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September
21 , 2006
 HUNTINGTON
-- Two of the 13 dogs police say were being abused and malnourished
at a Cabell County home have died, and now the court process is
beginning for the 69-year-old woman charged with 13 counts of animal
cruelty.
Sara
Florence Phipps, 69, of Huntington was arrested by West Virginia
State Police on Tuesday evening and charged with the 13 misdemeanor
crimes. If convicted, she faces six and a half years in jail and/or
a fine between $3,900 and $26,000.
Phipps
was being held in the Western Regional Jail on those charges and
a fugitive from justice warrant. The fugitive warrant was filed
in connection to a worthless check case from Cattlettsburg, Ky.
Her release is dependent upon payment of a $325,000 bond and resolution
of the fugitive case.
The
criminal complaint charging Phipps states police observed "13
dogs chained with heavy logging chains which were very short."
The document goes on to describe the dogs as being "very thin"
and malnourished.
"The
dogs appeared to have mange, open wounds around the neck and one
was dead inside a box," the complaint states.
Another
one of the abused dogs was euthanized Tuesday at the Huntington-Cabell-Wayne
Animal Shelter, where Director Anita Asbury said the remaining 11
dogs are being cared for. She said their recovery could be part
of a slow process.
 "On
something that's been malnourished, you obviously can't throw a
ton of dog food in for it, and then expect it to gain weight in
a week or two," she said. "That's going to be something
that's ongoing. It's going to take several months to nurse that."
Asbury
would not comment specifically about the defendant, but she said
the dogs' injuries were consistent with something that would have
been noticed by most dog owners.
"If
you fool with the animals any at all, you would notice the chains
were becoming embedded in their necks," she said. "You
would notice they were losing weight. You have to feed them."
State
troopers said in the complaint that no food was available and noted
that only a couple of the dogs had access to water.
Asbury
said she wants to put each of the dogs up for adoption, but she
said that is not possible until she obtains a court order allowing
her to do so.
After
that, Asbury said she will want to make sure each of the dogs are
healthy enough for adoption. That's because she fears the malnutrition
could have lowered each of their immune systems, making each animal
more susceptible to diseases such as parvo or kennel cough.
She
said the malnourishment could also affect the animals' eyesight.
"I
would hate to have somebody come in, adopt the animals and get attached
to them and then there is heartworms right along with them."
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