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Case #14626 Rating: 3.8 out of 5
Six dogs seized from flea infested property
Iron Mountain Lake, MO (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 25, 2008
County: Saint Francois
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Tamara L. Benscoter
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Missouri woman has been charged with six counts of felony animal abuse after authorities seized six dogs from a flea-infested property in Iron Mountain Lake.
Police said the dogs were abandoned in confinement pens without food or water by their owner, 46-year-old Tamara Benscoter of Bismarck. The animals were rescued Thursday by the Missouri Humane Society.
The Humane Society said that in 2004, it seized 119 animals from her residence. Benscoter received probation for the offense.
Case UpdatesA rural property that was once the site of animal neglect will serve a new purpose for the community of Iron Mountain Lake. In September the property was raided by the Humane Society of Missouri and the Iron Mountain Lake Police Department when several dogs were abandoned at the property by Tamara Lynn Benscoter, 46. On Wednesday the owners of the property signed the half acre over to the city for the purpose of a new dog pound.
"The owners of the property, William Lunsford Jr. and Lesia Firle, are very gracious people," said Iron Mountain Lake Police Chief Michael Kemp. "They inherited the property from their parents. The Benscoters set up a payment plan for the purchase of the property with the brother and sister two to three years ago. They hadn't made any payments though."
Kemp said it is the previous owners' desire and the city's intention to turn the property into a dog pound. If for some reason the pound had to be relocated to another location, the property would be turned into a park and will be called Lunsford Park.
City workers and volunteers spent Thursday cleaning up the property.
"We have a lot of debris to remove that was left behind by the Benscoters," Kemp said. "We are also going to burn off the ground to get rid of the flea infestation that exists. We hope to have the work done by noon today (Thursday)."
Tamara Benscoter was sentenced in February to 12 years in prison for two counts of felony animal abuse and for violating the probation she received for passing a bad check.
According to court records, Iron Mountain Lake Police Department began investigating a report of animal neglect at Benscoter's residence on Sept. 9, 2008. After receiving the report, police saw Benscoter leave her residence with several birds, a rifle and propane tanks.
She told police that she was moving to Park Hills and admitted the dogs at her Iron Mountain Lake residence were without food and water. She granted permission to let police check the well-being of the dogs.
Kemp said some dogs had rainwater in buckets and only one out of the six dogs had food. The property was also infested with fleas. He said at that time, the dogs appeared to be relatively healthy.
Police returned on Sept. 23 to check on the dogs and to ask Benscoter about having a rifle. Kemp said no one was at the property and it seemed apparent no one had been there in two weeks. The gate was still wired shut and there were no tracks in the mud. Three of the dogs had rainwater, but the other three had none.
A neighbor told police that she hadn't seen Benscoter in two weeks and she had not been by to pick up her mail or newspapers.
The Missouri Humane Society seized the six dogs and they were taken to a veterinarian for treatment.
Editor's Note: The Tammy Lynn Benscoter and Fred H. Benscoter in this article should not be confused with Tambula Benscoter and Fred Harrison Benscoter Jr., of Farmington. | Source: Daily Journal - March 8, 2009
Update posted on Mar 8, 2009 - 5:37PM |
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