Dogs neglected, five seized
Bella Vista, AR (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Apr 22, 2009
County: Benton

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Janet Jo Galbraith

A Bella Vista woman has her dogs back after being charged with five counts of animal cruelty against them.

Janet Jo Galbraith, 56, was arrested April 22 for allegedly neglecting her five dogs, according to police reports.

Animal-control officer Merle Weaver first learned about the situation on April 13, when a neighbor called the Bella Vista Police Department about five dogs on Orkney Drive that weren't being taken care of, the report states. The caller said no one seemed to be at home, so he fed and watered the dogs and called for help.

The animal-control officer stopped at the house every day after the first call was received.

"No one other than (the neighbor) and I have been caring for the dogs this week," Weaver said in his report, obtained by The Weekly Vista on April 28.

Two-weeks of newspapers were piled in the home's driveway, the mailbox had mail in it and none of the three notices Weaver had left on the front door had been touched, the officer said.

After four days passed with no contact with the dogs' owner, Weaver took the animals to the Bella Vista Animal Shelter.

"We feel the dogs do not need to go the rest of the week without being cared for properly," Weaver stated in the report.

The dogs were extremely hungry when they arrived at the shelter, Manager Donna Miles said.

The canines had received some care - two dogs had expired rabies tags, one dog had been spayed and one had been neutered, Miles explained. The animals were very social upon their arrival at the shelter, she added.

One of the dogs, a basset hound, had been bitten on the ear, which probably happened during a food fight, Miles said. Shelter staff had to clean the wound and treat it with antibiotics.

The dogs have since been returned to Galbraith.

Galbraith and Weaver played phone tag from April 20 to April 22, the officer said. He tried seven different phone numbers before finally reaching the dogs' owner.

Galbraith explained to Weaver that she had hired someone to take care of the dogs for her. She said she tried to talk to the caretaker, but she couldn't reach them.

The citation states that Galbraith must appear in Bentonville District Court on June 3.

The penalty for misdemeanor animal cruelty could amount to a $5,000 fine - $1,000 per count - and up to one year in jail, Miles said.

References

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