A 5-month-old pit bull starved to death in a Poplar Avenue home after an 18-year-old woman placed the puppy in a kitchen closet and put a refrigerator in front of the door to prevent the animal from escaping while she went away for two weeks, police say. Officers turned the dog over to the SPCA for an autopsy after discovering it on Feb 10 at 14 Poplar Ave.
An autopsy at the SPCA late Friday (Feb 11, 2005) determined that the dog, a brown and white female, died from starvation.
The autopsy also revealed that the puppy had been dead less than 30 hours.
Investigators found no food or water for the puppy, which had been left there for two weeks while the woman was out of town, according to police reports.
Local SPCA officials said the incident defied explanation.
"I can't comprehend how that's a logical choice, to put an animal's life in danger, because you're going away for two weeks," said Gina Browning, SPCA public relations director. "This is blatant cruelty, and if this isn't cruelty, I don't know what is."
Pit bulls remain a popular dog for people who use them as guard dogs; sometimes they are used in less legal ways, such as to train other dogs for fighting.
"This is the breed of choice for fighting and guarding," Browning said. "If the dog doesn't work out, you use the dog as bait to train another animal to fight."
Browning also praised Buffalo police for pushing so hard for serious charges.
Rickeya Davis, of 14 Poplar, was charged with cruelty and aggravated cruelty to animals.
Officer Bohdan Papisz and Lt. Steven Nichols also found five bootleg movies, some clothing with security tags still on and marijuana, according to police records. Davis also faces charges of criminal possession of a forged instrument, criminal possession of stolen property and marijuana possession. Case Updates| Buffalo City Court Judge Thomas Franczyk found Rickeya Davis, of 14 Poplar Ave. in Buffalo, guilty of cruelty to animals. Sentencing will take place in August 2005. Davis was charged with animal cruelty February 10, when a deceased puppy was found behind her refrigerator, left unattended with no food or water for an extended period of time. | Source: SPCA of Eerie County - May 12, 2005
Update posted on Oct 11, 2005 - 3:04PM |
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