Extreme neglect of 6 pit bulls
Mobile, AL (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, May 24, 2003
County: Mobile

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged:
» William J. Beritiech
» Carol Elaine Wood

William J. Beritiech, sought on six counts of second-degree cruelty to dogs, surrendered to authorities Sunday (June 1, 2003). Beritiech's former girlfriend, Carol Elaine Wood, 30, sought on the same charges, told the Mobile Register on Monday that she planned to hire an attorney and surrender today.

The charges stem from the deaths of two pit bulls and mis- treatment of four others in the back yard of a home at 7040 North Lake Road in south Mobile County where Beritiech and Wood had lived.

Beritiech, 27, turned himself in at Mobile County Metro Jail, said Cpl. Pat Mitchell, a Mobile police spokesman. He was released the same day on bonds totaling $6,000, a corrections officer said.

Wood said Monday that she left the North Lake Road home in January after the couple had ended their relationship.

"I had no knowledge they were being treated that way," she said of the dogs.

A neighbor filed a complaint about the dogs on May 24, Mitchell said.

Sarah Hopson, a humane officer at Mobile County Animal Shelter in Prichard, said the dogs had "suffered terribly."

She helped bring the four surviving dogs to the shelter, but one died after arriving and two were euthanized because of their poor health, she said.

Hopson said the six dogs ranged in age from about 6 months to 3 years old. She said Wood came to the shelter May 27 and claimed one of the dogs -- a female about 2 years old named Haley. Wood said Monday that she took Haley to a veterinarian after picking her up, and the dog now is "doing great."

Alabama law says that a person commits the crime of second-degree cruelty to a dog or cat when he or she "in a cruel manner" deprives the animal of food, water or shelter.

The crime is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail and up to $2,000 in fines.

References

• Mobile Register

« AL State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Mobile County, AL

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