Dog starved to death locked in closet - Saltville, VA

Wednesday, Jun 11, 2008

County: Smyth

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Tyrell Lamar Suggs

A Saltville, Va., man is scheduled for trial Tuesday in Smyth County Circuit Court on a felony charge of animal cruelty.

Tyrell Lamar Suggs was charged with the Class 6 felony after a healthy 3-year-old Doberman pinscher named Omar died in a closet after weeks without food or water.

"Mr. Suggs was previously incarcerated on June 11, and he had locked his dog inside a small closet in his residence, and after he had done that, he didn't tell the arresting officer that he'd left his dog within a closet inside his apartment," said Sgt. Chris Bennett, animal control officer for Smyth County.

"Mr. Suggs wasn't released until July 2, so the dog was left inside the closet … and it didn't have any food or water or anything."

Bennett said the dog was found after other tenants complained of an odor coming from one of the apartments at 206 Elizabeth St. in Saltville.

"It's very seldom that we see anything that severe," Bennett said of the situation that caused the dog's death.

"He [Suggs] could've notified anybody. He could've made prior arrangements of some sort. … He could've told the arresting officer or a jailer, and they could've contacted us and we would've took proper steps in ensuring that the dog didn't come to that demise."

The dog's original owner, who asked for fear of retaliation that her name not be used, said she had raised Omar from a puppy but, in February, gave him to a man with a farm who promised a good home.

It was through a microchip, she said, that she learned of Omar's death -- and she doesn't know how Suggs wound up with her dog.

"I've been sickened over this," she said. "I thought I was doing the dog a good thing giving him to somebody who had a lot more land and could let the dog run … and I thought that I was doing the right thing and then he ends up with somebody that ultimately tortured and killed him. … I've been pretty appalled by this whole thing."

She said she believes that the person responsible for Omar's death should go to jail -- and that stiffer penalties would help combat what she calls a plague of animal cruelty in this region.

And she's not the only one; an online petition has collected more than 3,000 signatures of people who want Suggs, if convicted, to be punished "to the full extent that the law will allow."

"We also ask that the court take into consideration the suffering that Omar endured in the days and weeks that led up to his death and order that Mr. Suggs be banned from owning animals in the future," the petition reads.

References

• tricities.com - Dec 14, 2008

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