Friday, March 23, 2001
The dog, which had been eating plastic foam, weighed 25 pounds.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
COITSVILLE -- Nathaniel Danley, the owner of a 1-year-old black Labrador mix that starved to death while chained to her doghouse, has been charged with animal cruelty.
Police arrested Danley at his McGuffey Road home Thursday night.
The 63-year-old man is accused of not providing food or water for the animal.
He posted $150 bond Thursday night in Campbell Municipal Court and will return to court next week. The charge is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,500 fine.
No fat left: A test done by Dr. Richard Nokes, a veterinarian at Animal Charity in Youngstown, revealed that the dog had no fat remaining in her body or food in her system. The cause of death is listed as starvation and dehydration.
The dog weighed 25 pounds and should have weighed 65 pounds for her size and age, said Dr. Nokes, who described her as very thin with a dirty coat and sunken eyes.
Coitsville police said Danley called the township's street department several times Tuesday, requesting removal of a dead dog from his property.
When a street department worker discovered the starved animal still chained to her doghouse Wednesday, he called police.
Called again: Just as officers were preparing to go to Danley's home, he called the street department again and was transferred to Assistant Police Chief Allan P. Morris, who asked how the dog had died.
Danley didn't answer the question, Morris said.
"I've never seen a starvation like this," Police Chief George Hahn said today. "I can't believe someone would do that to an animal."
Hahn said the dog's only water was muddy puddles from rain. The vet told police that the dog had been eating her own feces.
Morris, who took photographs of the dog, said she had also been eating plastic foam.