Dog and puppies left outside to freeze
Tunkhannock, PA (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Jan 19, 2005
County: Wyoming

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: David Dymond, Jr.

A black female Labrador mix and her five puppies, who suffered severe hypothermia in what local rescue officers labeled one of its worst cases of exposure in recent history, have a new leash on life.

While two of the puppies did not survive, Bella and her 8-week-old three male and two female puppies are now available for adoption through the Humane Society of Lackawanna County.

"It was one of the most severe cases we've seen," Humane Society Police Officer Tina Walter said.

The dogs' owner, David Dymond Jr., 25, of 510 State Route 29 South, Tunkhannock, left the dogs outside his home during a January cold snap.

Mr. Dymond pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to two counts of animal cruelty, including failure to provide veterinary care or food and water for the dogs.

Magisterial District Judge Carl W. Smith Jr. of Tunkhannock ordered Mr. Dymond forfeit the dogs to Humane Society officials and fined him $350.

State animal cruelty law mandates fines ranging from $50 to $750 fines, or 90 days in jail, depending on the seriousness of the case, Ms. Walter said.

Ms. Walter and Ellen Howarth, the region's state dog warden supervisor, found Bella and her newborn puppies huddled inside a dog house Jan. 19 during a snowstorm, when it was a mere 27 degrees outside.

"It may have said 27 degrees on the thermometer, but it felt much colder and it was snowing when we took them," Ms. Walter said. "We did seize the dogs because their lives were in danger. We normally can't do that under the current state cruelty law, but one of the puppies was already dead and another one died not long after.

"They would have died if we hadn't taken them that day," she added.

Ms. Walter said it was the second time in five days she had received complaints about the dog being neglected, and didn't even know the dog was pregnant until she got another call that Bella had a litter of puppies.

"Her spine was sticking out and there was just skin on it," Ms. Walter said. "She didn't visibly look pregnant."

Dr. Joseph Pannick, D.V.M., of the Veterinary Medical Center in Blakely, who treated Bella and her puppies, called it one of the worst cases of animal cruelty he's ever seen.

The puppies had hypothermia and low blood pressure, and some even contracted upper respiratory infections such as pneumonia, Dr. Pannick said.

"Puppies are born with no body fat and can't conserve their own body heat in temperatures below 40 degrees," he said. "They don't have the brain mechanism to control their own body heat. They rely on mom to do that for them."

Dr. Pannick said Bella, even though she was a young mother who was very skinny, anemic and hypothermic herself, is the reason most of the puppies survived until Humane Society officials discovered them.

"Some females are good and some are not," she said. "She's just a good mom who loved her puppies and wanted to take care of them."

Ms. Walter said while handling such extreme animal cruelty cases takes an emotional toll at times, she explained that saving dogs like Bella and her puppies and giving them a good home is all the reward she needs.

"It's the ones that are really neglected that appreciate having a home and being loved most," she said.

For more information on how to adopt one of the dogs, call the Humane Society at 586-3700.

References

• « PA State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Wyoming County, PA

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