Society handling dog, cat ailments
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — The Butler County Humane Society continues to deal with the intermittent infections affecting the dogs and cats recovered earlier this year from an abandoned trailer home.
The most seriously ill dog, Charlie, was taken to an undisclosed Pittsburgh veterinary hospital for treatment, according to Jennifer DiCuccio, the society's executive director.
The facility was closed to the public Wednesday except for scheduled appointments.
DiCuccio confirmed the facility will remain closed Thursday and additional closures will be decided on a day-by-day basis.
She noted that the staff is still available by phone or email.
“I'm doing everything in my power to save this dog,” DiCuccio said. “This is a very fresh and new issue that we're grappling with.”
DiCuccio noted that none of the other animals in the society's building has been infected and the recovered animals have been cordoned off on their own.
In January, state police recovered six dogs and three cats from a home at a trailer court on David Street in Prospect. It wasn't heated and the inside temperature at the time was only several degrees above freezing. There was no food for any of the animals. Only the cats could access water from a small bowl on the kitchen counter.
Trooper Philip Treadway, who investigated the complaint, wrote in his affidavit “The floor in every room in the residence was covered in feces and urine.”
The animals were taken to the humane society and tested. All six dogs, documents said, were found to be infected with giardia, an intestinal parasite.
At 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, Charlie the dog began to exhibit signs of another infection, initiating the transfer to the Pittsburgh facility.
Police charged the owner, Sona M. Murphy, 41, of Worthington, Armstrong County, with nine counts of cruelty to animals and six counts each of neglect of animals and failing to license the dogs. Murphy appeared in the magistrate's court Wednesday, where she refused to relinquish ownership of the dogs.
DiCuccio said that the treatment and care of the dogs has cost the organization “well over” $11,000, and she observed that none of the confiscated animals had received vaccinations of any kind.
The society will most likely never be compensated for the costs, according to Nicole Thurner, a lawyer who volunteers for the organization.
“It's good for people to know what the humane society does,” she said. “They take animals in during these situations and take on all costs.”
