Over 20 dogs found dead in field
Grand Island, NE (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Jul 31, 2008
County: Hall
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Denise Withee
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Animal Control workers are calling it one of the most disturbing cases of animal cruelty they have ever seen. Nearly two dozen dogs were found dumped in a ditch and scattered around a field near Grand Island. Most were dead with a few clinging to life.
The dogs were found Thursday afternoon.
There were 23 in all including pugs, labradoodles, Chihuahuas and Yorkies.
When crews got to the scene a few of the dogs were still alive. But in the end none survived.
Down a quiet dirt road just outside Grand Island Animal Control is picking up the pieces.
"Something like this, it is terrible, hopefully we can find the person who did this and take care of it," Michael Valdez.
Animal control was called there Thursday after someone reported seeing dozens of dogs in a cornfield. They expected them to be alive.
"He called me 10 minutes later and told me to bring cadaver bags, so right there my stomach just dropped," said Jane Keuhn, Central Nebraska Humane Society.
"They were dead, there were 23 of them. We did send one to the hospital but it did not make it," Valdez said.
Animal Control and Humane Society officials said it is one of the worst cases of animal cruelty they have ever seen.
"Finding three alive makes me wonder how many more were alive and had to die like this," said Keuhn.
"Yeah, I was upset, very frustrated, angry," Valdez said.
Investigators found a syringe, some rubber gloves and newspaper at the scene. But they do not know if the items are connected.
They are also trying to determine how the dogs died and when they were dumped.
"We are not sure how long they were sitting out there before the person who found them saw them," said Valdez.
This is the second case of animal cruelty in two days.
Thursday, 70 dogs were rescued from poor conditions at a Frontier County home.
"Right now I am hoping it is just coincidence. We do not want to see a trend like this," said Keuhn.
"We always tell people if they cannot take care of their animals, bring them to us," said Valdez.
Officials said neglect and cruelty like this will not be tolerated. It is what they work day and night to try to prevent.
"I have worked here for 3 years not and I have never worked a case like this and I hope I never have to work a case like this again," said Keuhn.
Animal Control workers said some of the dogs were found in better shape than others. Many were underfed. One was pregnant. That dog died on the way to the vet. Officials said she would have given birth in just a couple weeks. The puppies could not be saved.
Case UpdatesThe woman accused in the deaths of 23 dogs near Grand Island was booked into the Hall County Jail on Monday.
Denise K. Withee, 46, of Mapleton, Iowa, had been undergoing mental evaluation in Hastings.
Hall County Chief Deputy Sheriff Chris Rea said Withee was booked into the jail on three counts of animal neglect resulting in death, which are Class 4 felonies.
No charges had been filed as of this afternoon, however.
Withee is expected to be arraigned in Hall County Court at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
She was arrested in Grand Island on Aug. 2 after 20 dead dogs were found in a cornfield outside town. Three additional dogs that were found in the field died shortly after they were discovered.
Rea said previously that the dogs were various small breeds and none of them were puppies. It appears that they died of dehydration and heat exhaustion, but tests were being done on tissue samples.
A syringe without a needle was also found in the cornfield.
Authorities said that, when Withee was arrested, she had 13 additional dogs in her possession. The surviving dogs are being cared for by the Central Nebraska Humane Society.
Roland G. Bowling, also known as Ronald Lancaster, 50, of 2534 W. North Front St., has been charged with being an accessory to a felony and providing false information to law enforcement officials in the case. He's being held in the Hall County Jail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 6.
Withee is facing additional charges in Iowa for 20 dogs that were found running at large and 27 more dogs that were found in two separate homes in Monona County, Iowa, said Sgt. Roger Krohn of the Monona County Sheriff's Department.
Mapleton is in Monona County.
According to the Associated Press, some of those dogs were in such poor condition that they had to be euthanized.
Krohn said, for "all intents and purposes," Withee had been charged in Iowa. He is meeting with the county attorney there on Tuesday to determine how many charges of misdemeanor animal abandonment and neglect will be filed.
"If I have my way, it will be more than 20," he said. | Source: The Independent - Aug 11, 2008
Update posted on Aug 11, 2008 - 6:15PM |
45 year-old Denise Withee of Mapleton, Iowa will face charges as soon as Thursday for animal abuse and abandonment after being accused of breeding dogs and then dumping them on the side of the road.
She's looking at more than 20 counts of animal abuse and abandonment, which in Iowa are not felonies, but rather misdemeanors.
On July 27th, Monona County, IA, investigators rounded up nearly 40 dogs that were wandering around the area. The dogs were later linked to Withee through microchip technology. Authorities say some of the dogs had to be put down because of bad health. Five of the abandoned dogs are now being cared for at the Animal Control in South Sioux City, NE. An additional five are at the Siouxland Humane Society and 12 are at Sioux City's Animal Control. The director at Sioux City's Animal Control, Cindy Rarrat, says they received small and large dogs including Cockapoos and Wheaton Terriers. They've been cleaned up and vaccinated but Rarrat says when she got them they were infested with fleas and lice, dirty with matted fur and had soars all over their bodies.
"They're lovely dogs. None of them have given us any problems. Their temperaments are wonderful. They're so thankful to have something, so they've been absolutely wonderful for us," says Cindy Rarrat.
Withee also faces felony animal abuse charges in Hall County, Nebraska where she's accused of dumping nearly 30 more dogs, 23 of which were found dead. | Source: KPTH - Aug 6, 2008
Update posted on Aug 6, 2008 - 10:07PM |
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