Leflore County Humane Society Board President Aubrey Whittington is pressing charges against two men who allegedly mistreated 15 of the shelter’s dogs.
“We don’t take things like this lightly,” said Whittington, who is one of the founders of the animal shelter.
The 15 canines — a pit bull, a 10-year-old Yorkie, six German shepherd-mix puppies and a few other adult medium-size, mixed- breed dogs — were to be dropped off at a location in Memphis on Thursday evening. At the destination waiting was the Alpha Dog Transport, which is an all-volunteer service that transports rescue dogs safely to their new homes. The dogs were going to a rescue based in New England, which had already located forever homes for all 15 of them. The dogs were in crates in the back of one of the suspects’ pickup truck.
The shelter said the men left its facility at about 4:45 p.m. Thursday to begin the estimated 114-mile trek from Greenwood to meet the Alpha truck. They were expected to arrive at about 8 p.m.
At 10 p.m., before leaving for the journey up north, the Alpha drivers contacted the no-kill shelter’s rescue coordinator, Angie Young, to let her know that the dogs had not arrived.
Shelter employees and volunteers immediately tried to make contact with the two men, to no avail.
“Everybody rushed to the shelter to see if they had brought them back,” said Whittington.
An incident report with the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department states that the Humane Society also contacted the sheriff’s departments in Carroll and Montgomery counties to attempt to locate the subjects and missing animals.
“Once the Humane Society filed the initial report, we started to look out for the vehicle,” said Undersheriff Ken Spencer.
No one heard from the individuals until around noon Friday. Whittington said she was told that they were in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, which is about 2½ hours from Memphis.
The Humane Society directed them to drop the dogs off at a shelter facility in Memphis that the Northern rescue uses from time to time, Young said.
The men arrived at the facility at about 5 p.m. Friday.
A team from the rescue was present to examine the dogs.
“They were allegedly going to Memphis but took a detour,” said Spencer. “It appeared the animals had been neglected for 24 hours.”
Whittington said she was told by rescuers that the dogs were covered in feces and urine and were very thirsty and hungry. Pictures were taken of the conditions and sent to the Leflore County Humane Society.
Whittington said one of the men has served as a volunteer rescue transporter in the past and has made several successful deliveries to the Memphis location. She said the other man is not a shelter volunteer.
“They had plenty of time to go to Memphis and reach their destination,” said Whittington.
A signed affidavit has been submitted to a Leflore County judge, and the Sheriff’s Department is awaiting the issue of arrest warrants for the two individuals, Spencer said. Animal neglect is a misdemeanor offense under Mississippi law.
The case is expected to be handled in Leflore County Justice Court.
Whittington complimented the work of lawmen in the case.
“The (Greenwood) Police Department and the sheriff’s office were so willing to help us and concerned,” said Whittington. “They just could not have been more helpful. They were as concerned as we were about these animals.”
When the dogs arrived at the Memphis facility, Young said that all were immediately fed, watered and bathed. All have been examined by a veterinarian.
“They are doing great,” she said.
The 15 dogs are currently still at the facility.
Young said that the families adopting the dogs have all been notified about the delay.
“The dogs are going to be picked up Friday by private transport to be delivered to the families,” she said.
•Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
