Freiburger. "One of the dogs had passed, and lets say the other dog had to find a way to survive."
Animal control officers found the one dog still alive was feeding on the carcass of the dead dog.
"She said she was feeding them all along, but for that to have happened, she couldn't have fed them more than once a week, if at all," Freiburger said.
7NEWS contacted the Animal Care Division for Aurora Tuesday afternoon. The shelter director referred inquiries to a city spokesperson, who said she could not comment since the case is still under investigation.
Chris Collier lives across the street and said the owner claimed to love dogs.
"(It's the) complete opposite of who we knew, who we thought we knew I guess," Collier said.
The surviving dog is said to be recovering slowly.
It's unclear what charges the dog owner could face. Additional information is expected later this week.
Case UpdatesA woman who starved two dogs - including one that ate the other dog after it died - will get 90 days in jail and must receive mental health counseling.
Kristy Knecht, 30, will also serve a 90-day home detention term following the jail term for violating bond release terms by having two dogs in her car while her case was pending, said Cheryl Conway, spokeswoman for the Aurora Animal Care Division.
Knecht, who pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated cruelty to animals and a non-aggravated animal cruelty charge on Friday, will not be allowed to have an animal in her possession during a three-year probationary period that will follow her jail sentence, Conway said.
Knecht's surviving dog, Neeko, a Belgian Malinois, was skin and bones when Aurora Animal Control officers answered a call to her home in August of 2007, she said.
Neeko, who at 30 pounds weighed half of what he should have, had survived partly by eating the carcus of another dog that had starved to death in the home littered with dog feces, Conway said.
Neeko was nursed back to health in the Aurora animal shelter for five months, then transferred to a foster home, she said.
The foster family will formally adopt Neeko in a ceremony at the animal shelter today, Conway said. | Source: Denver Post - Oct 21, 2008
Update posted on Oct 21, 2008 - 1:16PM |
A woman whose Belgian Malinois allegedly survived starvation by eating the carcass of another dog will be charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, a news release said today.
The Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers has decided to charge Kristy Knecht, 29, of Aurora with Class 6 felonies that carry a penalty ranging from one year to 18 months for each count. The time frame for offenses is between May 1 and Aug. 22, the release said.
The Arapahoe County sheriff will issue Knecht a summons.
The surviving dog, Neeko, was forced to eat the carcass of a white German shepherd that died of starvation at Knecht's home in the 1000 block of Uvalda Street, officials said. Up to 2 feet of dog feces was piled up in a utility room, and chewed-up dog bones were strewn throughout the house. | Source: Denver Post - Sept 12, 2007
Update posted on Sep 13, 2007 - 3:04PM |
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