In two recent animal cruelty cases in the Shenandoah Valley, poverty played a partial role in the torture, and in one case, death, of two four-month-old puppies.
In Waynesboro, a woman who had her electricity cut off in her subsidized apartment left her “hound mix” puppy to die of emaciation.
In Augusta County, a Swoope man severely burned his pit bull while allegedly attempting to use hot water to rid the dog of fleas. The dog also had a fractured pelvic bone, possibly from being kicked, according to court and medical records.
In both cases, the owners received jail sentences for their actions.
While poverty can be a challenge for pet owners, there are numerous resources available in the community for people who need help including medical care, spay/neuter assistance, pet food and even fencing or shelter for outdoor pets.
Waynesboro Commonwealth’s Attorney David Ledbetter said his office sought jail time and a felony conviction for the Waynesboro case in part because the dog owner had options. He said she was living “between places,” and she told investigators that she would stop in to check on her dog who remained in her apartment with no electricity or heat.
“She had an option. She clearly could have gotten some way to get this animal to the SPCA, or even a call to our own police department and animal control,” Ledbetter said. “In this dire situation, animal control would have assisted her, would have taken custody of the dog, would have taken the dog to a place where dog could have been adopted … if nothing else, would’ve brought food for the dog.
“But she didn’t avail herself of any resources,” Ledbetter said. “She just essentially, she checked on the dog, but she did not do anything beyond checking on the animal.”
Ledbetter said the woman could have also asked others in her apartment complex for assistance. Her failure to ask for help is why his office sought and received a felony conviction against the dog’s owner.
Speaking with Dogs Deserve Better founder Kimberly Hawk on Wednesday after the sentencing for the Swoope animal cruelty case, she was clearly upset that the man convicted had never reached out for help when he didn’t have money for a vet bill. He did eventually surrender the dog, she said, only after an acquaintance asked him to do so in order for the animal to receive proper care for the burns on the dog’s face and body.
“They (the owners) did not reach out for help,” Hawk said. “That dog would have died a painful death within 24 hours, because he was so lethargic … he just needed so much care.”
In cases like these, sometimes the only solution is getting the animal out of the home: to get proper medical care, and then, if the animals survives, allow the animal to be rehomed. For families who may not be able to afford to take care of the animal or for whatever reason can longer provide for their pet, there is always an alternative to allowing it to die.
“Staunton, Augusta and Waynesboro boast an active and engaged community of animal welfare organizations that offer services to animals and their owners,” said Amy Hammer, co-founder and president of Augusta Dog Adoptions. “We want people to know if they need help, all they have to do is ask.
“Animal cruelty occurs for a number of reasons, but in our area, access to services should not be one of them.”
Local resources for pet owners
Animal Control
- Waynesboro Animal Control: (540) 942-6701
- Augusta County Animal Control: (540) 245-5635
- Staunton Animal Control: (540) 332-3842
Animal Care Assistance Program
Animal Care Assistance Program, or ACAP, is a small, all-volunteer organization that offers low-income veterinary assistance, and a smaller program with foster dogs, largely with issues require them to be in long-term foster care.
ACAP can help those who are at a low-income level get at least some degree of veterinary care for their pets, and for more expensive cases, usually surgeries, ACAP works with other organizations “to cobble together enough support for the procedure to go forward,” said Mark Levi, ACAP president.
ACAP pay clinics directly up to the limit approved.
The majority of ACAP assistance cases are in the areas around Charlottesville including Albemarle, Fluvanna, Louisa and Augusta counties.
Augusta Dog Adoptions
Augusta Dog Adoptions is an all-volunteer rescue group that takes in and adopts out dogs that are transferred to them from local shelters and high-kill pounds throughout Virginia.
Most adoptions are done in Waynesboro.
Dogs are “fostered” by volunteers at their personal homes until an adoption match is made. ADA provides rehabilitation and veterinary care to all dogs in the foster program prior to adoption.
Augusta Regional SPCA
The Augusta Regional SPCA provides low-cost spay-and-neuter services for companion animals.
Pet owners may also request vaccines, deworming and flea and tick treatment when getting the procedure.
Appointments should be made for owner-released pets to the SPCA.
Cat’s Cradle
Cat’s Cradle is a nonprofit animal rescue for cats based in Harrisonburg. The organization promotes spay/neuter, and a Trap, Neuter and Return program. They conduct foster-based rescue and adoption from local shelters, providing pet retention and rehoming programs.
Dogs Deserve Better Blue Ridge
Dogs Deserve Better Blue Ridge, or DDBBR, advocates for outside dogs. Volunteers work to free chained and penned dogs in Central Virginia. The organization works to educate owners and provide doghouses and fences as well as assisting with medical costs and vaccinations.
The organization will also help dogs find new homes when an owner surrenders a dog.
Friends of SVASC
Friends of Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center provides medical funding for animals at the municipal shelter. Funding is provided for tumor removal, cancer, heartworm or skin treatment to help animals become adoptable. Friends of SVASC’s community pet food pantry is located inside the shelter.
“We constantly saw animals who suffered because they needed surgeries or had illnesses that the shelter had no funding to care for,” said Kelly Jackson, the medical coordinator of Friends of the SVASC in an interview last year. “The localities only provide enough money to the shelter to give vaccines and basic care. We stepped in to take care of their extended medical needs.”
Since September 2019, the organization has raised and spent more than $150,000 and helped more than 340 animals.
“We do occasionally take on special community outreach cases to help those in need,” said Jackson. “We have helped quite a few folks who are on disability, elderly or on a fixed income and are facing an emergency with their pet.”
Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center
The Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center has a page on its website with resources for assistance with spay/neuter, medical needs, behavioral help and pet food.
The shelter is open admission and will take in companion animals that are being abused or neglected or are at risk as well as strays.
The Lyndhurst animal shelter offers a community food pantry at the shelter that is stocked with food, litter, toys, grooming supplies, crates and other animal supplies.
“Folks can stop by anytime that we are open, and we are happy to help,” said Jon Hilbert, executive director of SVASC. “We would rather keep an animal with their owner then surrender to the shelter.”
Spay/Neuter, Inc.
Spay/Neuter, Inc. is a small cat rescue organization. When they have room, they will take in cats and work to rehome them. The organization does provide some in-house testing and vaccines for cats and utilizes the SPCA for additional services.
The Mosby Foundation
The Mosby Foundation helps qualified limited-income pet parents facing extenuating veterinary circumstances that no one could forsee.
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Crystal Graham
