Dog severely emaciated
Moundsville, WV (US)Incident Date: Monday, Apr 28, 2008
County: Marshall
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Harold J. Thompson
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Harold J. Thompson, 77, of Moundsville was arrested Friday for allegedly failing to care for a dog found starving near Garfield Avenue last week.
Marshall County Sheriff's Deputy Bill Helms said the resident who found the coonhound, took the dog to the Marshall County Animal Shelter on April 28. Helms said the dog was emaciated, could not stand or eat and could only crawl a short distance.
An investigation found the dog was being cared for by Thompson, who told deputies he had been caring for the dog while his son, the dog's owner, is in jail. Thompson told deputies he did feed the dog regularly.
Helms said a veterinarian ran several tests and could not find any physical problem with the dog, other than it had not eaten.
Veterinarians placed the dog on continuous intravenous fluids and the dog, named Noah, can now stand on his own.
Thompson has been charged with one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals. Bond was set at $5,200 and Thompson was released from custody after posting a surety bond.
If convicted, Thompson could be sentenced to six months in jail, face fines between $300 and $2,000 or both.
Case UpdatesMarshall County deputies have charged a Moundsville man in connection with a dog found nearly starved to death two weeks ago.
It's the dog that captured the valley, Noah, that was dropped off at an animal shelter too weak to lift his own head.
Moundsville resident Harold Thompson is facing a charge of animal cruelty.
Deputies said Thompson was supposed to be caring for Noah for his son while his son was in jail.
Thompson told WTOV9 in an interview last week that he didn't do anything wrong and said he kept Noah in a cage with food and water available.
Deputies said they determined otherwise after a week-long investigation.
The Marshall County Sheriff's Department issued a warrant for Thompson's arrest and said he turned himself in on Friday.
Sheriff John Gruzinkas said Thompson entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of animal cruelty.
Someone found the starving dog dumped by a busy road in Moundsville and took him to the animal shelter.
Gruzinkas said this case is just one of several animal cruelty cases going on in the area.
"It's something that unfortunately goes on, that animals are being mistreated so I just want to tell people that they should report these things as they see them," Gruzinkas said.
Noah is recovering at the Glen Dale Animal Hospital, where employees are slowly nursing him back to health.
Noah is gaining weight, now up to 44 pounds up from the 30 he was when he was first arrived there.
Monday, they said he walked on his own for the first time. | Source: WTOV - May 6, 2008
Update posted on May 5, 2008 - 4:23PM |
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