After Year In Shelter, Pit Bull Could Be Put Down, Given To Rescue Group

SHELBY, N.C.,None — She has food to eat, shelter from the heat and the cold, and an occasional treat or walk, but for more than a year, the white pit bull with brown spots has lived in a concrete and wire cage no bigger than a bathroom stall.

She no longer has a name.

The dog with the sweet face was taken by animal control officers from a home on Lafayette Street last March after she was discovered abandoned.

Ever since then, she has been held at the animal shelter on Airport Road.

Sam Lockridge, coordinator of health services, said another pit bull was tied up outside the house but was so sick that it had to be euthanized.

Heather Burch Chapman, 39, of 1217 S. Lafayette St., was charged with two counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals after animal control officers said they found evidence that both pit bulls were abandoned without food or water.

Lockridge said there are outstanding warrants for Chapman's arrest, but he is doubtful she will be found.

According to the police report, Chapman is originally from Gaston County.

Unfortunately, Lockridge said, this is not the first case where an animal has been held longer than a year at the shelter.

"A couple of years ago, the sheriff's department charged people for fighting dogs," Lockridge said.

Seven dogs were seized. A few died from disease.

"We had those animals in the shelter for a year and a half," he said. "Shelters were not designed to house animals for 18 months."

Lockridge said cases such as this limit the availability of space for other dogs and it is expensive to continue to house them.

"It's our discretion whether we'll house them at the shelter or return to the owners," he said. "It depends on the severity of it. If you had someone who had a dog they would burn or fight, you would never give that animal back."

In some cases, if it was a minor offense, Lockridge said the pet would be better off with the owner.

However a recent law could prevent dogs, such as the pit bull taken from Lafayette Street, from being held for long periods of time.

"There's a new statute that we will start exercising in these cases," Lockridge said.

He said the law was passed last year and it hasn't been used locally yet because the seven dogs seized for fighting were held before the law passed. Now the owner of the pit bull currently being held cannot be found.

Lockridge said in the future, if the case is not resolved in court in 10 days, the agency will look "for some type of restitution to pay for those animals."

If the owner chooses not to pay, animal control officers will be given the authority to make a decision about what to do with the pet.

"We're planning on having some future meetings with the sheriff's department," he said.

If animals are seized, due to dogfighting, and are expected to be held for any length of time, Lockridge said an arrangement will be worked out.

"The animals' welfare is always on our mind," he said.

According to N.C. General Statute 67-4.3, if an animal shelter takes custody of an animal, a petition can be filed with the court requesting the defendant to pay for the animal's expenses until the case is resolved in court.

Those expenses include the cost of providing food, water, shelter and medical care over 30 days. The amount is set by the court and the order can be renewed after 30 days if necessary.

If the owner fails to pay the required funds, animal shelter officials can decide whether to make the animal available for adoption.

If adoption is not possible, it will be euthanized.

What will happen to the pit bull from Lafayette Street?

Since Chapman has not been found and has an outstanding warrant for her arrest, Lockridge said the agency will request full custody of the dog and Animal Control Director Rick Geer will make a decision on her future.

He said that could mean releasing her to the care of the humane society or a pit bull rescue organization.

Lockridge said in this particular case, officials don't know enough about her background to allow her to be adopted.

"If we can't get it in a humane society or a rescue, then I'm sure the animal will be euthanized," he said. "It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is."

WSOC