An Erie woman headed to trial after her dog was found ragged, infected and even losing one of its limbs allegedly due to neglect.
Jatahyia Stevens, 26, is facing a felony charge of third-degree cruelty towards animals.
The charge was bound over to court.
“The dog had been left un-groomed for one to two years minimum,” said Eric Duckett, a humane police officer. “The neglect at that state was so bad that the hair on the dog actually caused the dog’s leg to be choked off and the leg itself died off and fell right off.”
The dog was discovered after investigators said a couple called police in January to report a dog that looked like it had been hit by a car.
But according to police, that dog actually belonged to the callers.
The ANNA Shelter named the 13-year-old Shih Tzu Marshall. Marshall underwent several surgeries to save his other limbs and keep him alive.
“He’s got residual effects from it. Definitely has sensitivity in those pads and those feet where the blood wasn’t flowing,” said Ruth Thompson, founder and director of the ANNA Shelter.
“it was very tentative for him for a while and so just to see him out of the woods and thriving is fantastic.”
Thompson said Marshall was taken in by a foster who has every intent on adopting him and making him a part of her family.
Video footage showed Marshall walking around on his own.
“What was nice is that she is committed to a specialty type of care for him because he definitely had to adjust to a lot going on with his loss of a limb and things like that,” added Thompson.
Both Thompson and Duckett said situations like Marshall’s are preventable.
If you’re unable to care for your pet, help is available
“We are judgment-free, we want to help. But to just neglect it to the point to where something like this happens, there’s just no excuse for it,” said Thompson.
At this time a trial date has not been set, but stay with JET 24/FOX 66 for the latest coverage.
