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CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #5907 Rating: 4.7 out of 5
Hoarding - 25 dogs seized Dolphin, VA (US)Incident Date: Saturday, Jul 23, 2005 County: Brunswick
Disposition: Convicted Case Images: 5 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Alexandra Shalmers
Alex Shalmers has been before the courts and found guilty of 8 counts of animal cruelty. As part of her punishment she is not allowed to have a dog or any other companion animal for life, nor is she allowed to live in a home with a dog or any other companion animal for life. Her sentence has been suspended for a "good behavior" period of 10 years from the entry of this order and she is on probation for 12 months. She also agreed to forfeiture of the 25 dogs seized from her Brunswick County residence on August 8, 2005 pursuant to a search warrant. In addition she is not permitted contact, direct or indirect, with anyone who will have taken custody of any of the forfeited dogs unless she receives written consent from that individual. Should she break any of the terms of the court ordered sentence, she will be faced with a lengthy jail term. No matter which state she may move to, this sentence is good across the whole of the United States. The District Attorney in charge of this case has done a phenomenal job of making sure the charges were concrete and enforceable and it has all finally paid off.
In 1989 at a kennel in Frisco, Texas Sandy Moss (now Alexandra Shalmers) temporarily boarded her dogs and did not return for them or pay the boarding fees. The kennel requested witnesses and photos be taken to document the conditions of the dogs at that time. The following is an excerpt from a letter written about those dogs. "...I believe you can see the emaciated and poor condition of the pups and adults. There were two litters of four or five, some having died before our visit. One of the nursing bitches weighed 32 pounds. One male had a deformed leg that appeared to be from an untreated fracture. Two bitches had mange so badly that they screamed in pain when touched. None of the dogs were on heartworm preventive. They all had tape worms, ear mites, whip worms, hook worms and of course, fleas..."
Reports since 1989 describe similar conditions throughout the years from the time of the Texas rescue to the recent Virginia rescue. A total of 39 dogs were seized/rescued from this 2005 arrest of Ms. Shalmers. References |