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Case ID: 12940

Classification: Neglect / Abandonment

Animal: dog (non pit-bull)

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Abuse was retaliation against animal's bad behavior

Animal was bound

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Case #12940 Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Dog found dead in trash, mouth taped shut
Meyersdale, PA (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Dec 31, 2007
County: Somerset

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Patricia Livengood

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

A couple walked around an apartment building in Meyersdale on New Year's Eve and encountered a gruesome sight.

They found a dog that had been thrown into a trash can, its mouth and nose taped shut with electrical tape.

The terrier-mix, probably not quite a year old, was dead. Its owner, Patricia Livengood, 49, Main Street, has been charged by Meyersdale Borough police with cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct.

"It was a terrible ending to that poor animal," said county humane officer Elaine Gower.

Livengood told the police and Gower that she called a Scullton family after seeing their "free to a good home" ad while shopping at a local grocery store. She brought the terrier-mix home and called him Cookie. Cookie was not housebroken. That became an issue, according to Gower. Less than a month later, Cookie was found dead in a 13-gallon trash can behind Livengood's apartment.

When questioned by police, Livengood gave "several conflicting stories of where her dog was to be," Meyersdale Officer Matthew Wright wrote in a probable-cause affidavit.

Witnesses claimed in writing that Livengood had taped the dog's mouth and nose and watched it die. Electrical tape was discovered on a stand in her kitchen, police said.

Livengood did not admit to killing Cookie. Livengood said she put the dog outside in the middle of the night and went inside to bed, according to Gower. Livengood said it was a crime of opportunity.

A necropsy, equivalent to a human autopsy, was conducted by Ben Helman of Loyalhanna Veterinary Clinic in Stahlstown. The necropsy was inconclusive about whether Cookie died from suffocation because there are no definitive tests to show that. "It showed some bruising around the dog's mouth," Gower said. "The tests show there was no other cause of death."

Livengood was arraigned on the charges late Wednesday night before Meyersdale District Judge Douglas McCall Bell and released on $10,000 unsecured bail. She is to have no contact with any domestic animal pending the outcome of the case.

Livengood has another dog and a cat.

"We took her dog and cat into our custody until this case is resolved," Gower said.

"You need to be careful where your dog goes if you can't keep it," Gower added. She pointed to animal shelters that adopt out animals as a viable solution.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday before Bell.

Case Updates

A 49-year-old woman pleaded guilty Thursday to taping her dog's mouth and nose shut and then throwing its body into the trash behind her apartment.

Assistant District Attorney James Jacobs Jr. said his office is recommending that Meyersdale resident Patricia Livengood, Main Street, be given probation and community service for the animal cruelty and disorderly conduct charges. The district attorney's office will recommend that the community service be at an animal shelter where she can learn about the proper care of animals.

"Someone has to teach her," he said.

However, the contact with animals will be different in her life now.

"She is not to have any more domestic animals," said county humane officer Elaine Gower.

The final decision on this matter will be up to the probation department, Jacobs said.

The young terrier-mix that Livengood called Cookie was found by Crystal Beal on New Year's Eve in a trash bin behind Livengood's apartment building. The electrical tape was still in place.

Beal, who lives in the same apartment building as Livengood, was taking out her trash with her boyfriend.

At first she thought it was a stuffed toy with its paws sticking up in the air outside a garbage bag. But there was something not right about it, so she called her boyfriend, Rusty Speicher, over to take a look.

When she realized it was as dead dog, one she had seen running and playing in the apartment building, Beal said she began to cry.

She recognized Cookie, she said, and knew the dog was owned by Livengood.

Her mother, Rosemary Beal, who also lives in the apartment building, called the police.

"It is a life," she said. "And somebody takes a life like that. It just hurts. I just don't understand it."

Meyersdale Borough police charged Livengood with cruelty to animals and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.

"The police did a good job. They treated this as a serious crime," Gower said. "This was a horrendous thing to have happened."

Livengood had owned Cookie for less than a month. She got Cookie from a "free to a good home" ad. Cookie was not housebroken. That became an issue, according to Gower.

"She never called us and she didn't ask for help," Gower said.

At the very least, if someone can no longer take care of a pet, they need to find someone who will or go to an organization that will find someone who will, Rosemary Beal said.

Gower agreed. "We can't fix it if we don't know."

Livengood's attorney, J. Michael Smith of Somerset, said his client has been getting threats. Someone spread dog feces on her door handle, he said.

According to Meyersdale police Officer-In-Charge Dave Holler, Livengood is being punished by the law.

"The criminal penalty she needs to deal with, but anyone who harasses her will face charges," he said.

Livengood's other dog will go to her daughter and her cat will be placed for adoption by the Humane Society of Somerset County, which took custody of her animals when Livengood was initially charged.

Rosemary Beal is pleased that Livengood will not be able to have any more domestic animals. She is not so satisfied with the plea agreement.

"It makes me angry. I felt she should have gotten more."

Source: Daily American - Jan 24, 2008
Update posted on Jan 25, 2008 - 10:16AM

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Dog found dead in trash, mouth taped shutMeyersdale, PA (US)

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Dog found dead in trash, mouth taped shut
Meyersdale, PA (US)