Boyfriends Beats Cat
Richmond, VA (US)Date: May 2001
Disposition: Convicted
Abuser/Suspect: Darryl Bischoff
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Lucy Lou was barely alive when she was returned to the Richmond SPCA last spring. The calico cat that had left the shelter less than two weeks before was in shock. She had cracked ribs, fractured teeth, low blood pressure, a torn lip and other injuries, but no one knew why.
"She was in such bad shape, it didn't matter if a truck had hit her or what," said Dr. John Bruzzese, the SPCA's director of veterinary medicine. "It was keep-her-alive time."
So Bruzzese swung into action, providing Lucy Lou with intravenous fluids, shock therapy, oxygen therapy and a synthetic blood transfusion. X-rays were taken and Lucy Lou's blood was examined to determine the extent of her trauma.
Then it was time to find out what happened. Bruzzese called Lucy Lou's owner and confirmed what his experience had already told him: The cat had been abused.
Moreover, he found out that another cat in the household had died a month before - and that the owner's live-in boyfriend, Darryl Bischoff, had told his girlfriend he killed the cat.
Lucy Lou was euthanized three days after Bruzzese's phone call.
After her death, Bischoff was charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty, for killing both cats. On Oct. 28, he was tried and convicted.
If Bruzzese hadn't asked the right questions of Lucy Lou's owner, Bischoff probably wouldn't be sitting in jail awaiting his Dec. 11 sentencing.
And if the SPCA hadn't reported Bruzzese's findings to Henrico County's Division of Animal Protection, two cases of animal abuse would likely never have been prosecuted.
"The recognition of the problem . . . and then passing that issue along to law enforcement - is an important thing for us to do," said Robin Starr, chief executive officer of the Richmond Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Recognizing animal abuse and neglect, and then reporting it, is important for everyone to do, say veterinarians and prosecutors. But it can be difficult, because many people don't know what to look for.
Dr. Lila Miller, a veterinary adviser and senior director at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, teaches vets and shelter employees how to identify abuse, document their findings and turn them over to authorities.
"We're not trained to deal with any of these issues," she said. "You can go to a veterinary school and ask students what they're taught about animal cruelty, and they'll say, not much."
Bruzzese was able to identify Lucy Lou's abuse due to years of treating pets rescued by animal control and humane societies in Northern Virginia and Washington.
For vets without that experience, Miller and Bruzzese advocate asking a lot of questions about a pet's history. Talking to every member of the household might garner different answers to the same questions, and discrepancies may appear.
Also, Miller recommends that vets look for old injuries that might have healed on their own. That can indicate battered pet syndrome, she said.
People who suspect neighbors or acquaintances of abusing a pet need to ask questions and document an animal's condition as well, Bruzzese said. For example, if you notice a dog limping on Monday and the owner tells you on Saturday that the injury is new, you will know differently.
Non-veterinarians will have an easier time spotting neglect than abuse, Miller said. For example, matted fur or overgrown claws can indicate other painful problems, or an animal's emaciation may indicate starvation.
"We all see older animals walking around that are arthritic. I'm not talking about that," Miller said. "I'm talking about things that are obviously painful injuries, or a dog in a back yard that's chained up without food and water."
Once the abuse or neglect has been documented, it needs to be reported to the law enforcement agency that can investigate it.
Before making an accusation, however, be sure that the pet owner is actually breaking the law, Miller said. Virginia's animal welfare laws, which are available online, list specific definitions for cruelty and neglect.
"You don't want to bring a case of cruelty against somebody [who is] in compliance with the state law," she said.
Miller also stresses that people do not have to be 100 percent certain of the suspected abuse or neglect before making a report. A "good faith report" that's based on the evidence you've collected allows animal control to start an investigation, she said.
Michelle Welch, Richmond's animal abuse prosecutor, wishes that more people would make reports.
She has had several cases recently where abused animals have been found, but no one knows who committed the crimes. "It's a case of finding who did it," Welch said. In Lucy Lou's case, all it took was a phone call. References« Back to Search Results
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