Dogs abandoned, one severely neglected
Milford, MA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Oct 5, 2005
County: Worcester
Disposition: Open
Suspect(s) Unknown - We need your help!
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Five abandoned purebred dogs found on Sumner Street were turned over to police in early October, and the condition of one has prompted a criminal investigation.
One of the dogs, a Yorkshire Terrier, was so badly hurt that it may not survive, said Milford police Sergeant Jim Heron. The dogs were found near the same location on the night of October 5 by residents and then by an ambulance driver, Heron said.
By the end of the night, police recovered three Papillons and two Yorkshire terriers, none of them with identification tags, Heron said. The dogs were treated at the Holliston Animal Hospital and taken later to Milford animal control. Four of the dogs are in good health, Heron said, but one Yorkshire terrier is suffering from a broken leg, gum disease, and rotted teeth, and may have to be euthanized. Police said the person responsible could be prosecuted for animal cruelty.
Case UpdatesOfficials are still looking for the owners or anyone who with information about five dogs abandoned in the Sumner Street area Wednesday night.
In the meantime, Animal Control Officer Rochelle Thomson said the dogs -- two Yorkshire terriers and three papillons -- were doing well yesterday, including the oldest and sickest of the bunch, a Yorkshire now called Yogi.
Thomson brought all of the dogs to Holliston Animal Hospital yesterday for evaluation. She said aside from having "bad dental problems," they were mostly just dirty.
That could complicate the process of pressing charges if police find the animals' owner or owners, Thomson said. A possible charge would be cruelty to animals, she said, but the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals can only charge cruelty if there's proof the owners knew there was a medical problem and did nothing about it.
However, Yogi, who Thomson suspects is 15 to 20 years old, suffers from an old injury, a leg break that was never treated. Thomson wonders if a veterinarian will hear about the animals, recognize the dogs and step forward to say he or she evaluated Yogi and the owner decided not to treat him.
It's possible the owner could be charged with abandonment, Thomson said, considering the dogs were found Wednesday, have been featured in this newspaper and on television news reports and still no one has stepped forward to claim them.
The two Yorkshire terriers were found on Mechanic Street at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday. The three papillons were found later that night on Glines and Fells avenues.
Thomson cannot release the dogs for 10 days, but has families lined up to take them in. She received more than 60 messages yesterday, with the phone continuing to ring throughout the day. Some people even stopped by the Fiske Mill Road town pound inquiring about adopting the dogs.
She is taking names in case the people who adopt the animals decide it will be too expensive to care for them properly -- blood work alone costs $100, she said -- but for now, they have homes. In the meantime, they will stay at the pound with Thomson. | Source: Milford Daily News - Oct 8, 2005
Update posted on Oct 11, 2005 - 12:48AM |
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