Woman fined for animal cruelty
A Perry Township woman who kept 40 dogs and cats and one raccoon in filthy conditions and with no viewable food or water pleaded guilty to four counts of animal cruelty and was fined $1,200. Ellen Carson of Vanderbilt had 33 dogs, seven cats and one raccoon, all poorly cared for, at her 246 Virgin Run Road home when a Noah’s Ark humane officer went there earlier this month, Noah’s Ark animal shelter communications director Robin Moore reported.
The animals had rusted coffee cans that Carson allegedly said the animals drank from, said Moore, and had little or no shelter.
A raccoon had been living in captivity for 16 years, said Moore, and spent her time in a rusted cage with a rusted lock.
“This was just neglect all over the place,” said Moore, who noted there were three dead dogs laying in Carson’s yard, one of which was still tied up.
In exchange for Carson’s guilty plea to the summary citations earlier this week before Perryopolis District Justice Michael Rubish, six other citations for running an unlicensed kennel and failing to have the animals properly licensed or vaccinated were dropped.
In addition, Carson signed over care of all the animals to Noah’s Ark.
Moore said all but about 15 of the animals have been adopted and the raccoon will go to Woodlands Zoo in Farmington.
“This is a simple case of an animal hoarder,” said Moore.
A hoarder, said Moore, does not spay or neuter animals, which leads to interbreeding, and more animals.
A team of 10 animal workers, plus state police troopers, went to Carson’s home on March 11 to remove the animals after a humane worker viewed how the animals were kept. Moore said some of the dogs were “fear biters” because they had not been socialized with humans and did not know how to react to human contact.
In addition to her plea, Carson will be put on a watch list, said Moore. That means that she can be regularly checked to see if she has animals and how they are cared for, said Moore.
With warm weather coming up, Moore urged people to be aware of animals that may be tied outside in the sun, without shelter or water.
“It’s state law that they must have access to shelter and clean water,” said Moore. “Many dogs die of heat stroke because there was no water available to them.”
In addition, people should be aware of an animal’s body condition, specifically noting if the animal is unusually thin.
And if people see dogs running in packs, Moore said that is definitely reason to contact a humane officer.
“Fayette County has such a serious problem with pet overpopulation as it is. People from other counties come to Noah’s Ark to take puppies because they have a waiting list. I get boxes of puppies every day,” said Moore.
According to Moore, Noah’s Ark animal shelter has the county’s only sworn humane officers. To contact the shelter, call 724-439-8620.