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Case #3171 Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Dog and puppies left abandoned in empty building
Bronx, NY (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Oct 14, 2004
County: Bronx
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Michael Laster
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Bronx man was charged with leaving six dogs, including five puppies, in an abandoned building without food or water, authorities said.
Michael Laster, 53, who was staying with relatives at 144th Street, was arrested yesterday by agents for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
He was charged with six counts of animal cruelty and animal abandonment, misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail on conviction.
Laster is accused of leaving an adult dog and her five puppies on the third floor of a building at Union Avenue in Morrisania.
The adult dog, who animal care officials later called Shy, was allegedly tied with a leash to a radiator. The dogs, beagle mixes, were found by the building's owner on Oct. 14.
Shy, according to an ASPCA investigator, was dehydrated, her ribs were visible and was near death.
"She was basically imprisoned there," said Joseph Pentangelo, an agent for the ASPCA. "If the owner had not discovered them in time, they would have died."
Pentangelo said the city's Department of Animal Care and Control took in the dogs before taking them to North Shore Animal League in Port Washington.
"Through it all she took care of her puppies," Joanne Yohannan, assistant director of operations at North Shore, said of Shy.
Shy is healthy now. Four of her five puppies, which are about 8 weeks old, also are doing well. A fifth has been sick but is expected to recover.
Officials at North Shore hope that Shy, who is about 2 years old, gets adopted soon. Generally, older dogs tend to be adopted at a less frequent rate than puppies.
"She's got so much to offer," Marge Stein, North Shore's director of publicity, said of Shy. "With everything she's gone through, she's still the sweetest, most loving animal you'll come across."
For adoption information, call the North Shore Animal League at (516) 883-7575.
Case UpdatesMichael Laster, who was convicted of animal cruelty, will spend 60 days in jail, after being sentenced for abusing a mother dog and her puppies.
Laster, 53, was nabbed by investigators from the ASPCA Oct. 4 last year and charged with six counts of animal cruelty and abandonment. Investigators believe the emaciated mother dog and her pups were tied up and left to die by Laster after he sold his Bronx home.
He originally faced up to a year in jail, but he pleaded guilty to reduced charges.
Under the terms of the plea, Laster will spend two months in prison, and be placed on three years' probation. He also gave up his right to own a pet while on probation.
The 2-week-old pups and their mom were left in the home at 1224 Union Ave. The hungry hounds were not discovered for at least a week, when the new owner was doing a walk-through and found the listless mom - tied with a 4-foot rope to an upstairs radiator - still trying to nurse her frightened family, said ASPCA Special Agent Joe Pentangelo.
The city's Center for Animal Care and Control picked up the dogs, naming the mom "Shy," and later sent them all to the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, L.I., where they were adopted. | Source: NY Daily News - November 21, 2005
Update posted on Nov 21, 2005 - 2:23PM |
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